Cost & hiring
Tear-off: layers, weight, dumpster size and disposal cost
Tear-off is the messy line on a roofing quote. It is also the easiest to estimate, because roofing debris is all about weight.
Tear off or lay over?
A new roof can sometimes go over the old one. The International Residential Code (R908.3.1.1) allows one re-cover over an existing roof, and not where the existing roof is water-soaked or deteriorated, or is wood shakes, slate, clay or cement tile, or where the deck is not sound. In practice:
- Two layers already: the roof must come off.
- One sound layer of asphalt: an overlay is allowed, saving the tear-off, but the old layer hides deck problems, adds weight and can shorten the new shingles’ life by holding heat. Many roofers and manufacturers prefer a tear-off anyway.
- Metal over one layer of shingles: common and often recommended, on battens or a slip sheet.
Count the layers from a ladder at the eave or the rake: two layers show as a thick, doubled edge.
How much an old roof weighs
Roofing debris is heavy, not bulky. The weights below are per square per layer, with old felt, nails and flashing adding about 15 pounds.
| Material coming off | Per square per layer | 22 squares, one layer |
|---|---|---|
| Asphalt, three-tab | about 240 lb | 2.8 tons |
| Asphalt, architectural | about 300 lb | 3.5 tons |
| Heavy / designer asphalt | about 400 lb | 4.6 tons |
| Wood shakes | about 350 lb | 4 tons |
| Rolled or built-up | about 550 lb | 6.2 tons |
| Metal panels | about 120 lb | 1.5 tons |
| Concrete or clay tile | about 1,000 lb | 11 tons |
| Slate | about 800 lb | 9 tons |
Each extra layer adds the same weight again. Decking replaced after tear-off adds about 48 pounds per sheet of ½-inch plywood.
Choosing the dumpster by weight
Roll-off dumpsters are sized in cubic yards, but each rental includes a tonnage allowance, and roofing debris reaches the tonnage long before it fills the box. Typical allowances are about 2 tons for a 10-yard, 3 for 15 and 20-yard, 4 for 30-yard and 5 for 40-yard containers, though haulers vary. Above the allowance, haulers charge per ton.
One layer and two layers
22 squares of architectural shingles, one layer, felt included:
- 22 × 315 lb = 6,930 lb = 3.47 tons: a 30-yard container (about 4 tons included), about $450
28 squares of three-tab, two layers, ten sheets of decking replaced:
- 28 × 2 × 255 lb + 480 lb = 14,760 lb = 7.38 tons: two 40-yard loads, about $900
From the tear-off weight and dumpster calculator.
What tear-off costs
Published 2025 cost surveys put tear-off and disposal at about $100 to $200 per square per layer. The labor is roughly 0.4 worker-hours per square per layer for asphalt and about an hour for tile, more on steep or high roofs; the rest is the dumpster, the landfill fee, and the time spent protecting the house and cleaning up. On a 22-square roof one layer adds $2,200 to $4,400 to the job, which is 10 to 20 percent of an asphalt reroof. The replacement cost calculator includes it as its own line, and the labor calculator separates tear-off hours from installation.
Asbestos
Roofing products made before about 1980, including some asphalt shingles, roofing felts, roof cements and coatings, and many cement-based shingles and sheets, can contain asbestos. Asbestos-containing materials cannot go in an ordinary dumpster, and removing them is regulated. If the roof could be that old, have a sample tested by an accredited lab before tear-off. The US Environmental Protection Agency and your state’s environmental agency set the rules. This site gives no procedures for handling asbestos; that is work for licensed professionals.
Protecting the house and the yard
Tear-off throws nails, granules and broken shingles off every edge. Good crews tarp the landscaping, lean plywood over windows and air-conditioning units, route debris into the dumpster with chutes or a trailer, and sweep the yard and driveway with a rolling magnet at the end of each day. The dumpster needs a place on hard ground near the house, sometimes on plywood to protect a driveway.
What tear-off reveals
Taking the old roof off exposes the deck, and that is where hidden costs appear: rotten sheathing at the eaves from ice dams, delaminated plywood under a leak, soft spots around chimneys. A good contract states a price per sheet for replacement decking, so these surprises are priced before they are found. Discovering two layers where the quote assumed one is the other common surprise; the contract should price that too. How to read a roofing estimate covers these clauses.
Recycling and salvage
In some regions, asphalt shingle recyclers take clean tear-off (no felt, wood or trash) for road paving at lower tipping fees than landfill. Tile and slate can often be salvaged or crushed into aggregate, and sound slate is worth money. Ask local haulers; the dumpster arrangement may change if the debris is separated.
Permits and inspections
Most jurisdictions require a permit for a reroof, and many inspect the deck after tear-off or the underlayment and ice barrier before the shingles go on. Ask the contractor who pulls the permit and whether an inspection will hold up the job between tear-off and dry-in; a crew waiting for an inspector with the deck exposed needs a plan for rain.
Planning the day
A crew never tears off more than it can dry in before dark or the next rain: drip edge, ice barrier and underlayment go on each section as it is stripped. The roofing time calculator includes the tear-off hours in its days, and the weight of whatever goes back on is in the roof weight calculator. What roofers charge per square puts the tear-off line in the context of the whole quote, and repair or replace asks whether the tear-off is needed yet.