Why are commercial roofing bids so different?

Usually because they describe different scopes: different insulation, cover board, membrane thickness, attachment, edge metal or warranty, or different assumptions about wet insulation and deck damage.

Should I take the lowest commercial roofing bid?

Only once its scope matches the others line for line. A low bid that leaves out taper, cover board, edge metal or deck allowances usually comes back as change orders.

What should a commercial roofing bid include?

The assembly from deck to edge metal, how hidden damage is priced, the warranty type and term, insurance and licence details, the schedule, and how the roof is kept watertight each day.

How Do You Compare Commercial Roofing Bids?

Q: What is an NDL roof warranty?

A no-dollar-limit manufacturer warranty covering labour and material for leaks from covered conditions, without a cap tied to the original contract value.

Short answer: Compare scope before price. Put the bids side by side on the same assembly (deck work, insulation and taper, cover board, membrane type and thickness, attachment, edge metal), on whether the bidder took core cuts and a moisture survey, on how hidden damage will be priced, on the warranty type, on insurance, bonding and licensing, and on who runs the job after you sign. A bid that prices only square feet of membrane is not comparable to one that specifies the whole roof.

Make the scopes match

Ask every bidder to state: the existing layers and whether they come off; how wet insulation and deck damage found during tear-off will be priced, as a unit rate in the contract rather than a surprise change order; the insulation R-value and tapered layout; the cover board; the membrane, its thickness and attachment; and the edge metal, coping, curbs and drains. Where one bid leaves a line out, that line is either excluded or coming back as an extra.

Check the diagnosis behind each bid

A recommendation to recover rather than tear off should rest on core cuts and an infrared or capacitance moisture survey. A bid built from a walk-around, or from a satellite measurement, is a guess about layers nobody has seen.

Read the warranty, not the years

A material-only manufacturer warranty pays for membrane, not labour. A no-dollar-limit (NDL) warranty covers labour and material for leaks from covered conditions and is the one that moves real risk off the owner. The contractor’s workmanship warranty is separate. Ask what each one requires of you: manufacturer inspections, maintenance, and no penetrations cut by other trades.

Check the contractor, not just the roof

Ask for a certificate of insurance naming your ownership entity and management company as additional insureds, with limits that match your lease and lender; whether they can bond the project; their fall-protection plan; and how the roof is left at the end of each working day. Confirm the licence is held where the building is; in Maryland, here is how to check it. Then ask who will answer your questions in week three.

How we bid commercial roofs

We walk the roof, document it with photographs, take cores where the recommendation depends on them, and send a written proposal that specifies the full assembly, with alternatives priced separately. Owners, managers and general contractors can also send us plans and a bid package.

MHIC #111971 in Maryland, Virginia Class A #2705183185, family-owned since 2005.

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