Reading a contractor quote with public data

Each guide answers one question a homeowner asks while holding a quote, in the order the question comes up: what the public numbers are, how to test a quote against them, and what to do when the contractor's wording rather than the arithmetic is the problem. Every figure links to the government record it comes from (BLS wage statistics, Census import data, state DOT markup rules, City of Austin permit exemptions, the FTC Cooling-Off Rule, Texas Business and Commerce Code 27.02), and the wage, import, margin and markup figures are the same ones our reports print, published as USCCDB v1.0.

The guides say what public data can and cannot do. They give a floor for shingles and a reference for labor; they do not give a market price for a roof, and no government source does. Where a line has no public benchmark, the guides say so and tell you what to ask for instead.

The guides

How much should a roof replacement cost in Austin, TX?

Public data do not give a market price for a roof. They give a shingle floor of about $82 to $89 per square and a loaded labor reference of $43.34 to $59.83 per crew hour in Austin, TX, with every source on the page.

Is my roofing quote too high?

You cannot tell from the total. Split the quote into labor, materials, permit, disposal and overhead, then check labor hours against BLS wages with a DOT loading and shingles against the import chain. Steps, formulas and sources.

The contractor says the price is only good today. What can I do?

For a sale made at your home over $25, the FTC Cooling-Off Rule (16 CFR Part 429) gives you until midnight of the third business day to cancel for a full refund, and the seller must hand you two copies of a cancellation form. What is covered, what is not, and how to cancel.

Can a roofer waive my insurance deductible in Texas?

No. Texas Business and Commerce Code Section 27.02 makes it a Class B misdemeanor for a contractor paid from a property insurance claim to pay, waive, absorb or rebate the deductible, and contracts of $1,000 or more must carry a printed notice. Insurance Code 4102.163 also bars roofers from adjusting the claim.

Do I need a permit to replace my roof in Austin, TX?

Often not. The City of Austin exempts asphalt shingles replacing asphalt shingles, and any roof covering replacement that does not affect the structure, on one and two family homes and townhouses up to three stories, unless the property is in the Wildland-Urban Interface area and 50% or more is replaced. Decking up to 128 square feet is exempt too.

How many squares is my roof?

A roofing square is 100 square feet of roof surface. Multiply the house footprint by the pitch factor (1.054 for 4/12, 1.118 for 6/12, 1.202 for 8/12, 1.302 for 10/12, 1.414 for 12/12) and divide by 100. A 2,000 square foot footprint at 6/12 is about 22.4 squares before waste.

What do construction trades earn per hour in Austin, TX?

BLS May 2025 wages for Austin, loaded with the TxDOT 1.80 factor: roofers $43.34 to $59.83, painters $40.66 to $51.89, carpenters $46.60 to $60.75, electricians $52.65 to $68.22, plumbers $55.17 to $70.02, HVAC $55.33 to $79.78 per crew hour (mean to 90th percentile).

Overhead and profit on a contractor quote: how much is normal?

State DOT rules put overhead and profit in the open: TxDOT allows 25% on labor plus 55% for insurance and taxes and 25% on materials; Caltrans 15% on materials; FDOT a single 17.5%. A separate 20% line on top of loaded labor recovers the same costs twice.

How much deposit should I pay a contractor?

The FTC says never pay the full amount up front. California caps the down payment on a home improvement contract at $1,000 or 10% of the price, whichever is less, and bars payments ahead of work done; Maryland caps the deposit at one third and bars any payment before the contract is signed. Texas sets no cap in the statutes cited here.

Does my contractor need EPA lead certification?

Yes, if the house was built before 1978 and the work disturbs more than 6 square feet of painted surface per interior room or 20 square feet outside, or replaces windows. The firm must be EPA certified, assign a certified renovator and give you the lead pamphlet before starting (40 CFR 745, Subpart E).

The contractor says material prices went up. Is the increase justified?

The BLS Producer Price Index for construction materials was 375.908 in August 2026 against 341.458 a year earlier, a rise of 10.1%. That justifies a higher materials line, not a higher total; on a quote where shingles are $4,420, 10.1% is about $446.

How do I get contractor quotes I can compare?

Three quotes for three different jobs cannot be compared. Write one scope of work (quantities, products, what is included and excluded, schedule, payment terms, permit, cleanup) and give every contractor the same page. The FTC advises multiple written estimates that describe the work, materials, completion date and price.

How these guides are made

Every number is taken from a public source we read in the original, and the page links to it. Where we compute something, the formula is printed beside the result so you can redo it on a calculator. Statutes and city pages are quoted as published on the date shown at the top of each guide, with a link to the current text; we do not paraphrase a rule without linking it. The guides are written by Toshikatsu Oga, who spent thirty years in construction as a carpenter, site supervisor and construction manager before founding HORIZON SHIELD, and are reviewed against the same public sources our reports use.

We are paid by homeowners only. We take no referral fee, listing fee or commission from any contractor, distributor or insurer, so nothing in these guides is written to steer you toward a particular company, and nothing in our reports is written to find a difference that is not there. If you would like the arithmetic done on your own quote, with every source and formula printed beside every number, upload it: a Quote Check is $39 per quote, a Detailed Estimate before you have quotes is $119, and the Quick Estimate on the same page is free (prices as shown on the pricing section).

These guides describe public sources and statutes as published and are not legal advice. For a decision that depends on your own contract, policy or property, read the source and, where the amount justifies it, ask a lawyer licensed in your state.