How Much Does a Roof Replacement Cost in Seattle? (2026)

A roof is the one project where the cheapest bid is the most expensive decision a homeowner makes. Around Seattle, where a roof sees eight wet months a year, the price of a new one is mostly the price of the details nobody sees once the shingles are on.

Expect $14,000 to $28,000 for an architectural asphalt roof on a typical single-family house in 2026, installed, and $30,000 to $60,000 for standing-seam metal. Here is what moves a house inside those ranges, and what to look for on any bid.

The numbers by material

Roofers price by the square, which is 100 square feet of roof surface. A 1,800 square foot rambler usually has 22 to 26 squares of roof once pitch and overhangs are counted; a two-story house with a cut-up roof line can have more roof per floor than you expect. Typical installed ranges we see across Snohomish and King County:

• Architectural asphalt shingles: $550 to $900 per square. The default for most houses, and the right one for most budgets.
• Standing-seam metal: $1,300 to $2,200 per square. Longer life, better on low slopes, sheds moss and needles.
• Cedar shake: $1,200 to $1,900 per square, and more maintenance than either of the above in this climate.
• Low-slope membrane (TPO or torch-down): $800 to $1,500 per square for the flat sections over additions, porches and mid-century roofs.

Those figures include tear-off of one layer, synthetic underlayment, ice-and-water shield at eaves and valleys, new flashing, ridge venting and disposal. If a bid is well below them, something on that list is missing. Our guide to roofing materials for Western Washington goes deeper on how each one behaves in the rain.

What pushes a roof to the top of the range

Layers. Removing two or three old layers instead of one adds labor and disposal, typically $100 to $200 per square. Adding a new layer over an old one to save that money is legal in some places and a false economy everywhere: it traps the problems underneath and shortens the new roof.

Sheathing. Once the old roof is off, the plywood or skip-sheathing tells the truth. Replacing rotten sheets runs $90 to $150 per sheet installed. A good bid states a per-sheet price up front instead of leaving it as a surprise on day two.

Pitch and complexity. Steep roofs need staging and slow the crew down. Every valley, dormer, skylight and chimney is a flashing detail, and flashing is where roofs leak. Ten penetrations cost more than two, and they should.

Ventilation. Many Everett and Lynnwood houses from the 1960s through the 1980s were built with too little attic ventilation. Adding intake at the soffits and a continuous ridge vent is cheap during a re-roof and expensive afterward, and it is what keeps the new shingles from cooking from below.

Gutters and fascia. If the fascia behind the gutters is soft, now is the time. Pairing the roof with new gutters is usually cheaper than doing them a year apart; see how gutters quietly damage roofs and siding.

Repair, or replace?

A single lifted shingle or a failed pipe boot is a repair, and a roof under fifteen years old with one leak almost always deserves one. Our roof leak repair guide covers what those cost. Granule loss across the whole slope, curling tabs, moss that has lifted the shingles, or a roof past twenty years with a second leak is a replacement waiting to happen, and this checklist for deciding whether your roof needs replacing walks through the signs from the ground.

After a windstorm, read your policy before you call anyone: storm damage is often covered where wear is not, and the paperwork matters. We wrote up how storm damage claims work for roofs and siding in Washington.

Permits, warranties and the bid itself

Seattle, Bellevue, Everett and the two counties treat re-roofs differently, and the rules shift when sheathing is replaced or ventilation changes. We check the current requirement for your address and pull the permit as part of the job. Two warranties matter: the manufacturer’s on the material, which is only valid when the system is installed to spec, and the roofer’s on the workmanship. Ask how long each one is, and who you call in year six.

A good roofing bid reads like a parts list. It names the shingle line, the underlayment, the ice-and-water coverage, the flashing metal, the ventilation plan, the per-sheet price for sheathing, the number of layers coming off, and who owns cleanup and magnet sweeps. If it is one number on one line, keep shopping.

Why homeowners hand this to a general contractor

A roof rarely fails alone. The same water that got past the shingles is in the fascia, the top course of siding and sometimes the framing. Because ENF does roofing, siding and gutters with one crew under one contract, the repairs that show up at tear-off get fixed the same week instead of becoming a second project. We re-roof across Seattle, Everett, Bellevue and the rest of Snohomish and King County, and every estimate is a written, itemized number after a walk on the roof, not a guess from the driveway.

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