Roof and exterior
Roof repair cost
A cracked pipe boot is about $382 fitted; two bundles of blown-off shingles $620; chimney flashing $550; a valley $580; a leak that has to be found first $445. They cluster because a roofer's $350 minimum is the price of anything small, and they climb with the pitch and the storeys. This prices the repair by its cause, puts the finding and the minimum on their own lines, and says when a roof is past repairing — because past its life, a roof is postponed, not fixed.
Written and edited by Pablo Ruiz Quintero
Last reviewed 2026-09-23 · Nothing you type leaves your browser
Roof repair cost calculator
What is wrong, and what roof it is on
The cause decides the parts and the hours. The roof — its pitch, its storeys, its age — decides the rest, and whether the repair is worth making at all.
The rubber collar round a plumbing vent splits in the sun after ten or fifteen years, and the leak lands in a bathroom ceiling.
Usually one.
The roof
Walkable.
Ground floor: a ladder.
Replacing it: about $12,320.
About 15 years left.
About 27 years.
Counting this one. Two on an old roof is the roof talking.
Repair on the first visit.
One roofer, a repair rate, a minimum.
Used only to pick a regional labour rate. It stays in your browser.
Pipe boot
$382
1.8 h on the roof · 3% of replacing it · about 15 years left in the roof
Repair, not replace
$382 against $12,320 to replace — 3 per cent — on a roof with about 15 years left. Repair.
Where the water comes in
Not where the stain is. Uphill.
Water gets in at a boot, a chimney, a valley or a nail, and runs down the underside of the decking until it finds somewhere to drip. The stain on the ceiling is the end of that journey, and the leak is almost never in the shingle field above it. Finding it is a hose on the roof and somebody in the attic, and it is often half the bill.
The minimum is the price
The work here is $172; the roofer’s minimum is $350. Everything else that needs doing up there — a second boot, a lifted ridge cap, a gutter bracket — goes on the same visit for the hours alone. Walk round the house and make the list before the roofer comes.
One roof, every cause
Each repair at its usual size on this roof, with the minimum inside.
What the roofer charges for
- 1 boot — pipe boot
The rubber collar round a plumbing vent splits in the sun after ten or fifteen years, and the leak lands in a bathroom ceiling. The commonest roof leak there is, and the cheapest fix.$32 - 1.8 hours on the roof
One roofer, at a repair rate.$140 - Up to the roofer's minimum
A repair is one roofer and a trip, so the rate is higher than a crew's and the minimum covers the climb. On a small repair the minimum is the price.$210
What it costs
National average. Pipe boot, 1 boot, on a 6:12 single-storey roof of 2,200 sq ft. Not included: interior ceiling repairs from the leak, gutter work, or a roof that turns out to need more than this once someone is on it.
If the verdict is replace, the roof replacement page prices the new one by the square with the tear-off and the steel; the ceiling under the leak is on the drywall repair page.
Worth knowing
- The rubber collar round a plumbing vent splits in the sun after ten or fifteen years, and the leak lands in a bathroom ceiling. The commonest roof leak there is, and the cheapest fix.
- The work is $172; the roofer's minimum is $350, and the $210 on top is the climb, not the repair. Anything else on the roof — a second boot, a lifted ridge cap — goes on the same visit for the hours alone.
On this page — 5 sections
The leak is uphill from the stain
The short version
- Boot $382. Shingles $620. Chimney $550. Valley $580. They cluster round the minimum.
- The leak is not where the stain is. Finding it is $160 and often half the bill.
- The minimum is $350. List everything on the roof for one visit.
- Past its life, a roof is postponed, not repaired. 27 years architectural, 18 three-tab.
Water gets into a roof at a penetration — a vent pipe, a chimney, a skylight — or at a transition, a valley or a wall. It runs down the underside of the decking, sometimes twenty feet, until it finds a nail or a joint to drip from, and the stain on the ceiling is the end of that journey. The shingles above the stain are almost never the problem, and a roofer who patches them has fixed the wrong thing at the right price.
So the first job is finding it: a hose on the roof, somebody in the attic with a light, the stain traced uphill on the underside of the decking to where it starts. That is priced as its own line here, because on a leak nobody has found it is often half the bill. The fix that follows is usually one of the causes on this page.
| On a 6:12 bungalow | On a 10:12 two-storey | |
|---|---|---|
| Pipe boot | $382 | $382 |
| Two bundles of shingles | $620 | $643 |
| Chimney flashing | $550 | $743 |
| 12 ft valley | $580 | $808 |
| Two sheets of decking | $669 | $916 |
MaterialsEstimator, Roof repair price survey · checked 2026-09-23
The minimum is the price
A roof repair is one roofer, a ladder and a trip, and the minimum for that is about $350. A pipe boot is $32 of rubber and 1.8 hours; a lifted ridge cap is a few nails. Both cost the minimum, which is why the small repairs on this page all land within a hundred dollars of each other and why the per-hour rate only matters on the big ones — a valley, a chimney, decking.
The way to make the minimum work for you is the list. Walk round the house with binoculars before the roofer comes: every boot, every lifted cap, the loose gutter bracket, the tree branch on the shingles. All of it goes on the same visit for the hours alone.
$350
The roofer's minimum
The climb, not the repair
$32
A pipe boot, the part
$382 fitted
$160
Finding a leak
Before fixing it
$280
An emergency tarp
A separate visit
Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association, Residential asphalt roofing manual — repair and maintenance of shingle roofs · checked 2026-09-23
When a roof is past repairing
Architectural shingles are good for about 27 years and three-tab for 18; past that, the granules are gone, the mat is brittle, and every repair is money towards a roof that is already finished. A $550 chimney reflash on a 28-year-old roof is $550 towards nothing. Two leaks in two years on a roof past 70 per cent of its life is the roof talking, and a repair that costs more than a third of replacing it — about $5.6 a square foot — is buying a few years at most of the price of thirty.
Under all three rules, repair, and repair without guilt: a boot at year twelve is a boot, not a symptom.
| Cause | Usual size | Hours | Fitted, 6:12 bungalow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shingles blown off or damaged | 1 bundle | 2.2 | $485 |
| Pipe boot | 1 boot | 1.8 | $382 |
| Chimney flashing | 1 chimney | 5 | $550 |
| Skylight flashing | 1 skylight | 3.5 | $500 |
| Valley | 12 fts | 5.9 | $580 |
| A leak | 1 repair | 2.5 | $445 |
| Rotten decking under an old leak | 1 sheet | 4.2 | $435 |
| Ridge cap or ridge vent | 20 fts | 3.6 | $450 |
A 12-year-old architectural roof. The minimum is inside every figure under about $350.
Before the roofer comes
On the list
- The stain, and the attic above it: follow the water uphill on the underside of the decking to where it starts.
- Binoculars round the house: every pipe boot, the ridge, the valleys, the chimney, the skylights, anything lifted or missing.
- The roof's age and what it is — the shingle wrapper in the garage, the previous owner, the permit record.
- Pitch and storeys, so the quote is for the right roof.
- Everything else that needs doing up there, for the same visit and the same minimum.
- If it is raining: a tarp now, the repair when the queue allows.
- For a chimney: is it sealant, or is it step and counter-flashing? Ask.
International Code Council, International Residential Code, Section R905.2, Asphalt shingles · checked 2026-09-16
What goes wrong
01Patching the shingles above the stain
The water came in uphill and ran down the decking. The patch fixes the wrong thing, and the stain comes back.
Instead — Find it first — $160 of hose and attic — then fix the boot, flashing or valley it turns out to be.
02Calling the roofer out for one boot
The minimum is about $350, and the boot is $32 and 1.8 hours.
Instead — Binoculars round the house first; everything on the roof on one visit.
03Sealant on the chimney flashing
It lasts a season, and the same chimney leaks every spring while the decking behind it rots.
Instead — Step flashing and counter-flashing let into the mortar: $550 once.
04Repairing a roof past its life
At 28 years the mat is brittle and the next leak is already forming. $550 on a chimney is $550 towards nothing.
Instead — Replace: about $12,320 on the roof replacement page.
05A third repair on an old roof
Each is a minimum and a visit, and together they are a good part of a new roof that would have stopped all three.
Instead — Two leaks in two years on a roof past 70 per cent of its life: stop repairing.
06Waiting a week for the repair in the rain
Water into the decking every day the tarp is not there, and decking is the dear repair.
Instead — An emergency tarp, $280, the day the leak shows.
07New shingles where they show
Fresh shingles on a weathered roof are a different colour for two years.
Instead — A shingle from behind the chimney moved to the visible spot, and the new one hidden.
08Repairing a steep roof yourself
Above 8:12 a roofer uses a harness and roof jacks; a homeowner uses luck.
Instead — A boot on a walkable bungalow, yes. A valley on a 10:12 two-storey, no.
- 01Look uphill from the stainIn the attic, follow the water stain on the underside of the decking up the slope to where it starts. That is the leak, and it is usually a penetration, not a shingle.
- 02Name the causeA boot, a chimney, a valley, a skylight, blown-off shingles, soft decking. Each has a price; a leak nobody has found has a finding fee first.
- 03Describe the roofPitch, storeys, area, age and shingle type. Steep and high add to every hour; age decides whether to repair at all.
- 04Check the minimumAbout $350. If the work is less, list everything else on the roof for the same visit.
- 05Apply the replace rulePast its rated life, a second leak in two years on an old roof, or a repair over a third of replacement: replace.
- 06Tarp it if it is rainingA separate visit, and worth it — a week of water into the decking costs more than the tarp.
The roof replacement page prices the new roof by the square — tear-off, underlayment, shingles, ridge and flashing — and it is the number every repair on an old roof is measured against.
If the answer is replace- Pipe boot
- The rubber collar round a plumbing vent pipe where it comes through the roof. It splits in the sun after ten or fifteen years — the commonest leak there is.
- Step flashing
- Small L-shaped pieces woven into the shingle courses where a roof meets a wall or chimney, one per course.
- Counter-flashing
- The metal let into the mortar joints of a chimney and folded down over the step flashing. Sealant instead of it is a season's fix.
- Cricket
- A small peaked diverter behind a wide chimney that sends water round it instead of letting it pool against the brick.
- Valley
- Where two roof slopes meet in a trough. It carries the most water on the roof and wears first.
- Ridge cap
- The shingles folded over the peak. They take wind from both sides and go first.
- Decking
- The plywood or board under the shingles. A leak that ran for years soaks it until it will not hold a nail.
- Seal strip
- The adhesive line on a shingle that bonds it to the one above. Broken to lift a shingle for repair, and the reason a repaired patch needs warm weather to reseal.
- Service minimum
- What a roofer charges to come out, about $350. On a small repair it is most of the bill.
- Diagnosis
- Finding where the water gets in — a hose on the roof, somebody in the attic — before fixing it. Its own line, and often half the bill.
- Emergency tarp
- A tarp over the damage nailed through battens, to stop the water until the repair. A separate visit.
- Rated life
- 27 years for architectural shingles, 18 for three-tab. Past it, a roof is postponed, not repaired.
Common questions
- How much does roof repair cost?
- By cause: a cracked pipe boot about $382, two bundles of blown-off shingles $620, a ridge cap $450, chimney flashing $550, skylight flashing $500, a 12 ft valley $580, two sheets of rotten decking $669. They cluster because a roofer's minimum is about $350 and most small repairs are less work than that. A leak that has not been found yet is $445 with the finding, and the fix on top.
- How much does it cost to fix a roof leak?
- About $445 to find it and patch the usual cause — $160 of tracing with a hose and an attic light, then the fix, which is usually a boot, a flashing or a few shingles. The leak is almost never where the stain is: water gets in uphill and runs down the decking to wherever it drips. If the finding turns up a chimney or a valley, that repair is priced on top of the finding.
- Why is a small roof repair so expensive?
- The minimum. A roofer's service minimum is about $350, and a pipe boot is $32 of rubber and 1.8 hours — so the boot is $382, of which $210 is the climb. The way round it is the list: every boot, every lifted cap, every loose gutter bracket on the same visit, for the hours alone.
- How much does chimney flashing cost?
- About $550 on a walkable single-storey roof — step flashing up the sides, counter-flashing let into the mortar, a cricket behind a wide chimney — and $743 on a steep second-storey roof, where every hour costs more. A bead of sealant on the old flashing is a season's fix and the reason the same chimney leaks every spring; ask which is being quoted.
- Should I repair or replace my roof?
- Three rules. Past its rated life — 27 years for architectural shingles, 18 for three-tab — a roof is postponed, not repaired: a $550 chimney reflash on a 28-year-old roof is $550 towards nothing. Two leaks in two years on a roof past 70 per cent of its life is the roof talking. And a repair over a third of the replacement price — about $5.6 a square foot — is buying a few years at most of the price of thirty. Under all three, repair.
- How much does it cost to replace missing shingles?
- About $620 for two bundles — 66 sq ft — fitted: the seal strips broken, the nails above lifted, new shingles slid under the course above. The bundle is $135; the rest is the roofer and the minimum. The new shingles will not match a weathered roof for a couple of years, so a hidden shingle moved to the visible spot is the trick.
- What does a steep or two-storey roof add?
- Above 8:12 nobody walks the roof: harness, roof jacks, and every hour is 18 to 45 per cent more. A second storey is 15 per cent on the hours for longer ladders and a longer way down. The same chimney flashing is $550 on a 6:12 bungalow and $743 on a 10:12 two-storey.
- How much is an emergency roof tarp?
- About $280, as a separate visit before the repair — a tarp nailed through battens over the damage. Three bundles of storm-damaged shingles with a tarp first is $1,035. It is worth it: a week of rain into the decking costs more than the tarp, and in storm season the repair queue is weeks long.
- Does insurance cover roof repair?
- Storm damage — wind, hail, a fallen branch — usually yes, less the deductible, which on many policies is now a percentage of the house's value rather than a fixed sum; wear, age and a leak that has been going for years, no. A repair under the deductible is paid out of pocket, and a claim for one raises the premium. Get the repair priced first, then decide.
- Can I repair my roof myself?
- A pipe boot or a few shingles on a walkable single-storey roof, yes: $32 for a boot, about $270 for two bundles. Break the seal strips with a flat bar, lift the nails above, slide the new piece up under the course above, nail it, reseal. Flashing, valleys, decking and anything steep or high are a roofer's — the fall is the cost nobody prices.
- What is the most common roof leak?
- The pipe boot: the rubber collar round a plumbing vent, which splits in the sun after ten or fifteen years and drips into the bathroom ceiling below. Then chimney flashing that was sealed rather than counter-flashed, valleys, and skylights. Blown-off shingles in the field are the obvious one and, oddly, the rarest cause of a leak on a roof under twenty.
- How long does a roof repair take?
- A boot or a few shingles about 1.8 to 3.2 hours; chimney flashing 5; a valley 5.9; two sheets of decking 6.4. One roofer, one visit, and the same day if the weather holds — the seal strips need warm sun to rebond, so a repair in January is held on with sealant until spring.
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About the author
Pablo Ruiz Quintero — Editor
Editor of MaterialsEstimator. Decides which documents count as a source, what every default value is, and where the line sits between what the reader parses and what the engines compute.
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