Overview
Four bids are in hand, and the vote is tonight. Three decisions face the board: which bid, how much roof and by what method, and how to pay. Those decisions and the governance needed to run the vote come first, then the considerations that bear on the choice. The later tabs hold the supporting detail and a model to run the numbers.
The three decisions
Governance & the vote
Because the project tops $15,000, the Declaration requires a two-thirds vote — four of the six units — for both the project and the special assessment, and it is on tonight's agenda. Confirm quorum before voting; an owner who cannot attend may send a written proxy, which counts toward both quorum and the vote. Confirm these thresholds against the Declaration itself before relying on them.
Who pays for what
The structural roof — membrane, insulation, decking, and joists — is a Common Element the Association maintains, so the work is a shared cost split by ownership percentage. The deck surfaces on top belong to each unit; 3S is covering their own Trex and framing.
Key considerations
Quote comparison
The bottom line first, then the facts from each proposal, a price-per-foot check, and an editable scorecard. Four firms bid; three quote a full tear-off and one (Ethic) quotes a recover, so read the prices against the method, not just the number.
Matthews and MF Exteriors both price a full whole-roof tear-off in the $55,000–$59,000 range, so that is the realistic cost of doing this properly. Prosmark's $29,500 covers the same scope for about half, which is worth pursuing only if verification shows the price reflects lower overhead rather than missing work. Ethic's $36,860 buys a different, cheaper approach — a recover over the existing roof — that saves money only if the roof underneath is dry enough to build on. The credible default is one of the two established tear-offs; the others are worth chasing only if their conditions check out.
Side by side
| Prosmark | Matthews — Opt 1 | Matthews — Opt 2 | Ethic Roofing | MF Exteriors | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Headline price | $29,500 | $59,400 | $54,900 | $36,860 | $56,000 entire; $28,000 for a 15-sq section |
| Method | Full tear-off | Full tear-off | Full tear-off | Recover — new membrane over the old one | Full tear-off |
| Scope | Whole upper roof | Whole upper roof ~4,800 sf incl. flashings | Whole upper roof | Whole roof recover + cut-out repairs at SE & SW corners (~12x12' each) price adjusts after North-side deck comes off | Entire roof, or a 15-sq (~1,500 sf) section |
| Membrane / insulation | White TPO, mechanically attached 2.5" ISO | Carlisle 60-mil TPO, fully adhered 1.5" iso | 2-ply self-adhered mod-bit + smooth cap + aluminum coating | 60-mil fleece-back TPO over existing mod-bit new insulation only in the cut-out repairs | New modified-bitumen system + seal coat 2.5" ISO |
| Warranty | 9 yr labor no maintenance clause | 15 yr material / 10 yr labor requires paid annual maintenance | 15 / 10 per proposal | not stated pages 2–3 not provided | none on labor materials per manufacturer |
| Rot / decking | +$100/plywood sheet; +$120/truss | Wood deck $6–8/sf; rafters $15/ln ft — billed as found | same as Opt 1 | Two corners included; balance may change after inspection | 3 sheets + one layer included; +$120 per extra sheet |
| Rooftop deck removal | not addressed | not itemized | not itemized | by others excluded from price | not addressed |
| Permits | not addressed | excluded — extra | excluded — extra | Street loading permit only building permit not stated | not addressed |
| Payment terms | 25% start / 75% done | 1/3 start · 1/3 at half (>$60k) · balance done | same | 50% down / balance on completion | Payment in full on completion no deposit stated |
| Credentials / addressed to | verify handwritten; license/insurance not shown | IL lic #104-000191; est. 1934; BBB addressed to 3S | same firm | ethicroofing.com prepared for Ian Smith; license/insurance not shown | Handwritten; hotmail contact prepared for 3S (Trent LaFrano); license/insurance not shown |
Price-per-foot check
Dollars per square foot on the same area. The three tear-offs are comparable to each other; Ethic's recover isn't, since a recover normally costs less than a tear-off. Areas are editable.
| Bid | Price | Area (sf) | $ / sf | Read |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prosmark | $29,500 | — | — | |
| Matthews Opt 1 | $59,400 | — | — | |
| Matthews Opt 2 | $54,900 | — | — | |
| Ethic (recover) | $36,860 | — | — | |
| MF Exteriors (entire) | $56,000 | — | — |
A full tear-off with new insulation and TPO in Chicago commonly runs low-to-mid teens per square foot, which is where Matthews and MF Exteriors sit. Prosmark near $6 is well under that — either lower overhead or a thinner scope. MF's 15-square section works out to about $19/sf, the usual premium for a small job. Ethic's number reflects a recover, so it isn't a like-for-like comparison with the tear-offs.
Scorecard — set the weights
Scores (1–5) are starting estimates that can be changed; they encode judgment, not fact, so verify the items in the Next steps tab before trusting the ranking. Weights should reflect what the board cares about and need not sum to 100.
| Criterion | Weight | Prosmark | Matthews 1 | Matthews 2 | Ethic | MF Ext. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weighted score / 5 | — | — | — | — | — |
Scope & method
Two questions sit under the bids: how much roof to replace, and whether to tear off or recover. Here is the case each way, plus the drainage problem that outlasts both.
Do the whole roof, and do it as a tear-off. A partial job carries little or no warranty and doesn't change where the water goes, since the North side's slope feeds the South side. A recover is cheaper but only holds up over a dry, sound roof, and the South side has been called squishy and ponding. The cost gap between whole and partial is smaller than it looks, so the saving from doing less isn't large — get a written answer on re-sloping before signing whatever scope is chosen.
Whole roof vs. partial
For the whole roof
- The warranty is offered on the full job. A partial section carries little or none per the roofers consulted.
- A roofer used by 3S's realtor recommends the entire roof — both sides plus the middle fenced area — and won't warranty a partial job.
- Water pitches off the North side (Mark and Rachel's) onto the South side and ponds there. The slope sending water over is on the North side, so replacing only the South may not correct where the water goes.
- A partial isn't proportionally cheaper. MF Exteriors prices a 15-square section at $28,000 against $56,000 for the entire roof — half the price for less than a third of the area, because mobilization and setup cost the same either way.
- One tear-off, one uniform roof age. Avoids paying to set up a second job in a year or two.
For the partial (South side only)
- Lower upfront cost — roughly $28,000 from MF Exteriors for the worst section.
- If the North side is genuinely sound, replacing it discards serviceable roof years early.
- Less disruption in the near term.
- Preserves reserves and borrowing capacity for a later, separate repair.
Tear-off vs. recover
Ethic's bid is the only recover: new TPO laid over the existing modified-bitumen roof, with just the two worst corners cut out and rebuilt. The others strip the roof to the deck. This is a real choice, not a detail, and it decides which bids are even comparable.
- Removes wet or rotten insulation and decking instead of burying it
- Resets the roof to a known condition
- Longer expected life; needed for a full manufacturer warranty
- The only sound option if the existing roof is saturated
- Most expensive path
- More disruption; the building is open during the work
- Rot found on tear-off adds cost
- Cheaper than the tear-offs and faster to install
- Less disruption; the roof stays closed
- Reasonable if the existing membrane is dry and mostly intact
- Traps any moisture already in the roof; fails early over a wet substrate
- Adds weight, and Chicago limits a roof to two membrane layers
- Doesn't fix the underlying rot or the slope
- Recover warranties are typically shorter
The damage is caused by water ponding on the South side, which is a slope problem. None of the bids clearly includes tapered insulation or crickets to re-slope the low area, and Matthews' terms specifically disclaim liability for ponding water. A flat re-cover over the same geometry can pond again. Ask every bidder, in writing, whether re-sloping is included or available and what it adds. A new roof that doesn't fix the drainage can still leak.
Whole roof, tear-off — conditioned on confirmed scope parity across the bids and a written answer on tapered insulation from each firm.
Warranty availability, recurrence risk, and shared drainage favor the full replacement, and the ponding on the South side argues against recovering over a possibly wet roof. The partial's only real advantage is upfront cost, and MF's own pricing shows that saving is smaller than the area difference suggests. Settle the drainage question before the scope is locked.
Funding model
The recommended structure first, then an interactive model. Set the project budget, split it across reserves, an assessment, and a loan, and read each owner's lump bill and monthly payment.
Use reserves first, add a special assessment sized to what all six owners can pay in a lump, and take a loan only for whatever remains. Keep a cushion in reserves rather than draining the fund to zero. Confirm a lender will make a condo loan this small before relying on that piece; if none will, a larger assessment on an installment schedule is the fallback.
Project budget
Funding split
Funding mix
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Per-owner burden
Shares are prefilled from the recorded ownership percentages and can be edited. Reserves aren't billed to owners, so the columns that matter are the assessment lump and the loan monthly.
| Unit | Ownership % | Assessment (lump) | Loan / month | First-year total | Total over term |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Building | — | — | — | — | — |
Verify & next steps
What to confirm before signing anything, what to ask each bidder, and how to time the decision around the board's calendar.
Verify before signing
- Scope and method parity.Three bids are tear-offs and one is a recover. Get every firm to price the same scope and method so the numbers compare.
- Whether a recover is viable at all.A recover only works over a dry, sound roof. Given the ponding and squishy South side, ask for a moisture check before treating Ethic's price as usable.
- License and insurance for every bidder.Matthews lists IL #104-000191. Get license numbers and certificates of insurance from Prosmark, Ethic, and MF Exteriors before work starts.
- Manufacturer (NDL) warranty availability.Carlisle and others offer a manufacturer warranty on TPO when a certified crew installs it, separate from the contractor's labor warranty. Ask each firm whether they can provide one.
- Tapered insulation / drainage.The ponding is a slope issue. Ask in writing whether re-sloping is included or available, and what it costs.
- Decking allowance and change-order process.Rot is billed as found and two bids say the price may change after inspection. Ask for a not-to-exceed or allowance and require written authorization before extra decking is billed.
- Permit responsibility and cost.Chicago requires a roofing permit. Ethic's included permit is only for street loading; pin down who pulls the building permit and what it adds.
- Rooftop deck removal.Ethic excludes it ("by others"). Confirm who removes and reinstalls the decks and whether that's a separate cost across all bids.
- Each owner's lump capacity.Confirm what each of the six can pay as a lump before sizing the assessment. This drives how much has to go to a loan.
Decision checklist
- Normalize the four bids to one scope and method.
- Decide scope and method — whole vs. partial, tear-off vs. recover — using the ledger and the drainage answer.
- Pick the bidder on normalized price, warranty, and credentials.
- Set the funding mix in the model once each owner's lump capacity is known.
- Confirm the loan is real — get a rate and term from a lender that does condo loans before relying on that tranche.
- Vote and authorize the assessment and contract per the association's rules.
The point raised in the group is worth taking seriously: few banks make condominium loans, and a loan this small may not interest the ones that do. Line up the lender before counting on the loan. If it falls through, the fallback is a larger assessment paid on an installment schedule, which a constrained owner may still manage over time.
Questions for each bidder
Prosmark
- The $29,500 is roughly half what two other firms quote for the same tear-off — what's included, and what isn't?
- License number and certificate of insurance?
- Does the 9-year labor warranty require anything of the association to stay valid? Is a manufacturer warranty available?
- Is tapered insulation to fix the ponding included or available, and what does it add?
- Is a Chicago building permit included, and who pulls it?
Matthews
- What does the required annual maintenance cost, and what happens to the warranty if a year is skipped?
- Real difference in expected life between Option 1 (adhered TPO) and Option 2 (mod-bit) for a deck-covered roof?
- Does either option include re-sloping or crickets to stop the ponding the terms disclaim?
- Does the $1,100/unit AC clause apply here?
- Can a Carlisle NDL manufacturer warranty be provided?
Ethic Roofing
- Is a recover appropriate given the ponding and possible wet insulation on the South side, and will a moisture scan be done first?
- What warranty applies to the TPO recover (the pages we have don't state it)?
- "Others to remove the deck" — does that mean the association hires a separate contractor for deck removal and reinstall? At what cost?
- The included permit is for street loading — is the Chicago building permit included, and who pulls it?
- How much can the $36,860 move after the North-side deck comes off and the decking is inspected?
MF Exteriors
- Confirm the 15-square section location and exactly what the $56,000 entire-roof scope covers.
- No labor warranty is written (N/A) — is any labor warranty available, and for how long?
- License number and certificate of insurance?
- Payment in full on completion with no deposit — confirm, and what protects the association if work stalls?
- Are the 2½" ISO and seal coating included in both the partial and entire prices?
Timing & a meeting agenda
Andrea is out Thursday morning through Sunday, and John proposed Wednesday or Thursday. Target Wednesday or earlier so the full board is present.
Damage on 3S's side, conflicting inspections, four bids that don't all describe the same work. Agree on what's known.
Whole vs. partial and tear-off vs. recover, using the ledger and the drainage answer. Decide, or set the condition to decide.
Normalize the four bids to one scope; confirm areas match; rank on the scorecard.
Walk the model live. Confirm each owner's lump capacity; size reserves, assessment, and loan; assign someone to source the loan.
Who chases the verification list and the lender; set the follow-up date and the vote.