What a Roof Replacement Costs in Des Moines (2026)
The number most people want is simple: a new architectural shingle roof on a typical Des Moines home costs $10,000 to $20,000 in 2026. What that covers, why one house lands at $11,000 and its neighbor at $18,000, and where steel fits are the useful parts. These are typical ranges, not a quote.
Price per square
Roofers price by the square — 100 square feet of roof surface. In the Des Moines metro, a full architectural shingle replacement runs $450–$750 per square installed. That includes:
- Tear-off of the old roof and disposal
- A walked inspection of the decking, with an allowance for replacing bad sheets
- Ice-and-water membrane along the eaves to at least 24 inches inside the exterior wall line, which the Iowa building code requires, plus every valley and penetration
- Synthetic underlayment over the rest of the deck
- Architectural shingles with a named wind rating, six nails each
- New drip edge, pipe boots, step and counter-flashing
- Ridge vent and cleared soffit vents
- Permit, cleanup and a magnet sweep for nails
A quote at $350 a square is leaving out at least two of those. Usually the membrane, the flashing, or the tear-off.
Totals by house size
Roof area is bigger than floor area — pitch and overhangs add 15–40% — and Des Moines houses vary a lot.
| Typical house | Squares | 2026 shingle cost |
|---|---|---|
| 1,000 sq ft east-side or Highland Park ranch, gable | 14–17 | $9,000 – $12,000 |
| 1,400 sq ft Beaverdale bungalow, steep with a dormer | 18–22 | $10,000 – $16,000 |
| 1,800 sq ft Ankeny or Waukee two-story | 22–28 | $11,000 – $20,000 |
| 2,400 sq ft Johnston or Urbandale two-story, cut-up | 28–34 | $14,000 – $25,000 |
| 3,500 sq ft West Des Moines hip roof with dormers | 40–55 | $20,000 – $38,000 |
A Beaverdale bungalow can cost more than a bigger Ankeny two-story because of pitch: a 10/12 roof needs staging, roof jacks and a slower crew.
What moves the number
- Pitch. Over 8/12 adds 10–20%. Most pre-war city houses qualify.
- Layers. A second layer to tear off is $1,000–$2,500 more in labor and dump fees.
- Decking. $90–$150 per sheet of plywood. Old plank decking that needs sheeting over is $1,500–$3,000. A roof that leaked for years at a valley may need six sheets; a well-kept 2008 roof may need none.
- Complexity. Every valley, dormer, chimney and skylight is flashing work. A plain gable is the cheapest roof in the city to replace.
- Access. A Sherman Hill lot with no driveway and a back slope over a neighbor's fence takes longer than a Grimes cul-de-sac.
- Shingle grade. Standard architectural is the baseline. Class 4 impact-rated shingles add $30–$80 per square and often earn an insurance discount, which is worth asking about anywhere hail falls — meaning everywhere here.
- Timing. Prices don't change with the season, but after a big hail storm the schedule does. Expect four to eight weeks for a non-emergency replacement.
Steel instead of shingles
Metal roofing in Des Moines used to mean barns. Now it's a fair share of the acreages toward Norwalk, Cumming and Bondurant and a growing number of homes in town.
- Standing-seam steel: $1,100–$1,800 per square, so $27,000–$50,000 on an 1,800 sq ft two-story. Concealed fasteners, 40–60 year life, shrugs off the hail that bruises shingles.
- Exposed-fastener steel panels: $700–$1,200 per square. Screws through the face with gaskets that need attention around year 15. Fine on a simple gable or outbuilding.
Steel makes sense if you plan to stay 15 years or more. It doesn't if you're selling in five.
Insurance and the deductible
If the roof is coming off because of hail or wind, your policy pays the replacement cost minus your deductible, and on many newer Iowa policies the wind and hail deductible is 1–2% of the dwelling coverage. On a $300,000 house that's $3,000–$6,000. Some policies also pay only actual cash value on roofs past a certain age, which can leave you with half the bill. Read the declarations page before you assume.
Iowa law bars roofing contractors from offering to pay or rebate that deductible. A roofer who offers is planning to inflate the invoice by the same amount, which is insurance fraud with your signature on it.
Financing
Manufacturer-backed financing at 12–60 months is available through most roofers, including us. On a $15,000 roof, a home equity line is usually cheaper. We'll show both and not push either.
Getting a real number
Everything above is a range because every roof is different. A written quote after someone has walked the roof and looked at the decking from the attic is the only number that matters. Ours is free and itemized. See the roof replacement page for what's in the job, or the cost page for repair prices alongside these.
Need roof work in Des Moines?
Call for a free estimate. Mon–Sat 7am–7pm.