Weather Days Are a Contract Term, Not a Forecast

A roofing contract usually has a line about weather, and most homeowners read past it. The line tells you how many days the crew can stop work because of rain, wind, heat or cold, and it decides whether your finish date means anything. Two quotes can show the same start week and the same price, then finish a week apart because one contract counts a lost day differently than the other. This page is about comparing that clause before you pick a roofer.

What a weather day is in the contract

A weather day is a day the crew does not work on the roof because conditions are unsafe or the work would be damaged. The contract should define it. Some roofers define it loosely as any day with rain in the forecast. Others define it as a day when the crew actually stopped, which is a different thing. A forecast of showers at 40 percent and a morning of steady rain can both be called weather, but only one of them stopped the crew.

Ask each roofer to write the definition in one sentence. If the sentence uses words like "conditions," "in the roofer's judgment" or "as needed" with nothing after them, the clause is open. An open clause is not necessarily a bad one, but you should know what you are agreeing to before the first bundle goes up.

Who decides a day was lost

The next question is who makes the call. Some contracts leave it to the foreman on the morning of the job. Others require a written log that names the date, the time work stopped, and the reason. A log is more useful to you because you can check it against your own notes and photos. A foreman's decision made at 6 a.m. on a clear morning is hard to review after a storm rolls through at noon.

Also ask whether the homeowner gets a copy of the log or only the total count of days. A total count alone tells you the number, but not whether the number was earned. If a crew reports four lost days in one week of thunderstorms, a daily log lets you see whether those four days line up with the actual weather.

What St. Louis weather does to the count

St. Louis roofing season has its own pattern. Spring brings fast-moving storms and rain that can arrive between morning and afternoon. Summer brings heat, humidity and afternoon thunderstorms that often clear by evening. Fall can be the most workable season, though the days shorten and a cold front can bring wind and rain in a single afternoon. Winter is where the freeze and thaw cycle matters most, because shingles and sealant do not bond well in cold, and a crew may pause when temperatures stay low.

Heat is the one most homeowners forget. A crew working on a dark shingle roof in July may start early, quit by early afternoon, and call that a weather stop. Whether heat counts as a weather day is a contract question, not a rule. Some roofers include it in the clause, and some treat it as normal working time. Ask which one applies to your job.

Ice and frost on the deck are different again. A morning frost can delay the tear-off until the deck is dry enough to walk on safely. That delay is real, but it should appear in the log with the reason written beside it.

Compare the clause line by line

Put the weather language from each written proposal next to the others and check these points:

1. The definition. Does it say what stopped the work, or only what the forecast looked like?
2. The decision maker. Is it the foreman, a named project lead, or a joint call with the homeowner?
3. The record. Is there a written daily log, and will you receive a copy?
4. The heat and cold rules. Are temperature stops listed by number, or left general?
5. The finish date. Does the proposal show a finish date that moves by the number of weather days, or only a rough window?
6. The notice. Does the roofer have to tell you before a planned stop, or only after?

A clause that answers all six is easier to hold a roofer to than one that answers two. You do not need the clause to be the longest in the stack. You need it to be specific enough that a neutral reader could check a disputed day against the weather record.

How the finish date should move

When weather days are counted, the finish date should move by the same number. If the contract says the job takes ten working days and the crew loses three to weather, the finish date should move by three working days, not by three calendar days and not by a vague "a few more." Ask each roofer to show you that arithmetic on paper. A roofer who can explain the count in two sentences has probably thought about it. A roofer who says the date will be "around" the same time has not.

Also ask what happens to an open roof during a long weather stop. This is related to the rain plan, which you should review separately, but the weather-day clause decides how long the roof stays open while the crew waits. Two contracts with the same number of weather days can leave very different exposure if one roofer tarps every evening and the other does not.

What to ask before you sign

Bring the list to the call, and write down each answer in the roofer's own words. A short list is enough:

• What exactly stops the work, and does heat or cold count?
• Who makes the call, and when is it made?
• Will I get a daily log, and what does it show?
• How will the finish date change, and can you show that math?
• How much notice do I get before a planned stop?
• What is the roof protected with on a day the crew is not working?

If a roofer cannot answer these in writing before you sign, the clause is not finished yet. You can ask for a revised proposal with the answers added. Keys can be reached at (314) 220-2333 to talk through how the weather clause would read on your job, and the office can put the written terms in your hands before you decide. The comparison is simple once every bid uses the same words for the same weather.