The Roof Replacement Timeline: What to Expect from Start to Finish

Posted on 2026-02-21 21:21:59

Replacing a roof is one of those projects that tests planning, patience, and your rapport with a roofing contractor. It affects the entire house, not just the top layer. Done well, it protects everything under it for decades, improves energy performance, and bumps curb appeal. Rushed or poorly managed, it can spiral into change orders, water intrusion, or warranty headaches. After walking countless homeowners through new roof installations and tricky tear-offs, I’ve learned the stresses come less from the hammering and more from the unknowns. Here is how a typical roof replacement unfolds, why each stage matters, how long it tends to take, and where judgment calls separate good outcomes from great ones.

How long does a roof replacement really take?

A simple asphalt shingle replacement on a straightforward, walkable roof usually takes one to three working days once the crew starts. Larger homes, complex designs, or special materials push that to a week or more. Tile, natural slate, and standing seam metal often run one to three weeks depending on crew size, lead times for trim and accessories, and weather.

That span excludes the lead-up: inspections, proposals, approvals, and scheduling often take two to six weeks. If your project requires a permit, historical review, or an insurance claim, add time. After storms, reputable roofing companies book out quickly and material suppliers can be constrained. The total timeline, from first call to final inspection, commonly ranges from three to eight weeks for a standard home, longer for specialty roofs or busy seasons.

The first conversation: scoping the problem and your priorities

Homeowners usually start with a symptom: curled shingles, a mysterious stain on the ceiling, granules in the gutters, a stubborn leak around a chimney. A good roofing contractor will listen first, then ask about the age of the roof, ventilation issues, ice dams, prior repairs, and your plans for the house. There is a difference between buying another five years with selective roof repair and investing in a full roof replacement you will not touch for two to four decades.

Smart homeowners share a few practical details during that first call. Square footage or a rough roof size, number of stories, attic access, and the presence of skylights or solar panels help the estimator prepare. Photos taken from the ground and from the attic, especially around penetrations and valleys, can help a pro spot telltales like rusted nails or daylight peeking through sheathing joints.

This stage is less about price and more about alignment. Ask how they staff jobs, who will supervise, whether they self-perform flashing and carpentry or sub it out, and what materials they favor for your climate. A company that specializes in complex flashing details or vented assemblies might cost more upfront, but it tends to save money in service calls later.

The roof assessment: what the estimator looks for

An in-person assessment is essential. I treat it like a layered exam. From the ground and a ladder I check:

Field condition: shingle wear patterns, hail bruising, wind creases, thermal cracking, or manufacturing blisters. Details: condition of step flashing at sidewalls, counterflashing at chimneys, pipe boot cracking, and valley metal corrosion. Structure: sagging ridgelines, spongy deck spots, and prior overlay attempts that might hide problems.

Inside the attic, I look for rusted nail tips (a sign of condensation), wet sheathing, mold traces on the north slope, blocked soffits, improperly terminated bath fans, undersized ridge vents, and signs of rodents or wasps that might complicate the day. Ventilation is not cosmetic. Underventilated roofs cook shingles and can rot sheathing from the inside out. I have replaced eight-year-old shingles that looked twenty because a bathroom fan vented into the attic and steamed the underside of the deck all winter.

Measurements include slope, eave lengths, ridge, valleys, and penetrations. I also note access for a dump trailer or container, overhead wires, and landscaping that needs protection. If the roof feels soft in specific areas, I flag possible sheathing replacement in the proposal with a per-sheet price. Honest estimates spell out unknowns instead of hiding them.

Proposals, materials, and decisions that drive outcomes

A solid proposal outlines the scope with enough detail that you do not need a glossary. Expect brand and line of shingles or panels, underlayment types, ice barrier coverage, flashing metals and gauges, fastener types, ventilation plan, drip edge color, and accessory items like ridge caps and starter strips. It should note whether the quote includes tear-off to the deck or an overlay. On older roofs or roofs with layered shingles, overlays can trap heat and hide deck issues. Most reputable roofing contractors recommend a full tear-off for good reason.

Material choices depend on budget, climate, and aesthetics:

Asphalt shingles remain the workhorse for value and speed. Architectural shingles typically carry limited lifetime warranties from manufacturers, with practical lifespans of 20 to 30 years in most climates. Standing seam metal offers durability, fewer penetrations, and excellent snow-shedding. It requires skilled installation, precise trim, and careful substrate prep. Concrete or clay tile provides longevity and style, but adds significant weight. Your framing must be verified to carry that load. Natural slate lasts generations if detailed well. It is a craft project with a price and timeline to match. Synthetic composite shingles and tiles bridge appearance and lower weight, with varied track records by brand.

Underlayments matter as much as the outer layer. In cold climates, I extend ice and water barrier 24 to 36 inches past the interior wall line at eaves, sometimes more on low slopes. Synthetic underlayment handles foot traffic better than felt and resists wrinkling. If a roof has annually recurring ice dams, a vented over-roof or enhanced air sealing at the ceiling plane may do more good than simply adding heat cables.

Compare estimates apples to apples. Roofing repair companies that lead with unusually low prices often omit line items that become change orders: new flashing, proper valley metal, or replacement decking. Ask for clarification instead of assuming.

Permits, insurance, and scheduling realities

In many municipalities, re-roofs require permits and inspections. Your roofing contractor should handle it. If they resist permits, that is a red flag. Permits affect schedule. Inspectors may want to see the bare deck before underlayment, or they may only inspect at final. Post-storm backlogs can add days.

Insurance claims introduce another layer. Adjusters look for storm-related damage, not general wear. If you are going the claim route, involve your contractor early to document slopes, hail hits, wind creases, and collateral damage like dented gutters or AC fins. Expect a cycle of scope review, supplementing for code-required items, and possibly a reinspection. Build at least two to four weeks into your timeline for this process.

On scheduling, good roofing companies aim for weather windows. A 20 percent chance of afternoon showers is one thing. A slow-moving front is another. Crews would rather mobilize once than tarp mid-job for days. Flexible homeowners, especially those not tied to a specific week, usually get slotted sooner when a favorable window opens.

Preparing the site and your household

You will live through noise, vibration, and some dust. Professionals make it manageable. Before day one, move vehicles out of the garage and driveway. Remove art or shelves on top-floor walls that might rattle. Cover attic storage with tarps or sheets if your attic is open to the deck. I tell families with pets to plan for a quiet room or a day out. If you have a pool, cover it. If you have prized shrubs near the house, water them before the job and point them out so the crew can set up protective plywood.

Expect a dumpster or trailer placement that allows easy loading without blocking egress. Good crews protect driveways with plywood under heavy wheels to avoid depressions on hot days. Power access matters. If you have exterior outlets that trip GFCIs easily, note it so the supervisor can plan for power tools without constant resets.

Tear-off: the loud, fast, controlled chaos

On start day, the crew leader will walk the property, confirm scope, and set protection. Then the tear-off begins. The speed surprises most homeowners. A five to seven person crew can strip an average home in a morning. Stripping reveals the truth. I have seen perfectly fine-looking roofs hide rotted sheathing at eaves from years of ice dams, or compromised decking around a long-forgotten satellite mount.

Crews should remove all layers to the deck unless you specifically contracted for an overlay. They will pull all old nails or pound them flush, then sweep or blow the deck clean. This is when they replace bad sheathing. Count on some replacement, especially at eaves, around chimneys, and under old leaks. A typical sheathing replacement runs a few sheets, though I’ve replaced entire sections when an older home had board decking with wide gaps that did not meet modern nailing requirements. Having a pre-approved per-sheet price avoids mid-day haggling.

If weather turns mid-tear-off, a disciplined crew stages the job to keep sections watertight. They install underlayment as they go and tarp effectively. I prefer staging so that at the end of each day, no exposed deck remains. That is standard practice with quality roofing contractors.

Deck prep and flashing, the quiet heroes

With the deck exposed and fixed, the next steps set the foundation you will never see but will thank later. Drip edge goes on the eaves first, then the ice and water barrier at eaves and critical details like valleys and penetrations. Sidewall and chimney flashings deserve special attention. I like to remove old step flashing entirely instead of trying to reuse it, even if that means temporarily lifting siding or cutting in new counterflashing at masonry. Reusing old flashing saves a few hundred dollars but risks the entire system. When leaks happen on new roofs, nine times out of ten they originate at flashing that someone rushed or reused.

Valley treatment varies by region and material. Open metal valleys, woven shingle valleys, and closed-cut valleys each have their place. Open metal valleys with a center rib perform beautifully in heavy rain and snow, provided they are lined with ice barrier and installed without fasteners in the exposed center. Nails kept out of the valley center is a rule that sometimes gets ignored in the rush. It is worth asking your installer how they handle valley nailing.

Ventilation is upgraded now as well. That may mean cutting a slot along the ridge for a continuous ridge vent, installing new box vents, or adding intake at soffits. I have seen roofs with plenty of exhaust vents and almost no intake, a recipe for pulling conditioned air from the house rather than moving exterior air across the deck. Balanced intake and exhaust is the target.

Underlayment and layout: setting the pattern

Synthetic underlayment rolls out quickly, but quality control matters. Laps must face the right direction, with proper overlap, and be capped or nailed on exposure lines so wind cannot peel them. On low slopes near the minimum for shingle installation, a second layer or special low-slope underlayment is cheap insurance. The ridge is usually left open until the end to allow hot air to escape during installation and to accept the ridge vent.

Layout begins with starter strips along the eaves and rake edges. Those factory starter strips with sealant lines outperform field-cut starters. On architectural shingles, we stagger and step courses, avoiding vertical seams that line up every other row. Correct exposure keeps the pattern uniform and avoids short courses at the ridge. These details do not seem glamorous, but they are why a roof lays flat and resists wind.

Shingles or panels on, details in view

Once the field starts, progress feels fast. An experienced crew can install 20 to 40 squares of asphalt shingles a day under good conditions. Complex roofs with bays, dormers, and multiple planes slow things down, but they also reveal a crew’s craftsmanship. Shingles should butt cleanly at sidewalls with step flashing interlaced on each course and counterflashing integrated, not smeared with sealant as a primary defense. Sealant is a helper, not a system.

Metal roofs go at a different rhythm. Panels are measured, cut, and seamed on site or shop-formed. The critical details are at the ridge, eaves, gables, and penetrations. I prefer factory-notched eave panels for uniform hems, concealed fasteners per manufacturer specs, and butyl tapes at laps. An amateur metal roof might look straight from the ground on day one, yet leak at panel seams the first winter when freeze-thaw cycles pump water under casual laps.

Tile and slate arrive on pallets, and staging weight on the roof requires care. We distribute loads and sometimes reinforce scaffolding paths. Flashing designs shift to two-piece systems at sidewalls and more robust valley pans. These materials take longer. A homeowner looking for a one-week turnaround on a new slate roof will be disappointed, but a well-executed job repays that time for decades.

Penetrations, skylights, and chimneys: places where roofs tell the truth

Penetrations are where roofs succeed or fail. Pipe boots crack with UV and time, so every replacement should include new ones sized to the pipe, with ice barrier underneath. Skylights deserve sober evaluation. If your skylights are older than ten to fifteen years, replacing them while the roof is open saves future disruption and reduces leak risk. Modern skylights with integral flashing kits simplify the process and perform better than field-bent solutions, provided the rough opening and slope match the kit design.

Chimneys need stepped base flashing and a counterflashing that is cut and regletted into the mortar joints, then sealed with appropriate sealant. Surface-applied metal without a reglet cut tends to fail early. I have been called back to new roofs that leaked at a chimney because someone skipped the grind and used copious sealant rides. Do it right once and it disappears as a problem point.

Daily cleanup and neighbor relations

A neat site is not just courteous, it is safer and more efficient. Crews should magnet-sweep driveways and planting beds each day. I have pulled three-inch nails out of tires when a crew got sloppy, and no one wants that. Materials should be stacked or tied down overnight. If wind is in the forecast, tarps and straps matter. Let your neighbors know ahead of time, especially if street parking will be tight or if early morning setup might wake someone working nights. Good roofing companies value repeat business and referrals, and that starts with a job that looks controlled, not chaotic.

Weather interruptions and how pros handle them

Weather is the variable no one controls. A capable crew reads radar, stages by slopes, and button ups at the first sign of trouble. If rain arrives unexpectedly, they should stop nailing shingles, cover exposed areas, and wait it out. Nailing wet shingles or laying underlayment on saturated decks invites trapped moisture. On cold mornings, frost on the deck or shingles can delay start times. It is better to lose an hour at dawn than to embed frost that will melt under layers and feed mold. In hot climates, heat softens shingle mats. Crews may start early, take a midday break, and resume as the sun eases, both for installer safety and product integrity.

Inspections, punch lists, and final touches

Most municipalities require a final inspection. Inspectors check for code items like proper underlayment at eaves, drip edge presence, and adequate ventilation. They rarely climb steep roofs for detailed checks, which is why your contractor’s final walkthrough matters more. I look for even courses, proper ridge cap orientation into the prevailing wind, sealed exposed fasteners where unavoidable, and tidy endings at rakes. Gutters should be cleared of granules and debris from the tear-off.

Warranties come in two flavors. Manufacturer warranties cover materials with various proration schedules. Workmanship warranties cover installation errors. A 10-year workmanship warranty from a contractor with a long local track record holds more value than a 25-year promise from a company that has been around for 18 months. Ask how they handle service calls and response times. Keep your contract, permit documents, lien waiver, and warranty registration in one folder. If the job included hidden-deck replacements, note those locations for future reference.

What it costs and where the money goes

Costs vary by region, material, and complexity. For a ballpark, architectural asphalt shingle replacements often range from a few hundred dollars per square on simple roofs to well over a thousand per square for complex designs, steep pitches, or high-cost markets. Metal, tile, and slate climb from there, sometimes several times the cost of asphalt. Inside that number are material costs, disposal fees, labor, liability insurance, workers’ comp, supervision, permits, and overhead. Companies that carry proper insurance and train crews command higher prices. The difference shows up when something goes wrong and you need them back, or when a worker gets hurt and you are protected rather than exposed.

Beware of extremely low bids from roofing companies that appear only after storms. Some are excellent, but many chase volume, pay crews by the square with little supervision, and move on before warranty work starts. Local references, proof of insurance, and a physical office or long-standing presence matter.

When repair still makes sense

Not every problem calls for a full roof replacement. If your shingles are mid-life, a single well-defined leak at a pipe boot, flashed and underlaid correctly, is a classic roof repair job. Replacing flashing at a skylight or reworking a single valley can buy meaningful time if the surrounding field is sound. The threshold for switching to replacement arrives when leaks multiply across details, granule loss is uniform, the mat cracks with light bending, or mounting wind damage repeats Roofing repair companies after moderate storms. At that point, repairs become bandages on a deteriorating system.

Special cases that change the script

Historic homes and districts: Expect approvals for appearance changes and restrictions on materials. Custom copper flashing or wood shingle replacements add time and cost but preserve character. Low-slope tie-ins: Where a steep roof meets a low-slope section over a porch or addition, the detail decides longevity. A membrane like modified bitumen or TPO might be best for that section instead of trying to force shingles to work below their rated slope. Solar: If you plan to add solar within a few years, coordinate now. Some roofing contractors partner with solar installers to pre-install flashable mounts or at least define rafter locations. Replacing a roof under a fresh solar array gets expensive. Wildfire zones: Class A fire ratings and ember-resistant venting become part of the conversation. Metal mesh at vents and specific shingle or metal assemblies are designed for these conditions.

What homeowners can do to help the schedule

Most delays I see are avoidable with simple actions.

Decide on materials and colors early, and stick with them. Changing your mind after special-order drip edge arrives can set you back a week. Clear driveway access the night before and confirm power availability. Crews can bring generators, but constant starts and stops slow them down. Approve decking replacement allowances before work starts. It removes friction at the worst moment, when clouds are threatening and decisions need to be quick.

These are small levers that keep a job moving and reduce surprises for everyone.

After the job: maintenance that pays forward

A new roof is not a set-and-forget system. Inspect from the ground in spring and fall. Keep gutters clear, especially after leaf season. If you see lifted shingles after a storm, call your installer promptly. Most wind-related issues are minor if addressed quickly. Trim branches that scrape the roof. If you have a ridge vent, avoid attic fans that can short-circuit the passive system unless an HVAC professional specifies a hybrid approach. For metal roofs, an annual glance at sealant joints around complex flashings and an occasional fastener check on exposed-fastener systems keep things tight.

Homeowners sometimes worry about walking on a new roof. If you must, do it in cool weather, wear soft-soled shoes, and avoid fragile areas like ridge caps and hips. Better yet, use binoculars, a camera on a pole, or hire a roofer for any hands-on inspection.

The rhythm of a well-run roof replacement

When a roof replacement goes right, it follows a rhythm. Clear communication and a realistic schedule. A crew that treats the tear-off like the surgical opening to an operation, not demolition without care. Flashing and ventilation handled with the seriousness they deserve. Field work executed with steady quality and attention at edges, valleys, and penetrations. Daily cleanup that respects your property and your neighbors. A final walkthrough that invites questions instead of dodging them.

The best roofing contractors hold that line even on busy weeks. They do not overbook, they do not skip steps to chase the next deposit, and they build crews with enough experience to make judgment calls on site. If you choose a partner like that and give them the room to do their work, your roof installation will feel less like a disruption and more like a well-orchestrated upgrade. The payoff is not just a dry attic. It is the quiet confidence you feel the next time wind and rain pound the house at night, and you do not give the roof a second thought.

Trill Roofing

Business Name: Trill Roofing
Address: 2705 Saint Ambrose Dr Suite 1, Godfrey, IL 62035, United States
Phone: (618) 610-2078
Website: https://trillroofing.com/
Email: [email protected]

Hours:
Monday: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Tuesday: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Wednesday: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Thursday: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Friday: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Saturday: Closed
Sunday: Closed

Plus Code: WRF3+3M Godfrey, Illinois
Google Maps URL: https://maps.app.goo.gl/5EPdYFMJkrCSK5Ts5

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Trill Roofing provides customer-focused residential and commercial roofing services throughout Godfrey, IL and surrounding communities.

Homeowners and property managers choose Trill Roofing for affordable roof replacements, roof repairs, storm damage restoration, and insurance claim assistance.

Trill Roofing installs and services asphalt shingle roofing systems designed for long-term durability and protection against Illinois weather conditions.

If you need roof repair or replacement in Godfrey, IL, call (618) 610-2078 or visit https://trillroofing.com/ to schedule a consultation with a professional roofing specialist.

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Landmarks Near Godfrey, IL

Lewis and Clark Community College
A well-known educational institution serving students throughout the Godfrey and Alton region.

Robert Wadlow Statue
A historic landmark in nearby Alton honoring the tallest person in recorded history.

Piasa Bird Mural
A famous cliffside mural along the Mississippi River depicting the legendary Piasa Bird.

Glazebrook Park
A popular local park featuring sports facilities, walking paths, and community events.

Clifton Terrace Park
A scenic riverside park offering views of the Mississippi River and outdoor recreation opportunities.

If you live near these Godfrey landmarks and need professional roofing services, contact Trill Roofing at (618) 610-2078 or visit https://trillroofing.com/.