Hello, Central Florida. Sarge here. Pull up a chair.
A homeowner in Belleview called me not long ago, mad as a wet hornet. He'd gotten a roof quote a couple years back and filed it in a drawer. Called me for a fresh one. Mine came in thousands higher — and he wanted to know what kind of game I was running.
Fair question. Here's the answer I gave him.
That shingle over your head rides on oil — asphalt, fiberglass, granules. The nails holding it down? Steel. The drip edge, the flashing, the vents? Aluminum and steel. Over the past year, new tariffs — import taxes — landed on steel, aluminum, and a long list of building materials. Industry trackers are reporting 15 to 25 percent increases on tariff-hit roofing components. The supply houses got the price-increase letters first. Then your roofer got them. I've opened several of those letters in twelve months, and I didn't enjoy a single one.
Now here's the part nobody says out loud. When a tariff gets refunded, or a big company wins itself an exemption — that money flows back to the importer. Not to the supply house. Not to your roofer. And certainly not to you, the homeowner who paid the final bill. The cost rolls downhill... and the refund rolls up. You and me? We live at the bottom of that hill.
I can't fix Washington, and neither can you. So here's what I do instead.
One: I quote line by line — materials, labor, permit, disposal — so you see where every dollar goes. No mystery numbers, no “market adjustment” fees.
Two: I tell you when to move and when to wait. If your roof has honest life left in it, I'll certify it and send you home with your money still in your pocket. If it's on the edge and prices are stepping up again, I'll tell you that too — with photos, not pressure.
Three: On storm work, I charge for exactly what's documented — photos, code, line items. Nothing more, nothing less. That's why my files hold up.
The big companies have lobbyists to get their money back. You've got something better: a contractor who shows you the receipts.
And now you know... the rest of the story.