Who Keeps the Scrap Metal From Your St. Louis Roof?

When a roof comes off, the old metal does not go with the shingles by default. Drip edge, step flashing, valley metal, counter flashing around the chimney, and gutter downspouts all come down during the tear-off. Most of it is aluminum or galvanized steel that a scrap yard will take by weight. Some older houses also have copper pipe jacks or lead flashing, and those usually bring more per pound. The question is who gets that metal, and most roof proposals never answer it. If you are comparing roofers, this is one line that can separate two bids that otherwise look alike.

Nobody needs to make a fuss about scrap. What matters is that the answer is written down. A crew that keeps the metal may have priced the job with that money in mind. A homeowner who expects to keep it may find the metal already loaded onto a truck on the morning it comes down. Either arrangement can be fine. The mistake is leaving it unsaid until the crew is standing on the roof.

Roofer comparison

Put the scrap question on the same sheet as the other line items you are already comparing. One proposal might say the crew removes all existing materials and hauls them away. That means the metal leaves with the shingles, and you will not see any of its value. Another might say the homeowner keeps all metal removed from the property. That means the crew has to set the metal aside in a pile, and you may need to arrange a pickup or make a trip to a yard yourself. A third bid might say nothing at all, and that is the one to fix before you sign.

Read the wording closely. Phrases such as all debris, all materials, or removed from site usually mean the roofer takes the metal. Phrases such as retained by owner or stacked for owner pickup mean you keep it. A bid that leaves metal in a pile on the lawn has handed you a logistics job, so ask where the pile will sit, whether it blocks the driveway, whether the trailer can reach it, and who loads it. Those details change how the day feels.

Two roofers can disagree on this and both be honest. One may treat scrap as a credit that lowers the number it holds for you. Another may leave scrap out of the price entirely and add a haul-away charge. When you compare totals, subtract any scrap credit or add any haul fee so the bids sit on the same footing. A bid that looks cheaper because it hides a haul line is not cheaper once the metal is accounted for.

What it costs

Scrap value moves with the metals market, and the amount of metal on a single house is modest. Gutters, drip edge, and flashing on a typical St. Louis County house weigh less than most people expect, and the price a yard pays per pound changes from month to month. Do not build a budget around a figure you read online. The point of the question is not the dollars. It is that the bid states who gets the metal and what it costs to move it off the property.

A haul-away line is a real cost. A crew that loads a truck with metal and takes it to a yard is doing extra work, and some bids list that as a separate charge. Ask whether any scrap credit is already netted into the total. If the bid shows a haul line and no scrap line, the roofer is keeping the metal and charging you to remove the rest. If the bid shows neither, the scrap value is buried somewhere inside the total, and you cannot see it.

Copper and lead need the closest look. A copper pipe jack or lead flashing on an older house can be worth more than the aluminum around it, and that is where a homeowner is most likely to be surprised. A roofer who keeps those pieces may have already counted them into the price. A homeowner who wants them may need to say so before the tear-off starts. Ask the roofer to name any copper or lead in the removal list before the start date, so you can decide whether to keep it.

If you choose to keep the metal and sell it yourself, plan for the extra time. You will need a way to load it, a place to stack it that does not block the dumpster or the delivery, and a trip to a scrap yard. Some homeowners find that worth doing and some do not. Either way, the decision belongs to you, and the bid should make it possible.

What to ask

Send each roofer the same written question and keep the replies. The question can be short:

• Which metal leaves the property with the tear-off, and which metal stays with me?
• Is there a scrap credit or a haul-away charge in the total, and what is each amount?
• Where will the metal be stacked, and who loads it onto the truck?
• Do you expect any copper or lead on this house, and will it be set aside for me if I ask?
• If I keep the metal and sell it myself, what do you need from me and when?

Then time the reply, as you would with any written question, and read it against the proposal. A roofer who answers in one line and points to the scope is telling you the scope already says it, so read the scope to confirm. A roofer who cannot say where the metal goes has not yet decided, and that decision belongs on paper before the crew arrives.

Ask for the scope in writing and check that the metal line matches what you were told on the phone. Keys Roofing puts a written scope with photos and measurements in the homeowner's hands, so the removal line can be checked before anything comes off the roof. If you want to talk through the scope, call the office at (314) 220-2333.

Before the tear-off, settle where the metal goes. If you plan to keep it, tell the crew on the morning of the start so the stack is not in the way of the dumpster or the delivery. If the roofer keeps it, confirm that the pickup or the haul happens on the tear-off day, not a week later when the metal sits in your yard and the trailer is gone.

Why the metal question belongs in the comparison

A roof bid is a list of materials, labor, and removal. The scrap line is the small piece that tells you whether removal is complete and whose metal it is once it leaves the roof. Two roofers can quote nearly the same shingle price and still differ by a haul fee, a scrap credit, or a pile left on your driveway for two days. Put that difference next to the shingle spec and the drip edge line, and you will see which bid is the one you can actually compare.

The decision is small on paper and large on the day. A clear answer now means the crew knows where to stack the metal, you know what you are giving up or getting back, and the total you signed is the total you pay. That is the whole reason to ask.