Reading a Roofing Quote | Cover Lyndhurst Roofing

What the state puts in writing

The state's contract rule for home improvements wants a written agreement for work above $500, signed by every party, with changes to its terms handled the same way. The agreement names the seller's legal name and business address, describes the work and its main products and materials, and states the total price.

The Cornell Law School copy of the regulation lists the rest, which the table below turns into questions.

The quote, line by line, with no prices

Line on the quote	What the state's rule says it holds	Question to put to the roofer
Seller	The seller's legal name and business address	Whose name is on the contract?
Work and materials	The work, and its main products and materials, with make, model and size where they apply	Which underlayment, nails and flashing?
Total price	The total, including finance charges; an hourly labor rate if the job is time and materials	Is that the whole job?
Payments	The state's 2012 release calls a third at the start, a third at the midpoint and a third at the finish customary	What falls due at each stage?
Dates	The dates, or the time period, for the start and the finish	What moves them?
Changes	Any change to the terms in writing	How are extras agreed?
Written coverage	Any promise the seller makes about the finished work, in writing	What does it cover, on paper?
Hauling	Not a named item; Secaucus bulk pickup excludes contractor materials	Who orders the dumpster?

The work and the materials

The rule wants the work described, along with its main products and materials, including make, model and size where they apply. For a roof, FEMA's shingle fact sheet supplies a vocabulary: underlayment, roofing nails rather than staples, six nails in each shingle near the eaves, and careful flashing at roof-to-wall joints.

A quote that says only "new roof" gives a homeowner nothing to compare.

The price and when it is paid

The rule asks for the total price, finance charges included, and for an hourly labor rate when the job is billed as time and materials. On payment, a 2012 state news release described staged payments as customary instead of paying for the whole project in advance, and suggested roughly a third at the start, a third at the midpoint and a third at the finish.

After Sandy, the asphalt roofing trade group added its own caution: be wary of anyone who asks for money before the work starts. The cost factors page lists what moves a price.

Dates, changes and the finish

Start and completion dates, or a time period, belong in the contract, with any change to them put in writing. The rule also keeps a seller from pressing a buyer to sign a certificate of completion, or make final payment, before the work is completed under the contract.

Seller and buyer can agree on what happens when weather moves a start date, and putting that in writing is easier than recalling it later.

Hauling and cleanup

A roof replacement produces a pile of old shingles. Secaucus's public works page says bulk pickup takes small home-improvement debris but not contractor materials, and the Construction Department lists a separate dumpster permit form.

The quote can say who orders and pays for the dumpster and who sweeps the yard for nails. A line for it, even a short one, saves an argument.

Cancelling a signed sale

The Federal Trade Commission's Cooling-Off Rule lets a buyer cancel some sales signed at home within three business days, counting Saturdays but not Sundays. Sales made to meet an emergency are outside it, and so are sales where the buyer invited the seller over for repair or maintenance work.

A homeowner who phoned a roofer first may fall outside it for that reason. When the rule does apply, the seller owes the buyer notice of the right to cancel.

Does your quote answer all of these?

Hold the quote up to the table: seller, work, price, payments, dates, changes, hauling and any written promise about the finished work. Any blank line is a question to put to the roofer in writing before signing.

The hiring checklist adds the registration lookup and the town offices, and roof replacement describes what a full job covers. Call (551) 209-3947, quote in hand, and read it out line by line.

From

Checked 1 Nov 2026