A free estimate from DeSouza Roofing means someone gets on your roof, goes into your attic, and hands you a written specification with a real price on it. It costs nothing, there’s no obligation, and the answer is allowed to be “your roof is fine.”
Call and talk to the person who’ll be on your roof. No dispatcher, no call center, no lead broker selling your address to three contractors.
What the estimate actually includes
Plenty of “free estimates” are a look from the driveway and a number on the back of a card. That’s a sales call. Here’s what happens instead.
- We get on the roof. Granule loss, curling, nail pops, soft spots underfoot that tell us about the decking.
- We go in the attic — the half most estimates skip. Damp sheathing, daylight through the deck, insulation blocking the soffits.
- We check every flashing and penetration. Chimney counterflashing, step flashing, valleys, skylights, pipe boots, drip edge. Most leaks start at a joint, not in the shingle field.
- We check both halves of the ventilation. Intake low at the soffits, exhaust high at the ridge. A ridge vent with blocked intake moves no air — that’s what turns a normal February into an ice dam.
- You get it in writing. The specification layer by layer, the price, and what happens if we open the roof and find bad decking.
That written spec is what lets you compare us fairly with anyone else — see what a DeSouza roof replacement includes and what drives the cost in Massachusetts.
The estimate is allowed to say “you don’t need us yet”
Homeowners aren’t afraid of the price of a roof. They’re afraid of paying $22,000 for a replacement when a $900 flashing repair would have fixed it, and having no way to tell the difference.
“Your roof is fine.” Here’s what to watch for and roughly how long you have.
“That’s a repair, not a replacement.” A section of flashing, a valley, a run of drip edge.
“This roof is finished.” Here’s the full specification and the number.
We can afford to give you the first two answers because we do repairs as well as replacements — the small job is still a job we want. A company that only sells tear-offs has exactly one recommendation available to it. Want to sanity-check us first? Read how to tell a repair from a replacement.
What it costs, and what you’re agreeing to
Nothing, and nothing. No trip charge, no inspection fee, no bill if you wait or hire someone else — and no second visit from a closer, because the person who writes your estimate is the person who does the work.
Two ways to start
Calling is faster and it’s the option we’d pick. If writing it down is easier, use the form and put as much detail in the last box as you can.
What to have ready
None of it is required — it just makes the estimate sharper.
- Roughly when the roof was last done. Tells us whether it’s worn out or young with a defect.
- Photos of any stain or drip, especially one that only shows up in certain weather — that usually points at a flashing.
- Clear attic access. A hatch behind boxes costs us the most useful part of the visit.
- Any quote or report you already have. We’ll read it and say where we agree.
When to call instead of filling in the form
Water is coming in right now. Don’t type it — call (617) 721-1814. Every hour of active water is more insulation and drywall. See emergency leak repair.
A storm just went through and there are shingles in the yard. An open roof needs covering before the next front — storm damage repair.
Something is structurally wrong. A sagging roof line, a dip, a limb through the deck.
What happens after
- We agree a time to look, with roof and attic access.
- We tell you what we found, out loud, in plain language — including if nothing needs doing.
- You get the written specification and price, plus what happens if we find rotted decking.
- You take as long as you want. Most people collect three estimates and think for a few weeks. That’s sensible, and we won’t chase you.
We do this across Boston, Somerville, Medford and the rest of the northern corridor — full list on the service areas page.
Common questions about the free estimate
Is it really free, even if I don’t hire you?
Yes. No trip charge, no inspection fee, no bill if you go with someone else. Sometimes the honest answer is that there’s no work to do yet, and that estimate costs exactly the same: nothing.
Will you try to sell me a full replacement?
We’ll tell you what the roof needs. If that’s a repair, you get a repair price. If the roof has years left, you get a list of what to watch for and no quote at all. We do repair and replacement both, so the recommendation isn’t decided by which one pays better.
Can you give me a price over the phone?
Not an honest one. Pitch, height, layers, decking condition, flashing complexity and ventilation all move the number, and none of them can be judged down a phone line. Anyone quoting a firm price sight-unseen is guessing, and guesses get revised upward once the job starts.
Do I need to be home?
For the attic, yes — someone has to let us in, and the attic is half the diagnosis. The roof and exterior we can look at on our own and walk you through afterwards by phone.