# Guides URL: https://roofwiseusa.com/learn 20 plain-language roof guides from RoofWise USA, written from primary sources, each linked to a tool that runs your own numbers. Guides Every guide is written from primary sources, links to a tool that runs your own numbers, and is checked by a credentialed reviewer before it goes into search. ## Roof replacement & repair [Topic page and tools](https://roofwiseusa.com/roof-replacement) * ![Bundles of new charcoal architectural shingles stacked on exposed roof decking beside a coil of underlayment on a clear day.](https://roofwiseusa.com/images/gen/guide-roof-replacement.jpg) Start here ### Roof Replacement: How to Know What You Need and Pay a Fair Price How to tell whether your roof needs replacing, what the work involves, what moves the price, and how to choose a roofer, before anyone quotes you. 9 min read [Read the guide](https://roofwiseusa.com/roof-replacement/roof-replacement) * ![A plain unmarked document wallet and a pair of reading glasses on a kitchen table in morning light.](https://roofwiseusa.com/images/gen/guide-actual-cash-value-vs-replacement-cost.jpg) Guide ### Actual Cash Value vs Replacement Cost on a Roof Claim Actual cash value pays your roof's depreciated value; replacement cost pays without deducting depreciation. What each means on a roof, and where to check yours. 9 min read [Read the guide](https://roofwiseusa.com/roof-replacement/actual-cash-value-vs-replacement-cost) * ![A closed plain folder and a pen on a kitchen table beside a window with rain running down the glass.](https://roofwiseusa.com/images/gen/guide-does-insurance-cover-roof-replacement.jpg) Guide ### Does Insurance Cover Roof Replacement? It Depends on the Cause It turns on what damaged the roof and on your policy's settlement terms. Here is how cause, roof age and the settlement basis each change the answer. 8 min read [Read the guide](https://roofwiseusa.com/roof-replacement/does-insurance-cover-roof-replacement) * ![A low-slope membrane roof with a round roof drain at its low point and heat-welded seams running toward a parapet wall.](https://roofwiseusa.com/images/gen/guide-flat-roof-replacement-cost.jpg) Guide ### Flat Roof Replacement Cost: What Actually Drives It Flat roof replacement cost is set by slope, drainage, membrane and seams, not by square footage alone. What each one changes, with the code behind it. 11 min read [Read the guide](https://roofwiseusa.com/roof-replacement/flat-roof-replacement-cost) * ![Small white hailstones melting on dark architectural shingles and collected in a metal gutter.](https://roofwiseusa.com/images/gen/guide-hail-damage-roof.jpg) Guide ### Hail Damage Roof: What to Do in the First 48 Hours What to do in the first 48 hours after hail hits your roof: document it from the ground, find your deductible, call your insurer, sign nothing yet. 9 min read [Read the guide](https://roofwiseusa.com/roof-replacement/hail-damage-roof) * ![A weathered asphalt shingle roof with visible granule loss and curling shingle edges under flat overcast light.](https://roofwiseusa.com/images/gen/guide-how-long-does-a-shingle-roof-last.jpg) Guide ### How Long Does a Shingle Roof Last? What Actually Ends One A warranty length is not a forecast. What granule loss, sealant failure, heat and hail really do to a shingle roof, and why its age changes the money. 9 min read [Read the guide](https://roofwiseusa.com/roof-replacement/how-long-does-a-shingle-roof-last) * ![An unmarked white pickup truck with an empty ladder rack parked at a suburban curb, seen from across the street.](https://roofwiseusa.com/images/gen/guide-how-to-choose-a-roofing-contractor.jpg) Guide ### How to Choose a Roofing Contractor: The Checks That Matter What to verify before you hire a roofer: license and insurance, two or three written bids on one scope, a contract, and a payment schedule you control. 11 min read [Read the guide](https://roofwiseusa.com/roof-replacement/how-to-choose-a-roofing-contractor) * ![A smartphone lying face up on a porch step beside a plain notepad and a pencil, with a roofline beyond.](https://roofwiseusa.com/images/gen/guide-how-to-file-a-roof-insurance-claim.jpg) Guide ### How to File a Roof Insurance Claim, in the Order That Protects You Photograph the damage, read your own policy for the deadline and deductible, then call your insurer yourself. The order matters more than the speed. 12 min read [Read the guide](https://roofwiseusa.com/roof-replacement/how-to-file-a-roof-insurance-claim) * ![A matte graphite standing-seam metal roof with raking afternoon light running along the ribs.](https://roofwiseusa.com/images/gen/guide-metal-roof-cost.jpg) Guide ### Metal Roof Cost vs. Shingles: What the Extra Money Buys A metal roof costs more up front than shingles and lasts far longer. Here is what you get for the difference, and the hail clause most pages never mention. 9 min read [Read the guide](https://roofwiseusa.com/roof-replacement/metal-roof-cost) * ![Samples of four roofing materials laid side by side on a workbench: a charcoal asphalt shingle, a strip of standing-seam metal, a terracotta clay tile and a cedar shake.](https://roofwiseusa.com/images/gen/guide-new-roof-cost.jpg) Guide ### New Roof Cost by Material: Slope, Life, Hail and Wind What each roof covering asks of your structure, how long it serves, and how it behaves in hail and wind: the part of new roof cost nobody itemizes. 14 min read [Read the guide](https://roofwiseusa.com/roof-replacement/new-roof-cost) * ![A pair of binoculars and a plain notepad resting on a windowsill looking out toward a neighboring roofline.](https://roofwiseusa.com/images/gen/guide-roof-inspection-cost.jpg) Guide ### Roof Inspection Cost: What You Pay and Who Pays It Four different things get called a roof inspection. Who pays for each one, who the report serves, and what actually moves the price. 9 min read [Read the guide](https://roofwiseusa.com/roof-replacement/roof-inspection-cost) * ![A faint water stain spreading across a white ceiling beside a plain light fixture.](https://roofwiseusa.com/images/gen/guide-roof-leak-repair-cost.jpg) Guide ### Roof Leak Repair Cost: Stop the Water Before You Price It A roof leak is a mitigation problem before it is a price problem. Stop the water, document the damage, then price the fix. What actually moves the cost. 9 min read [Read the guide](https://roofwiseusa.com/roof-replacement/roof-leak-repair-cost) * ![A single lifted and creased shingle beside a row of intact shingles on a roof slope.](https://roofwiseusa.com/images/gen/guide-roof-repair-vs-replacement.jpg) Guide ### Roof Repair vs Replacement: Cost Per Remaining Year Roof repair vs replacement, settled with arithmetic: divide each quote by the years it buys, and skip the unsourced 30% rule the search results repeat. 8 min read [Read the guide](https://roofwiseusa.com/roof-replacement/roof-repair-vs-replacement) * ![A steel tape measure extended across bare plywood roof decking with a carpenter's pencil resting beside it.](https://roofwiseusa.com/images/gen/guide-roof-replacement-cost.jpg) Guide ### Roof Replacement Cost: What Actually Moves the Number What actually moves a roof replacement cost: squares rather than floor area, pitch, layers, decking, roofline complexity, access and material. 11 min read [Read the guide](https://roofwiseusa.com/roof-replacement/roof-replacement-cost) * ![An unmarked folder, a pen and a mug of coffee on a plain kitchen table in morning light.](https://roofwiseusa.com/images/gen/guide-roof-replacement-financing.jpg) Guide ### Roof Replacement Financing: Your Options, Cheapest First The federal loan and grant routes nobody ranks, how home equity and personal loans compare, and why the roofer's financing offer is rarely the cheapest money. 11 min read [Read the guide](https://roofwiseusa.com/roof-replacement/roof-replacement-financing) * ![An aluminum extension ladder leaning against a house eave beside a dark shingled roof, with a wet driveway below.](https://roofwiseusa.com/images/gen/guide-storm-damage-roof-inspection.jpg) Guide ### Storm Damage Roof Inspection: Who Looks, and What It Costs What you can check from the ground, what your insurer's adjuster does, what a paid inspection buys, and why the one offered at your door is a sales call. 10 min read [Read the guide](https://roofwiseusa.com/roof-replacement/storm-damage-roof-inspection) * ![Rows of terracotta barrel tiles lifted and stacked to one side, exposing dark underlayment over wooden battens.](https://roofwiseusa.com/images/gen/guide-tile-roof-replacement.jpg) Guide ### Tile Roof Replacement: Lift and Relay or a Whole New Roof? With tile, the tiles usually outlast the underlayment beneath them, so a tile roof replacement is often a lift and relay of your own tiles, not new tile. 8 min read [Read the guide](https://roofwiseusa.com/roof-replacement/tile-roof-replacement) * ![A close view of dark asphalt shingles showing scattered granule loss and small circular bruises with the fiberglass mat showing through.](https://roofwiseusa.com/images/gen/guide-what-does-hail-damage-look-like-on-a-roof.jpg) Guide ### What Does Hail Damage Look Like on a Roof, and What Doesn't How to spot hail damage on a roof from the ground, and how to tell it apart from blistering, ordinary granule loss, factory defects and foot traffic. 11 min read [Read the guide](https://roofwiseusa.com/roof-replacement/what-does-hail-damage-look-like-on-a-roof) * ![Hailstones of several different sizes resting on a weathered wooden deck rail.](https://roofwiseusa.com/images/gen/guide-what-size-hail-will-damage-a-roof.jpg) Guide ### What Size Hail Will Damage a Roof? What Testing Shows No single hail size damages every roof. What lab testing shows about hail size, shingle impact rating, roof age and where the stone lands. 10 min read [Read the guide](https://roofwiseusa.com/roof-replacement/what-size-hail-will-damage-a-roof) * ![A plain sealed envelope and a pair of reading glasses on a kitchen table in late afternoon light.](https://roofwiseusa.com/images/gen/guide-roof-insurance-claim-denied.jpg) Guide ### What to Do if Insurance Denied Roof Claim: Free Routes First Your insurer denied your roof claim. Start with the free routes: the written denial and your policy, a second look from the insurer, then your state department. 9 min read [Read the guide](https://roofwiseusa.com/roof-replacement/roof-insurance-claim-denied) ## Rather use your own numbers? Answer a few questions and see the options that fit you, least commitment first. [Start your Roof Check](https://roofwiseusa.com/check)[Browse the tools](https://roofwiseusa.com/tools)