Union Roofers are very, very, very, very expensive.

A normal resheet here in Ohio is $45 per 4X8 sheet of 1/2" four ply CDX. A union roofing company will charge about $195 per sheet. Same plywood but different hourly rates. Don't forget, they have to pay the union hall!

Michael

You should have included a stated amount for repairs to the roof deck in the contract.
It is usually given as a per square foot charge and also as a per sheet charge if the damage is larger than X square feet.
If the rot was extensive it should have been visible from the attic.

...You should have included a stated amount for repairs to the roof deck in the contract.

Yes, I should have and it never even dawned on me to do this. We had just completed a home inspection before purchasing this rowhouse. The inspector noted that the roof and shingles were not in good shape. He inspected the roof from the inside through the crawl space attic and found no damage to the plywood as far as he could see. This did not include the corners since they were inaccesible to him.

Thank you for the detailed pricing breakdown also. It is helpful.

Marion

You live in a high-tax, highly-regulated state. Make those lazy gov't employees do something for their pension. If no go there, consider legal action. You might also have recourse against the home inspector and/or his bonding agency.

A 400% increase due to plywood replacement? OUTRAGEOUS! Obviously they took advantage of your absentee status.

Pick up the phone, make them sorry they hosed you. Good luck. Keep us posted.

PS: I'm in FL... what is a "white rubber" roof?

I doubt there is much you can do now since you approved the go ahead. I agree with the others, all the roofing contracts I've had included a cost per sheet (~$50) for plywood replacement, if needed. Although, I never dealt with a flat roof or even heard of residental union roofers. Always get three qoutes and ask about possible extra costs.

I am laughing at the irony of the entire saga:
You would think that the name UNION ROOFING would have tipped me off to the fact. In all honesty, I think that everyone deserves to make a fair wage to support their family, so I have nothing against unions in grand scheme of things.
I did give the go ahead so I am really pretty sure that I don't have a leg to stand on legally. But I do intend to let as many people that will listen learn from my stupid mistake of not discussing the worst case scenrio ahead of time. That mistake ate my entire budget for fixing up the house.
I had to cancel any upcoming estimates for continued work on the house. Work will resume if and when I can rebalance the funds. So if the union thinks they are doing a great thing for their members, they just put 5 more family-owned companies out of a job with their unreasonable and outrageous pricing.
Here is a website that explains the benefits of using a white rubber roof as compared to an asphalt roof.
Marion

Here is a link that might be useful: White Rubber Roofing/Cool Roofs

Most likely made from EPDM membrane with titanium dioxide as the pigment/filler instead of carbon (or iron oxide).

The job price doesn't seem out of line at all depending on what needed to be done.

$3600 for a rip-off and roof replacement of 1100 sf of rubber is cheap by comparison with other places in Pennsylvania even when non-union labor is being used.

Without knowing just what was involved with the additional work for $11,400, it's not possible to say whether or not this sheathing or other repairs was expensive or cheap.

Did it involve having to replace damaged rafters as well?
Insulation? Compensate for roof scuppers? Other odd-to-your house construction requirements?

State Code requires the roof sheathing to be expensive fire-rated plywood for townhomes/rowhomes. Philadephia City/County codes may have further restrictions on roof construction.

The renovations may also have included needed flashings up and over parapet walls.

If the structure is over 3 stories high, it needs to comply with commercial, not residential codes and other requirements.

Apart from the union company issue (BTW, there are no private independent roofing companies in Philly and Southern New Jersey...The roofing industry is an extended, well, 'family' business in these parts....), what was actually quoted may reflect actual and true prices depending on what was done.

Hi manhattan42!
Thanks so much for all the information and another perspective to consider.
The rowhouse is a 2 story end unit. The roof being removed was a very old black roof (excessive deterioration) that had been silver coated. The shingles were also in bad shape.
No rafters or insulation was replaced but I do not know yet about the details (roof scuppers or odd-to-house construction requirements)until I receive the detailed written work from the roofer.
As I said, this company has been in business for 30 years. Everyone I spoke with was professional and courteous. I do not doubt that there actually was damage that needed to be taken care of or that they actually did the repair work. The weather forecast for Philadelphia that particular day called for torential downpours and an additional crew (total 12) was called in.
My personal sad experience is that I did not think ahead to ask for an estimate for the worse case scenerio. It was a very costly mistake.
I really do appreciate the additional information about there being no private independent roofing companies in Philadelphia since they seemed to pop out of the woodwork after the fact with statements of "it should never have cost you more than $8,000" and on and on.
The roofing company did insist that they treated me fairly and were in line with any other union roofing company in the city of Philadelphia.
Thanks for taking the time to shed more light on the situation.
Marion

What type shingles were on the roof? The typical asphalt shingles used on homes are not allowed on flat roofs. Actually, I believe they are not typically allowed for flatter than 4/12 pitches.

If the above is applicable, you might have some course of action back to the previous owner, the shingle roof installer.

They were asphalt shingles and they were even replaced with new asphalt shingles. They are not actually on the roof but serve more as a decorative front to break up the brick wall at the roofline at the edge. Thank you, I will look into this.
Marion

Well, if they are not on the roof & only served as a decorative front, then what I said above is not applicable to this situation.

It would be interesting to see an itemized statement of what material was used and the labor involved. The way I calculate it, thirty five sheets of plywood are necessary. Add ten percent and that is say, well lets do forty, just in case they made a mis-cut or two. At the cost of say $30 per sheet = $1200.

I don't know if this is a good deal or not but I would like to know what the remaining $13,800 was for as most of it is was probably labor tearing off the old and repalcing with new. An itemized statement should explain all this.

Lets see, twenty guys working eight hours @ $86.25 per hour = $13,800. Yep that sounds about right don't it??
This is very interesting. Let us know.

Here's my itemized receipt for the work on the main flat roof for an end unit rowhouse in Philadelphia PA with Union Roofing Contractors:
(15 year guarantee)
1. Tear off flat root and haul away.
2. Install approximately 200 sq. ft. plywood through roof.
3. Install, recover, & bound to artine (?I have no clue what this is) main in asphalt- 15 pound asphalt saturated felt to entire roof deck.
4. Mineral surface rubber with fiberglass base in asphalt.
5. Cement and seal flashings.
6. New drain box and alum cappings.
(25 year guarantee)
1. Apply new black 3 tab GAF Seal O Matic shingles complete with closed valleys and flashings. Power nailed at a rate of 8 roofers per shingle.
2. Install new HGF C 31/2 trim to all edges of the roof.

11 person crew working from 7am to 2pm.

And there we have the total $15,000 itemized receipt.
Thank so much for all the helpful responses to my lesson learned.

The moral of my story is: ALWAYS INQUIRE AND INCLUDE THE WORST CASE SCENERIO IN THE CONTRACT! :)

Marion

That 15 year guarantee sounds interesting. Is that in writing? Does it really cover leaks etc.. Does that include labor & material for the entire 15 years?

Don't know of any roofer that will gurantee their work more than a year and most of the time you can't find them the next week!! Some shingles carry warranty against material defects, but you have to jump through all the hoops to prove it.

They actually had several more hours than I calculated and I did not include all the material costs. I am guessing you paid a fair price per square on a competitive basis considering you had union labor. I know it sounds like a lot, but consider if you were doing it yourself, this would be pretty cheap about half way through the project.

This particular roofing company did offer the guarantee in writing and they have been in business for 30 years. Their work was excellent and I do appreciate how labor intensive this occupation is. I will always remember to inquire to the worst case scenerio in the future.
Thanks for the positive perspectives!
Marion