08/20/2026
One of the biggest investments you’ll make in your home is your roof. We get asked all the time: Why is roofing so expensive?
Here’s one of the costs most homeowners never see.
We recently completed our annual Workers’ Compensation audit. We decided to share part of it because it gives a pretty interesting look behind the curtain at what it actually costs to perform this type of work.
Take a look at the rates:
Sheet Metal Work — $7.32 per $100 of payroll
Roofing — $20.87 per $100 of payroll
Carpentry — $13.39 per $100 of payroll
That means if we have $3,000 in employee labor invested in your roof replacement, the Workers’ Compensation premium associated with that payroll alone is approximately $626.
That’s before we’ve purchased a single shingle.
Before underlayment. Before dump fees. Before trucks, fuel, tools, equipment, supervision, office staff, taxes, or profit.
And Workers’ Compensation isn’t an expense we want to avoid.
The men and women working on your home are climbing ladders and working 20, 30, and sometimes 40+ feet off the ground. When someone gets hurt in our industry, we’re often not talking about a splinter or a cut. The potential injuries can be serious and sometimes catastrophic.
Workers’ Compensation helps protect the people working on your home by providing medical and wage benefits if they’re injured on the job.
Could someone quote your project cheaper by cutting corners on insurance, payroll, safety, or proper employment practices? Absolutely.
But when you hire a legitimate contractor, you’re paying for a lot more than shingles, siding, gutters, lumber, and nails.
You’re paying for the infrastructure necessary to put skilled people on your property, do the work correctly, and make sure those people are protected while they’re doing it.
That $20.87 per $100 of roofing payroll is just one small glimpse behind the curtain at what goes into the price of a professionally installed roof.
