Roof reserve planner
Work out what to set aside each year so a roof's replacement is funded.
Example cost only. Use a contractor's price for your roof.
Know what the roof really has left
Published lives are averages. Our pre-loss documentation records every roof section, in photos, drone video and notes, so each roof's condition on a given date is on file.
Published averages and your own cost figure, not an assessment of your roof or a bid. General information, not financial advice.
What a roof reserve is
A roof reserve spreads a roof's replacement cost over the years it has left. This tool takes the roof's age, its area and your own cost per square foot, and uses the published useful life figures from our roof life estimator. Real roof life depends on installation, maintenance, climate and storms.
How the math works
- Replacement cost: the roof area multiplied by your cost per square foot.
- Years left: the shortest and longest published life for the material, minus the roof's age.
- Yearly reserve: the replacement cost divided by the years left, at each end of that range.
What the math leaves out
- Rising costs: the math holds today's cost flat. The building value update shows how construction costs have moved.
- Storm damage: a storm can end a roof's life early. Hail vs your roof shows how often hail has reached published damage sizes near a building.
- Interest: the math ignores what a reserve earns.
Questions
- Where does the cost per square foot come from?
- From you. Costs vary by roof, region and contractor, so the tool doesn't supply one. Use a contractor's price for your roof.
- Why does the reserve show two figures?
- Published useful lives differ by source, so the tool works out the reserve at the shortest and the longest figure for the material.
- Is this what my lender requires?
- No. Replacement reserves in a loan are set by the loan documents. This is arithmetic for your own planning.
Terms used here
Sources
The tool does arithmetic only and sends nothing anywhere.