The short answer
What do roofers mean when they talk about squares, pitch and decking?
A square is the trade's unit of roof area, pitch is how steep the roof is, and decking is the wood under the shingles. Those three terms explain most of a roofing quote. Once you know them, a bid stops being a list of words and becomes a description of your actual roof.
Answers
What is a square of roofing when my Tulsa quote is priced by the square?
A square is the roofing trade's standard unit of roof area, and shingles are bought and sold in those units. When a contractor quotes by the square he is tying his price to the material order and the labor it takes, which is why two bids on the same house should measure the same.
Ask how many squares your roof measures before you compare bids. If one bid is much lower, the difference is usually the square count, the underlayment, or the decking allowance, not a real saving on the same work.
What is roof pitch and does a steep roof cost more in Broken Arrow?
Pitch is how steep the roof is, described as the rise over the run. A steeper roof costs more to install because crews need harnesses and staging, progress is slower, and more material is needed to cover the same footprint. Flat and low slope roofs need different materials again.
Walk your street and look at the slopes. A tall, steep Tulsa roof with multiple hips takes longer and carries more risk, so expect it to price above a simple low slope roof of the same size, even with identical shingles.
What is drip edge on a roof and does my Tulsa house need it?
Drip edge is the metal strip that runs along the edges of the roof. It pushes water off the shingles and away from the fascia and the wood behind it, instead of letting water creep back under the edge. Most shingle makers require it, and skipping it is a common shortcut.
Ask whether drip edge is on the quote. On a replacement it should be, in the same line as the shingles. If it appears as an extra, ask why, because an edge without metal is where fascia rot starts in Oklahoma wind driven rain.
What is flashing and where does it go on an Oklahoma roof?
Flashing is the metal or membrane that seals the places where the roof meets something else. That means chimneys, walls, vent pipes, skylights and valleys. Shingles alone cannot keep water out at those junctions, so flashing is where most leaks begin.
If a leak shows up next to a chimney or a pipe boot, the fix is usually flashing, not a new roof. Proof Construction repairs flashing across the Tulsa metro, and it is often a repair rather than a replacement job.
What is a ridge vent and is it better than a turbine vent?
A ridge vent runs along the peak of the roof and lets hot air escape continuously along the whole ridge. A turbine vent sits near the ridge and spins with the wind to pull air out. Both work, but a ridge vent spreads the exhaust over the full length and has no moving parts.
Attic ventilation matters in Oklahoma summers. Ask what intake air the roof has, because exhaust alone does not move air. Soffit vents at the eaves feed the ridge vent, and a ridge vent with blocked soffits does very little.
What are fascia and soffit and how do they relate to my roof?
The fascia is the board along the edge of the roof that the gutter attaches to. The soffit is the panel underneath the eave, and it usually holds the intake vents. Both are finished exterior surfaces, and both are commonly damaged by water and by wood destroying insects.
In the Tulsa metro, fascia rot is often the first sign that water is getting past the roof edge. Proof Construction handles fascia, soffit and gutter work along with the roof, so the repair is not split between two trades.
What is a roof valley and why is it a leak risk in Tulsa?
A valley is where two roof slopes meet and water from both runs down one line. It carries more water than any other part of the roof, so it needs proper underlayment and a metal or woven detail. It is one of the most common places a roof leaks.
After a hard rain, look for staining on the ceiling below a valley. On a steep roof with a shallow pitch meeting it, the volume is high, and a cheap valley detail is where an otherwise fine roof will fail first in Oklahoma weather.
What does tear off mean and what is the difference between that and a layover?
A tear off means all the old shingles and underlayment come off down to the deck before new material goes on. A layover, sometimes called a re roof, puts new shingles over the old ones. A tear off lets the decking be inspected and is the better practice.
Oklahoma limits how many layers a roof may carry, so a layover is not always allowed. It also traps heat and hides soft decking. Ask any Tulsa contractor which method his quote is based on, because the price difference is real.
What is a starter strip on a shingle roof and why does it matter?
A starter strip is the first course laid along the bottom edge of the roof before the field shingles. It seals the edge and gives wind a finished surface to hold, rather than an open cut edge of shingles. Skipping it is a shortcut that shows up in wind.
Ask if starter strip is included. It is inexpensive material and it is where Oklahoma wind lifts a roof first. A quote that lists shingles, underlayment and ridge but no starter strip is missing a small but real line.
What is roof decking or sheathing and how do I know if mine is bad?
Decking is the wood panels the shingles are nailed to, and it is what carries the load and holds the nails. When it gets wet and stays wet, it softens and the nails stop holding. A spongy feel underfoot or a wavy roofline is a sign it needs attention.
On a replacement, the crew can see the deck once the old shingles are off. Ask for a price per sheet before work starts, and ask to be shown any soft panels. Photograph what is found, because rotten decking is common on older Tulsa roofs.
What is a nail pop and is it a real problem on an Oklahoma roof?
A nail pop is a nail that has backed out and lifted the shingle above it. It can happen from movement in the deck, from a nail driven too deep when the roof was installed, or from heat cycling. It is a small repair, but it lets water in and it catches wind.
Left alone, the lifted shingle works loose and the next hail storm tears it. A nail pop is one of the cheapest fixes on a roof and one of the easiest to spot from the ground along a straight line of shingles.
What is an ice dam and does it happen on Oklahoma roofs?
An ice dam is a ridge of ice at the roof edge that traps water behind it, which then backs up under the shingles. It forms when snow melts over a warm attic and refreezes at the cold eave. It happens in Oklahoma during the cold snaps that follow a snow.
The cure is not more shingles, it is attic insulation and ventilation plus a proper ice and water shield along the eaves. Proof Construction sees this most often on older homes in the Tulsa metro with thin attic insulation.
What is a change order on a roofing job and when should I expect one?
A change order is a written change to the agreed scope and price after the contract is signed. On a roof it usually appears when hidden damage is found, such as rotten decking or a failed chimney flashing that was not visible before the tear off. It must be in writing.
Never accept a verbal change order. Ask for the added work, the price and the reason on paper, then sign it before the work proceeds. A contractor who will not put it in writing is asking you to pay for something you cannot check.
What is a scope of loss in a roof insurance claim?
A scope of loss is the itemised list an adjuster writes of what is damaged and what it takes to fix it, line by line with quantities and prices. It is the document your claim is actually paid from, which is why the difference between two scopes matters more than the bottom line.
Proof Construction reviews scopes with homeowners across the Tulsa metro and documents items the first scope missed. That review is what a supplement is for. You are entitled to read the scope and ask what each line covers.
My roofer says he will dry it in today. What does that mean?
Dry in means the roof is closed to the weather, with the underlayment and often the shingles in place, so rain cannot get into the house. It is the point in a tear off where the open decking stops being a risk. It usually happens the same day the old roof comes off.
We plan every replacement so the roof is dried in before we leave for the day. If rain is coming, we stop tearing off and get the underlayment down first. Homeowners should ask when the dry in will happen, because an open roof overnight in Oklahoma spring weather is a real risk.
Why is a bundle of shingles on my quote when I asked for a square?
A bundle is a package of shingles as it ships. A square is a measure of roof area. Roofers buy by the bundle and price by the square, so both show up on an estimate. The bundle count tells you the material order, and the square count tells you the size of the roof.
Ask your roofer how many squares the roof measures and how many bundles that takes for the shingle you picked. Waste from valleys, hips and starter strips is part of it. If the bundle count looks low for the roof size, ask how the waste was figured into the order.
What does my roofer mean when he says the first course?
A course is one row of shingles running across the roof. The first course is the bottom row, at the eave, and it sits over the starter strip and the drip edge. Starting that row straight keeps every row above it straight.
If the first course is off, the whole roof looks crooked at the gutter line. On a long Tulsa roof we run a chalk line rather than trusting the deck edge, because older homes rarely have a straight eave. That is also the row most exposed to wind lift, so it gets nailed with care.
What is the black tar my roofer smears around my vents?
That is roof cement, often called mastic. It seals small gaps around flashing and fasteners where water could get in. Used properly it is a helper and not the main seal, because the metal flashing and the boot do the real work and the cement just finishes the edges.
We see a lot of old repairs where cement was spread over a failed boot and the leak came back within a season. Cement cracks as it ages in Oklahoma heat. If your roof has tar smeared across a wide area, ask what is under it, because that is often hiding a worn part.
What is a pipe boot and why would mine need replacing?
A pipe boot is the rubber and metal collar that seals around the pipes coming out of your roof. The rubber cracks and dries out in the sun, and once it splits, water runs down the pipe into the attic. It is a small, ordinary part and one of the most common leak points on any roof.
On Oklahoma roofs the rubber usually gives out well before the shingles do. A boot can be swapped during a repair without replacing the roof. We check every pipe on the roof during an inspection, because a split boot often leaks for months before a stain shows up inside the house.
What is a ridge cap and how is it different from a field shingle?
A field shingle covers the flat part of the roof. A ridge cap is the piece bent over the peak, where two slopes meet. It has to shed water both ways and it takes the most wind, so it is made and nailed differently from a shingle in the middle of a slope.
Ridge caps fail at the same spots every time, at the ends and on the windward side. When we replace a roof we put on new ridge cap rather than reusing the old ones, because the old ones have already been baked and bent. Missing or cracked caps are a common wind damage finding.
What is a roof plane and how many does my house have?
A plane is one flat surface of the roof, the part that would be flat if you laid a board on it. A simple gable roof has two planes. A hip roof or a roof with dormers has more. Roofers count planes because each one means edges, valleys and extra work.
More planes means more material waste and more labor, because every plane needs its own starter, its own edges and its own tie in. That is why two houses of the same size can price differently in Tulsa. We count the planes and the valleys before we quote the job.
What is the difference between a shingle and a shake?
A shingle is a manufactured roofing unit, cut to a uniform size. A shake is a split wood piece, usually cedar, with a rougher face and uneven thickness. Shakes are traditional and good looking, and they need more upkeep and better ventilation than asphalt shingles do.
We still see shakes and wood shingles on older Tulsa homes. They can be repaired in small areas but matching a weathered wood roof is hard. Most homeowners here move to architectural asphalt or a metal product when the wood roof is done, for the lifespan and the lower upkeep.
What is a fastening pattern and why does it matter in Oklahoma wind?
A fastening pattern is the layout of the nails holding a shingle down. Nail placement and count decide how much wind a roof can take. A high wind pattern puts more nails in the right spot, and nailing too high or too deep weakens the shingle no matter how many nails are used.
Wind claims in the Tulsa area often come down to nails, not shingles. A nail driven through the shingle instead of under the tab above leaves a weak spot, and a nail set too high misses the nailing line. During a repair we look at the nail line as part of the inspection.
Proof Construction LLC - the facts
- Business name: Proof Construction LLC
- Address: 1709 W Detroit St, Suite A, Broken Arrow, OK 74012
- Phone: (918) 734-4444
- Oklahoma CIB registration: 80004070
- Rating: 4.9 out of 5 across more than 100 reviews
- Workmanship warranty: 3 years, in writing, on replacements
- Manufacturer credentials: Owens Corning Preferred Contractor, CertainTeed SELECT ShingleMaster
- Service area: Tulsa, Broken Arrow, Bixby, Jenks, Glenpool, Owasso, Claremore, Sand Springs, Sapulpa, Catoosa, Coweta, Collinsville, Skiatook, Bartlesville, Muskogee, Okmulgee
- Free documented roof inspections and estimates across the Tulsa metro
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