The rates below are starting points you replace with your own — a worked shape, not market prices. Get the true area from the roof area and sheet calculator (plan area understates a pitched roof, and the steeper it is the worse it gets), and check what an hour has to earn with the charge-out rate calculator.
A worked example: a 140 m² tile-to-Colorbond re-roof
Single storey, 22.5° pitch, existing tiles removed and carted, new sarking and battens, Colorbond sheeting, new gutters and downpipes. Scaffold hired for the week. Roofer registered for GST.
| Line | Qty | Rate | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scaffold and edge protection — hire, erect and dismantle | 1 | $2,450.00 | $2,450.00 |
| Strip existing tiles, batten and sarking | 140 | $26.00 | $3,640.00 |
| Cart and dispose of roofing waste | 1 | $890.00 | $890.00 |
| Supply and install sarking and new battens | 140 | $24.00 | $3,360.00 |
| Supply and install Colorbond sheeting, incl. fixings | 140 | $78.00 | $10,920.00 |
| Ridge, barge and flashings | 38 | $42.00 | $1,596.00 |
| Gutters, downpipes and brackets | 46 | $58.00 | $2,668.00 |
| Subtotal | $25,524.00 | ||
| GST (10%) | $2,552.40 | ||
| Total inc GST | $28,076.40 | ||
| Deposit to book in (20%) | $5,615.28 | ||
| Balance on completion | $22,461.12 |
Scaffold and edge protection sit above the sheeting, on their own line, priced rather than absorbed. A customer comparing two roofing quotes cannot see height safety unless it is written down — and the quote that leaves it off looks cheaper for exactly the wrong reason.
What to put on a roofing quote
- Business name, ABN, and your roofing or builder licence number where your state requires one for the value of the work.
- The TRUE roof area, and the pitch you measured it at — not the plan footprint. A 22.5° roof is roughly 8% larger than the plan area and a 35° roof is over 20% larger; quoting off the footprint is quoting yourself short.
- Height safety as its own priced line — scaffold, edge protection, anchor points, harness. Never absorbed, never left off to look cheaper.
- The profile and the product — corrugated, trimdek, klip-lok, tile type, gauge and colour. And who warrants it.
- What is under the sheets, and the sentence that covers it: battens, sarking, rafters and any rot found once the roof is open, priced as a rate per metre so the variation is already agreed.
- Removal and disposal of the old roof as its own line. Tiles are heavy and tips charge by the tonne.
- Gutters, downpipes and flashings — in or out, and how many metres. Ridge, barge, valley and penetration flashings named separately.
- Penetrations — whirlybirds, solar, aerials, skylights, flues: who removes them, who reinstates them, and who is responsible if they leak afterwards.
- Weather. Say what happens to the schedule and to a partly-open roof if the week turns, and who covers temporary weatherproofing.
- Exclusions. Asbestos, structural repair, ceilings and cornices damaged from inside, solar disconnection and reconnection, painting, gutter guard, and anything requiring an engineer.
- Whether GST is included, how long the price holds, and deposit and payment terms.
- The variations sentence, which in this trade means: whatever the old roof was hiding, and the weather.
Common mistakes, and what each one costs
- Quoting off plan area. The single most expensive arithmetic mistake in roofing, and it gets worse the steeper the roof.
- Height safety left off to win the job. It makes the quote look cheaper, it is a duty rather than an option, and it comes out of your margin instead of the customer's budget.
- No rate for rotten battens or rafters. You will find some. Agreeing a per-metre rate up front turns a bad surprise into a signed variation.
- Disposal absorbed. A tile roof is tonnes of waste and the tip weighs it.
- Penetrations unassigned. Solar in particular: if the quote does not say who disconnects and reinstates it, a leak later is an argument about who owns it.
- No deposit on a job where you order the sheets. Custom-length Colorbond in a chosen colour is not returnable.
Three things that win the job
Get on the roof before you quote. Battens, sarking, valleys and the state of the flashings are all invisible from the ground, and all four are your margin. A ten-minute look decides whether this is the job you think it is.
Say what happens when it opens up. Every re-roof has something under it. A customer who was told that, and shown the rate, does not feel ambushed — and you get paid for the extra work instead of arguing about it in week two.
Follow it up. Roofing quotes sit while the customer talks to insurance, a strata committee or their partner. Two short messages over a fortnight is the difference — wording in the quote follow-up templates.
Yamate keeps your rates, your standard inclusions and your usual exclusions, so a quote is a few taps rather than a blank page — then turns the accepted quote into the invoice without retyping it. Sign up before 30 September 2026 and lock in the Founder plan at $19/mo — forever. It's $29/mo after that. No lock-in, cancel anytime. Prices in AUD.
Send it, then know if they read it
The builder above priced the job. What it cannot do is remember that this roofing quote is still unanswered on Thursday, or turn the yes into an invoice without you retyping it.
Quote from your phone in Yamate → Free to try · no card · sign in with a link, no password to rememberFAQ
What should a roofing quote include?
The true roof area and the pitch it was measured at, the profile and product, height safety as its own line, removal and disposal, what is under the sheets and the rate if it needs replacing, gutters and flashings, who handles penetrations, exclusions, whether GST applies, and your deposit and payment terms.
How do I work out the real area of a pitched roof?
Plan area understates it, and the steeper the pitch the more it understates. The roof area and sheet calculator converts plan size and pitch into true area and the sheets to order, and the roof pitch calculator converts between degrees, percentage, 1-in-N and rafter length.
Should height safety be a separate line on the quote?
Yes. It is a real cost and a real duty, and burying it in a square-metre rate means the customer is comparing your quote against one that simply left it out. A named line makes the comparison honest.
How many downpipes does a roof need?
It depends on the catchment area and the rainfall intensity where the job is, not on a rule of thumb. The gutter and downpipe calculator works the flow out from catchment and rainfall.
Do I charge GST on a quote?
Only if you are registered, which is generally required once turnover reaches $75,000. See when a sole trader has to register.
Next steps
General information for Australian tradies, not tax, legal or financial advice. Every figure this page produces is an estimate based on what you type in, and the starting rates are placeholders rather than market prices. Height-safety duties, asbestos handling, licensing and deposit rules are set by each state and territory — check yours before relying on this page.