Skip to content

Material comparisons

9 matrices. Each one names a pick and says why, then shows the rows the pick was made on — installed cost, service life, dead load, warranty and repairability.

Every price row reads from the same national cost tables as the calculators and the guides, so a figure on a matrix never disagrees with the page it links to. Use a comparison when you are choosing between two things; use the matching calculator once you have chosen, to price it on your own roof.

Takeoff & estimating

1 comparison

Hip vs gable

Hip vs gable roof

Same squares, different takeoff: waste, ridge cap, eaves vs rakes, wind and venting on one 40 × 30 footprint.

Roofing materials

6 comparisons

OSB vs plywood

OSB vs plywood roof sheathing

Span ratings, thickness by rafter spacing, H-clips, edge swell and what shingle warranties ask of the deck.

Low-slope membrane

TPO vs EPDM roofing

Low-slope membranes compared on seams, code standards, service life and installed cost.

Repair, leaks & storm damage

1 comparison

Attic exhaust vent

Ridge vent vs box vent

Ridge, box and turbine exhaust vents compared on published net free area, vent counts, short hip ridges and the no-mixing rule.

Bids, contracts & the job

1 comparison

Overlay vs tear-off

Roof overlay vs tear-off

New shingles over old or strip to the deck: the code layer limit, the cost now and later, and the warranty catch.