Ed,
I appreciate your bottom-line no-nonsense input and would like more of it.
Bottom line is that I'm having a bear of a time finding a roofer to do my job.
1st guy was referred by a friend who does historic quality renovations and swears by the roofer. But the roofer had personal/marital problems and didn't keep two appointments to meet with me. It was clear he was overwhelmed so I let it go.
2nd guy did a great job with the house directly across the street. He uses foreign (eastern European) workers and gave a clear written estimate for 30 year dimensional shingles. Problem was he didn't follow up when the insurance co. asked for an estimate for the three-tabs that needed to be replaced.
3rd guy was referred by the private insurance adjuster who has used him for years for all types of work, including high-end businesses and homes. Great guy who called every week when there was rain and assured me that when the weather broke for three days we'd have our roof. I told him he couldn't control the weather and we'd be patient. Turns out that his roofing supervisor was out of commission and he strung us along for quite several month even when we had good weather. He appeared sincerely apologetic and when he returned our money with three months interest, he gave us about $550 too much "for your aggravation." I immediately sent him a check for the $550 and politely told him my aggravation ended when we cut our ties with him.
4th guy was doing an extensive renovation for a cabinet maker's workshop that I pass twice a day. All local workers and the cabinet maker told me he's been using him for years. The guy tells me he's busy and it'll take about two weeks to get to the job. Fine, just LMK. It takes two weeks to get an estimate (good price but few details) and I tell him we're ready to go. It's now two weeks later and he hasn't arranged to come by for us to pick out the shingles we want. I hate chasing after contractors but I left a second message today telling him we're ready.
5th guy, (while we're waiting for #4) hand nails, no gun. He's an old-timer who really knows his stuff and his estimate is 50% higher than the others. Won't do it until the fall when the weather is cooler. I wish I had the money to afford him and I can't wait until fall.
6th guy lives around the corner (I don't know him, never met him) and is a salesman for a large roofing/siding company. I saw a roofing job being done on his next door neighbor. Foreign workers who have all the automatic tools to get the bundles of shingles onto the roof and get the job done quickly. His price is about $300/square for Elk 30 year Prestige. I have 25 square and two layers of shingles that have to be taken off.
I know I'm giving a lot of (probably needless) information, but I'm wondering if I'm doing something wrong. Also does it matter if workers are foreign or local? What should I expect for a ball-park cost per square for a two layer removal and 30 year Elk dimensional with necessary ice/water shield, 15 lb. felt and clean up and haul away?