Compare Who Signs Off Your Shingle Order Before It Ships

A roof quote lists shingles as a line item, but the shingle order is a separate event that happens later, usually after you have signed and before anyone sets a ladder. Once the supplier pulls bundles from its yard, changing your mind is no longer simple. So when you compare roofers, the order step deserves its own column on your sheet: what starts the order, who signs for the color and quantity, what comes back to you in writing, and how long you can still change it.

Roofer comparison

Ask each roofer to answer four points in writing, then keep the answers side by side.

1. What starts the order. Some roofers order when you sign the contract. Others wait for a deposit, a permit, or a confirmed tear-off date. Each trigger can be reasonable. What matters is whether you know which one applies and whether it appears in the contract.
2. Who signs off on color, shade and bundle count. You should sign a one-page order confirmation that shows the shingle line, the shade name, the number of bundles and the delivery window. A verbal "we will pick a color" is not a sign-off.
3. What comes back after the order is placed. The supplier's acknowledgment should reach you or the roofer's job file. Ask for a copy. If it arrives as a phone screenshot, ask for the PDF.
4. The change window. Find out the last day a shade or quantity can change without a restocking fee, and what the roofer must tell the supplier by that day.

Keys installs Atlas and Malarkey shingles only, so this comparison is about the order and its paperwork rather than brand choice. A roofer who installs a different product should still give you the same four answers, and a roofer who cannot give them is telling you something about how the order will be handled.

When the bundles arrive, count them against your signed confirmation before the crew unloads. A short count on delivery is much easier to fix on the day than after the tear-off has started, and the roofer should say who does the count and where the result is written down.

Why St. Louis timing matters

Spring and early summer pull a lot of orders through the same suppliers, especially after a hail season has sent homeowners to roofers at once. A shade you picked in March can slip into a later delivery window. Ask whether the sign-off date and the delivery window are tied together, so a slip shows up on paper rather than at the curb. Late-fall orders have their own problem. A delivery that lands before a hard freeze may wait several freeze-thaw cycles before the crew can start, and that wait should appear in the schedule so the delivery date and the install date match.

If your roof work runs through an insurance claim, the order may need to wait for your insurer's written scope. That conversation belongs to you and your insurer. Missouri law (RSMo 407.725) bars a roofing contractor from representing or negotiating a homeowner's insurance claim, so the roofer's role is to document the damage and put a written scope with photos and measurements in your hands while you deal with your own insurer. Ask the roofer to hold the order until that scope is in your file, and to say so in writing.

What it costs

Changing an order after it is placed can cost money in two ways. The first is a restocking charge on bundles the supplier cannot return. The second is a new order for a different shade, which carries its own lead time and may push the install date. Compare each roofer's written answer on both, and ask which one applies if you change the shade on the day the bundles are delivered.

Ask whether the bundle price is fixed when you sign off, when the order is placed, or when the bundles arrive. If a supplier price change can reach you, the roofer's price escalation clause, if there is one, belongs on the same sheet as the order terms. Delivery fees belong there too. A second delivery because the first load came up short is a cost that should be named before you choose.

What to ask

• Which event places the shingle order, and is that event written into the contract?
• Will I sign a one-page order confirmation showing shade, bundle count and delivery window?
• Can I have the supplier's acknowledgment as a PDF, and who keeps it in the job file?
• What is the last day I can change the shade or quantity, and what does a change cost on that day?
• Who counts the bundles at delivery, and where is the count recorded?
• If the shade is backordered, will you substitute, wait, or call me before doing either?
• Does the bundle price hold from sign-off to delivery, and what could move it?

If a roofer answers any of these with a general promise and no document, write down that answer next to the others. A vague answer on the order is a comparison result in its own right. If you want the same questions asked of Keys, the office line is (314) 220-2333.