I had an off-the-cuff bid for a very small gaf-elk camelot project - - just for a peaked roof on a garage. The job would require plywood to be put down. The off-the-cuff quote was in the ball-park of $10K. That seems outrageously high to me. Any opinions? He said that the 2 car garage roof would require 20 squares of roofing material. The roof has a good pitch to it, but is that anywhere near being correct? I looked it up - 20 squares of roofing means 2000 square feet of roof. Man! I don't think my garage roof could possibly have 2000 square feet of coverage. What do you think?

For years the standard in Architectural Roof Shingles was an asphalt based mat shingle that weighed in at about 300# per square. The fiberglass mat shingles which are prevalent today are going to be lighter due to the fiberglass as oppose to the asphalt mat. The Camelot II will be slightly thinner but should be no real difference in appearance the differnce being in the length of warranty due to the weight. The Camelot II was the standard for many years as their base Architect Shingle product with a 30 yr warranty. I think you would be fine with the Camelot II and they do have a 130 mph wind rating. I would be more concerned that they are installed by a competent roofer!

I may seem harsh, but hopefully you take away some knowledge from this response. You should run from this contractor! I wrote more in my previous responses, then they listed in the details. With them being certified, they should know details are everything. There's much I see in their proposal I do not like at all. It protects them, not all parties involved. I'll list some, and in no particular order according to your proposal. Their payment schedule is a joke. It should read something like, 35% down at the end of the first working day and all materials are on site. With a copy of lien release given to the customer from suppliers ( no exceptions). The balance to be paid upon satisfactory completion. They state in "12", about a thorough clean up when job is done. This is outright ludicrous. A provision should be included in the contract about tear off, clean up, and securing the site everyday. Do not assume they will secure the site everyday against inclement weather. The clean up process should be continual during the day, with the debris walked across the roof and deposited in dumpster/dump truck. Your roof pitch is only around 4/12, so there shouldn't be debris on the ground during the day. Tarps burn grass in minutes in the hot sun, same with shingles. They should not be shoving the stuff off the roof. They should run a magnet (I still have a commercial type) everyday in the yard where debris had a chance going. The last thing you want you or your loved ones, or a pet stepping on nails. During tear-off, all existing roof covering fasteners should be pulled. Not hammered in. All sheathing should be refastened with proper fasteners. The sheathing comes loose when tearing off. All too often I see people just banging the fasteners back in. Look, the fasteners are not going any deeper, so it's useless to just have them sitting in the holes not holding the sheathing down. The decking should be broom swept, and air blown off before any ice guard, felt or new material is installed. You don't want bits and pieces telegraphing the new install. On #8, galvanized valley flashing. They must want to have open valleys on the front dormer. Galvanized valley flashing went out here in the 70's! No joke, You don't want rust spots in the valleys, or the discoloration. They sell preformed "W" valleys of aluminum in different colors, and copper if you want to throw money at it. Anyone using a metal valley should get it with the "W". I won't go into why. I always preferred a closed valley with cut back, or a closed woven valley. If a cut back is used, the installer must know which area of sheathing gets covered first. And there is more to know than just that. There is no mention of fastener size (length). All too often I was on jobs roofers wouldn't return to. Only to find they used 1" nails. Why? Because when you buy them, you get more per coil case or more per pound if hand nailing. Speaking of nail lengths, on their #10 for ridge vent. They need to use longer nails for cap over shingle vent. I would always use 2". I seen caps blow off because someone tried to cheap out and use the same 1-1/4" or 1-1/2" for the cap over vent. This is one of those tail light guarantees when not using proper length fasteners. Also it should be listed how far back they're cutting the sheathing for ridge vent. Too far and you got issues, some don't even cut it back and slap the ridge up there. It renders the vent useless. They should also list a saw depth. You don't want them cutting into the trusses. I say this because I've seen more than enough of botched work. Their #3. Drip on rakes only? Another short cut. There's absolutely no reason for this. The eaves should have drip also. The size of the face of the drip should be listed. You can get cheap drip edge with a 1" face, or get a nice looking 1-7/8 or there about. Never just on rake only. Also, it should be listed how far over the drip the shingle material hangs. Never should it be even with the drip, and never to the point of drooping over the drip. A 3/4" overhang is usually about right. However, this has to be determined in the field. Their #9. They write 6 nails per shingle. I could look up the requirement for this shingle, but I'm not. Generally there is 4, then when the shingle above it is placed, there will be 4 into the top of the previous shingle. So it gives you 8 per shingle. However, I have seen where people only place 3, so the total would be 6. This is incorrect according to manufacturers instructions. There are provisions for high wind applications, and roof styles such as Gambrel. You do place more fasteners, but the total fasteners holding the shingle will double since the next row also fastens the previous. I seen in your other thread, it appears to be an addition on the end of the structure. They did not address how they will step flash and possibly counter flash this area. Caulking/roof cement is unacceptable. It should be metal flashing, and not galvanized. I haven't looked everything they proposed, but I'm sure I wrote more than enough for you to run from this outfit.

Triple layer would be a thicker, heavier shingle and carry a higher cost as well as typically a longer warranty. At the end of the day all the major players quality wise are the same. Different roofers prefer one brand over another for their own reasons, maybe they like working with one shingle over another for perceived benefits, maybe they like a supplier better or they buy at a better price point. Both Certainteed and GAF are definitely considered major players and I would not be afraid to use either one.