A roof replacement in Olathe is a one-day job on most houses and a two-day job on the steep 1990s and 2000s two-storys west of Ridgeview. What separates a good one from a cheap one is almost entirely what happens in the first two hours, before a single new shingle goes down.
What we actually do
- Tear off to the deck. Every layer, down to bare plywood. We do not roof over. Going over an existing layer hides soft decking, doubles the heat load on the new shingles, and voids most manufacturer warranties — and under the 2018 IRC that Olathe enforces, you cannot legally recover a roof that already has two layers, that is water-soaked or deteriorated, or that is slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile.
- Inspect and replace decking. Every soft, delaminated or rotted sheet comes out. We price this per sheet in the estimate so you know the number before we find anything, and we photograph each one we pull.
- Ice barrier at the eaves. Either two layers of underlayment cemented together or a self-adhering polymer-modified bitumen membrane, run from the eave to a line 24 inches inside the exterior wall — 36 inches on steeper pitches. This is a code requirement in Olathe and it is the single most-skipped detail on Kansas roofs.
- Synthetic underlayment over the field. Not felt. It does not wrinkle, does not tear in the wind while the job is open, and does not soak up water if weather arrives mid-install.
- New flashing everywhere. Step flashing woven course by course at walls, new counter flashing at chimneys, new pipe boots, new valley metal. Re-used flashing is the most common corner cut in this business.
- Drip edge at eaves and rakes. Code-required, routinely skipped, and the reason fascia boards rot from behind.
- Ridge vent, with intake to match. Balanced to the 1/150 ratio. A ridge vent with blocked soffits does nothing except let weather in — more on that here.
- Clean-up you would not know happened. Rolling magnets over the yard, the drive and the street twice, and the tear-off grit out of the gutters.
2026 prices in Olathe
| Roof | Typical Olathe home (2,000–2,600 sq ft) | Life expectancy here |
|---|---|---|
| Architectural asphalt shingle | $11,500 – $19,500 | 16–22 years |
| Class 4 impact-resistant shingle | $14,000 – $24,000 | 22–30 years, plus a premium discount |
| Standing-seam metal | $28,000 – $48,000 | 40–60 years |
| Exposed-fastener metal panel (shop, barn, outbuilding) | $9 – $15 / sq ft | 30–45 years |
Ranges, not quotes. What moves the number: pitch, how many stories, valley and dormer count, layers coming off, decking condition, skylights, chimney work, and how far the dumpster has to sit from the roof.
Choosing the shingle
In a city with 193 radar-detected hail days since 2014, the impact rating is not a luxury upgrade, it is the whole decision. A standard architectural shingle is a good roof that will be bruised by the next two-inch stone. A UL 2218 Class 4 shingle costs roughly 20 to 25 percent more, survives impacts that destroy a standard roof, and earns a discount on the wind-and-hail portion of your premium that often pays back a meaningful share of the difference over the life of the roof. The full comparison is here.
Questions we get about this
Do I need a permit to replace my roof in Olathe?
Not for a house, duplex or townhome. The City of Olathe does not require a permit for reroofing or repairs down to the deck on one- and two-family dwellings and townhomes, and does not schedule an inspection for that work. The 2018 IRC still governs how it is built — ice barrier, drip edge, layer limits, ventilation — and your contractor still needs the Kansas registration and the Johnson County Class DR licence. Commercial buildings and any structural work do require a permit.
Can you go over my existing shingles to save money?
We do not, and on many Olathe roofs it would not even be legal. The 2018 IRC prohibits recovering a roof that already carries two layers, that is water-soaked or deteriorated, or that is slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile. Beyond the code, a recover hides the decking, traps heat against the new shingles and shortens their life, and voids most manufacturers' warranties. The tear-off is where the value is.
How long does it take?
Most Olathe houses are a single day — crew on site at seven, tear-off done by mid-morning, dried in by early afternoon, cleaned up by evening. Steeper two-storys with multiple valleys and dormers run into a second day, as do houses where we find a lot of bad decking. Weather is the usual variable; we will not tear off a roof we cannot dry in the same day.
What warranty comes with it?
Two separate ones. The manufacturer covers the shingles themselves, typically limited-lifetime on architectural and Class 4 products, and we register it in your name. Our workmanship warranty covers the installation. Both come to you in writing at completion, along with the Class 4 certificate for your insurer if that is what you chose.