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What is the True Cost of a Contractor’s Hourly Rate?

By Schena Roofing August 22, 2016

We are often asked the hourly rate of a roofing repairman. To accurately evaluate cost, the following points should be considered before choosing a repairman based on hourly rate:


  • How many service personnel are being sent out? Is it one person at $90 per hour or two servicemen at $70/hr? Some companies routinely send out two people for service. The $70/hour rate just became $140/hr.
  • What is the experience and skill level of the company? If a service person doesn’t have broad knowledge of different products and manufacturers, it could take them several hours to diagnosis and fix a problem. You may spend less on the hourly rate, but spend more hours to fix the problem.
  • Most service companies add a fuel or truck charge to all service calls. When gas was $1.50/gallon this was absorbed as overhead. Today, fuel charges originate all way from the material manufacturer and get passed down. Know all “hidden” costs upfront.
  • Some contractors have a “Tool” charge for each service call.This flat fee is in addition to the hourly rate. Ask for any additional fees per service call.
  • Make sure you choose a contractor that is OSHA compliant and very safety conscious. OSHA gets stricter on safety regulations each year. If someone falls off your building or injured on your site, you could be facing a lawsuit. Ask the contractor if they have any OSHA violations. Find out their Experience Modification Rate (EMR). A rating over 1.0 is unfavorable.
  • Is your contractor certified? Many manufacturers require a contractor be certified to work with their product. If you hire a contractor that isn’t certified, you could void the manufacturer warranty. Or worse yet, have your roof fixed improperly and end up paying more to get it fixed correctly.

When you consider all the factors that can go into an hourly rate, you’ll see it’s not a simple answer. Take the time to find out how many service technicians will be sent out, what kind of experience do they have, are any extra fees involved, what safety precautions are taken and are the service people certified.