2026 planning ranges
| Repair | Range | What moves it |
|---|---|---|
| Inspection, roof and attic, with photographs | Free | Any reason |
| Pipe boot or vent collar replaced, shingles relaid | $225 – $450 | Count; steep or two-story adds |
| Wind-lifted or missing shingles, one area | $300 – $750 | Area; match availability |
| Nail pops sealed and shingles reset, a slope | $250 – $500 | Count |
| Step and counterflashing at a wall | $500 – $1,100 | Length; siding or stone |
| Chimney flashing with cricket | $700 – $1,400 | Masonry grinding; cricket size |
| Valley rebuilt over ice-and-water shield | $650 – $1,600 | Length; metal or closed-cut |
| Skylight reflashed | $450 – $900 | Size; curb |
| Skylight replaced | $900 – $2,200 | Size; deck-mount or curb |
| Decking replaced | $95 – $160 per sheet | Plywood or OSB; up to 128 sq ft needs no Austin permit |
| Ridge vent or box vents replaced | $300 – $800 | Length or count |
| Emergency tarp, same night | $350 – $900 | Area; credited against the repair |
| Metal roof: fasteners, seams, boots | $400 – $1,500 | Extent |
| Flat roof: seam, flashing or split | $350 – $1,200 | Extent; height |
| Gutter section replaced | $9 – $17 per foot | Profile; hangers |
Why the cheap repairs are cheap
Boots, lifted shingles and nail pops are small, reachable and need no special materials: a new boot, a bundle of matching shingles, sealant and an hour or two on a walkable roof. The price is mostly the visit. Where two or three of them are found on the same roof, which is usual on a fifteen-year-old house, they are done together and the sheet shows them as separate lines so you can see what each one cost.
Why the expensive repairs are expensive
Flashing at masonry means grinding a reglet into the mortar joint and bending new counterflashing into it, slow work on a ladder. A valley rebuild means stripping shingles several feet either side, laying self-adhered membrane and new valley metal, and weaving or cutting the shingles back in, often with new ones because the old ones break when lifted. Skylights are leaks waiting to happen when their flashing kits were skipped; replacing the unit while the flashing is open is usually wiser than reflashing a twenty-year-old one. And rotten decking has to be cut back to the rafters and replaced before anything can go over it, which is why it is priced per sheet rather than hidden in a total.
The 128-square-foot rule
Austin's residential work-exempt list allows roof decking replacement up to 128 square feet, four full sheets, without a building permit, alongside shingle-for-shingle replacement and any roof covering that does not affect the structure. That covers nearly every repair. A repair that grows to half the roof inside a Wildland-Urban Interface zone stops being a repair under the City's code and becomes a full Class A replacement with a permit, which the WUI guide explains.
When a repair stops making sense
Three signs. The shingles crack when the roofer lifts them, which means the asphalt has aged out and every repair will break the shingles around it. Granule loss is general across the slopes rather than at one spot, so the roof is at the end regardless of the leak. Or the repair list has reached a quarter of a replacement's price on a roof past fifteen years. In each case the roofer says so and shows both figures. The replacement cost guide has the other half of that arithmetic.
Questions on this
Is the repair guaranteed?
Yes, with a workmanship warranty on the invoice. Repairs on a roof the roofer has told you is at the end of its life carry a shorter term, and you will have heard that before agreeing.
Can I get the repair price over the phone?
A range, from this page. A firm figure needs someone in the attic and on the roof, because a ceiling stain can be a $250 boot or a $1,400 chimney flashing and nobody can tell from a description.
Will my insurance pay for a repair?
For sudden storm damage, often, less the deductible, though a small repair rarely exceeds a one-percent deductible. Wear, age and neglected maintenance are not covered. The roofer tells you plainly which yours is.
Why did the last repair not hold?
Most often because it treated the symptom: sealant on the shingle above the stain while the water entered uphill at a boot or flashing. The attic trace finds the real path.
Do you charge more for a two-story house?
Steep and two-story work adds ten to twenty percent for staging and time, shown on the sheet. The materials cost the same.
Read next: Roof repair · Leak repair · Do you need a permit? · Roof replacement cost