What Does a Commercial Roof Replacement Cost in Texas, All-In?

A commercial roof replacement in Texas runs $14 to $20 per square foot all-in for a full tear-off and new system, or $9 to $15 per square foot to recover over one existing layer. Your deck, drainage, prep, and access set the final number. Updated July 2026.

Here is the thing most cost guides bury: the biggest number on your commercial roof replacement estimate is not the membrane, it is the method. Whether you strip the old roof off or recover over it moves your price more than any single-ply brand ever will. So that is where the real answer starts, and everything else is a detail inside these two bands. Both methods below are ones we scope, install, and stand behind.

Updated July 2026. Texas baseline pricing, per square foot of actual roof area, not leased floor area. These are all-in installed numbers, which means they already fold in tear-off or prep, insulation, flashings, the permit, and cleanup, so they read higher than a bare membrane price you might see quoted elsewhere. Your final figure still moves with the condition of the deck underneath, any drainage or slope corrections the roof needs, and how hard the building is to reach and stage. Which method fits your building is the whole question, and the honest answer is a deck assessment: compare a tear-off against a recover to see where the line falls.

At the Texas baseline, a 10,000 square foot commercial roof (about 13,100 square feet of actual roof) runs roughly $184,000 to $262,500 for a full tear-off, or $118,000 to $197,000 to recover over one sound layer. Deck, drainage, and access set the number.

Per square foot is how the estimate gets built, but your capital plan runs on project totals. So here is the same two-method pricing translated into what a whole roof costs by building size. One note before you read across: the square footage on your lease is conditioned floor area, and your actual roof is larger once you account for the footprint and the low slope. The table already does that math (actual roof square feet equals leased area times 1.25 for footprint times 1.05 for a flat pitch), so find your building size and read the two method columns.

Texas baseline installed cost

Updated July 2026. These are final installed ranges at the Texas baseline, computed from the two all-in method bands above. Regional variance across Texas markets runs roughly 3% to 10% over this baseline, driven mostly by local labor and staging, so nudge your budget up if your property sits in a higher-cost part of the state. And notice the gap between the two columns: on most buildings a qualifying recover lands well under a tear-off, which is exactly why the method decision is worth getting right before you budget. Whichever line you land on, the final price still depends on your deck, drainage, prep, and access.

Here is a piece of good news that catches a lot of property managers off guard: if your building carries only one existing roof layer and the structure under it is sound, you may not owe a full tear-off. A recover installs a brand-new system directly over the old one, and on the right building it is the smartest capital move on the table.

The reason it costs less is simple. A recover skips the demolition and skips the disposal, and it usually keeps your tenants working under a dry roof the whole time because the building never sits open to the weather. That is why the recover band ($9 to $15) sits below the tear-off band ($14 to $20).

Two things decide whether you qualify. First, the layer count: code caps you at two roof layers total, so if your building already wears two, a recover is off the table and a tear-off is the only legal path. Second, the deck: no recover is worth installing over wet insulation or a rusted, tired deck, because you would be sealing a problem under a new roof instead of fixing it.

A full tear-off runs higher because you are paying to strip and haul the old system before the new one goes down. That is the right call when the deck is saturated, the insulation is soaked, or you have already used up your layer allowance. Short version: when the bones are good and you have a layer to spare, recover beats replace on both cost and disruption, and when they are not, the tear-off is the honest answer. The only way to know which one your building qualifies for is a deck assessment, not a phone quote. Walk through the tear-off versus recover decision to see the criteria we check.

Inside that all-in price, the system itself runs $8 to $20 per square foot: TPO $8 to $12, EPDM $11 to $16, PVC $14 to $20, and built-up or modified bitumen $7.50 to $10. Tear-off, disposal, insulation, and prep make up the rest of the all-in number.

The method sets the band, but you still have to pick what actually goes down on the deck, and that choice moves your number inside the range. Quick context that usually helps: the per-system prices below are for the membrane or roofing system itself. The all-in method numbers up top are higher because they add the tear-off or prep, the insulation, the flashings, the permit, and the disposal on top of the system. So do not compare a bare $8 TPO price against a $15 all-in number and think someone is overcharging. They are measuring two different things.

Updated July 2026. Texas baseline, per square foot of actual roof area. The system you pick is a real line on the estimate, but on a full replacement it usually moves your number less than the method and the deck condition do. If your building leans toward a layered asphalt system, start with the built-up roofing details, or if you are weighing the two asphalt options head to head, read built-up roofing versus modified bitumen.

Two buildings the same size can carry very different replacement numbers, and it is rarely the membrane brand. Here is what actually moves the estimate, so you can read your own bids with a sharper eye.

1. Tear-off versus recover. This is the biggest lever, and it is why the page leads with it. A qualifying recover can save you real money against a full tear-off on the same building. Get this decision right before anything else.

2. Deck and substrate condition. What is under the membrane sets your prep cost. If your deck and insulation are sound and dry, the new system loads onto good structure and the number stays clean. If the assessment finds wet insulation, corroded metal deck, or rot, that repair shows up as a line item before a single new roll goes down. A real assessment finds this before contract, not on day three.

3. Drainage and slope. A flat roof only works if the water has somewhere to go. If your roof ponds, or the internal drains and scuppers are undersized, correcting the slope and drainage is part of the scope and part of the price. Skipping it is how a brand-new roof still leaks.

4. Insulation and code upgrades. A full tear-off can trigger current energy-code insulation requirements that the old roof was grandfathered out of. Adding tapered insulation to fix ponding, or building up R-value to meet code, is real cost that a low bid often leaves off.

5. Roof access and staging. How material gets onto the roof matters. A ground-level warehouse with open access prices lower than a multi-story building where every load is craned up over occupied space. Height, obstructions, and keeping tenants working underneath all add labor.

6. Rooftop equipment and penetrations. HVAC curbs, drains, pipes, and wall terminations all need new flashings, and a roof crowded with units takes longer to detail than an open field. The more penetrations, the more the labor.

A number is only as honest as the scope behind it. Before you compare two bids, make sure they cover the same work, because "roof replacement" can quietly mean two very different jobs. Every ARP commercial replacement estimate puts the full scope in writing before a contract is signed, and here is what that scope covers.

What is in an ARP commercial replacement estimate:

• Full existing-roof assessment with photo documentation
• Deck and substrate inspection and a written condition report
• The complete scope of work, in writing, before you sign
• The system, insulation, and fastening pattern named on paper
• Manufacturer-specified installation for the system you selected
• All penetration flashings: HVAC curbs, drains, pipes, and wall terminations
• Code-required drainage and slope corrections, noted before work starts
• Building permit, pulled in every ARP service area
• Manufacturer warranty registration
• Final walkthrough with you or your building owner, plus debris removal and cleanup

What is usually out (and should be quoted separately if the roof needs it):

• Major structural or deck replacement beyond a stated allowance, if the assessment finds a failed deck
• Interior repairs from prior leaks (drywall, insulation, tenant-space finishes)
• A full engineered drainage redesign, if the building's original drainage was undersized
• Rooftop equipment that has to be lifted, reset, or re-curbed by a mechanical trade

None of that is padding. It is the difference between a quote that holds and a "low" number that turns into change orders once the crew is on the roof. That same discipline runs across every system we install as a commercial roofing contractor in Texas.

We do not compete on the lowest bid, and we will tell you that up front. What you get instead is a number built from an actual assessment: an ARP estimator walks the roof, tests the deck, checks the layer count and the drainage, measures the real area, and writes the system, insulation, flashing, and disposal details into a scope you can hold before you commit a dollar. That is how a tear-off and a recover stop being guesses and become two priced options you can take to ownership.

That estimator work sits under real commercial-roofing authority. Randal Williams is a former commercial high-rise field engineer and Xactimate expert with 15+ years in roofing and construction. He has scoped and documented more than $7 million in insurance claim work across Texas, including single commercial claims above $2 million, supporting property managers and building owners through the claims process as the contractor of record.

On the roof, the work is led by an ARP project manager, and the installation partners we deploy and supervise under that project manager do the install with inspections at the milestones that matter. One project manager runs your job from contract through warranty registration, so the number you signed and the roof you get are the same thing. ARP is a GAF GoldElite Commercial Contractor, registered with every municipality across our Texas service areas.

A number that comes in well under the ranges above is not a bargain, it is a warning. Here is what is usually missing when a commercial replacement bid looks too good to be true:

• A recover quoted without a layer check. If nobody counted your existing layers or looked at the deck, a "recover" price is a guess. Over two layers or wet insulation, that roof is a callback waiting to happen, and often an illegal one.
• No deck condition report. The deck is where the surprises live. A bid with no written assessment of what is under the membrane can add a deck-replacement change order the week after you sign.
• Drainage left off the scope. If your roof ponds and the estimate says nothing about slope or drains, that work did not disappear, it just got deferred onto your next leak.
• No insulation or code line on a tear-off. A full tear-off can trigger current energy-code insulation. A bid that ignores it is quietly planning to under-build, or to bill you later.
• No written scope before the deposit. A vague one-page quote is where commercial roofs leak in year eight. The system, the flashings, and the drainage corrections all belong on paper before you sign.

If a bid is missing these, the gap between it and an honest number is not profit you are saving, it is work that will not get done.

An aging or failing commercial roof does not get cheaper by waiting. Every season the water keeps finding the deck, the insulation keeps soaking, and a job that could have been a recover turns into a full tear-off with a deck repair attached. The move that protects you is putting real numbers and a real scope in front of ownership before the roof forces the decision on its timeline instead of yours.

That is what an assessment gives you: a walked roof, a tested deck, a layer count, and a written scope with the price attached, so you can plan the capital instead of reacting to a leak. Book your free commercial roof assessment and we will put the scope and the pricing on paper. If you are still deciding between stripping the roof and recovering it, compare tear-off against recover first.

• Tear-off and replace: all-in installed method, new system built down to the deck after the old roof is stripped and hauled.
• Lay-over / recover: all-in installed method, new system installed over one sound existing layer, subject to the code two-layer cap.
• Single-ply (TPO, EPDM, PVC), built-up roofing, and modified bitumen: the low-slope systems that go inside the all-in method price.

Pricing basis:

• ARP's current pricing (Texas), July 2026: commercial replacement method bands ($14 to $20 tear-off, $9 to $15 recover), per-system material bands, and building-size totals computed from the method (actual roof square feet equals leased area times 1.25 footprint times 1.05 flat pitch). Final pricing depends on deck condition, drainage, prep, and access.

Manufacturer Certifications:

• GAF GoldElite Commercial Contractor
• Elevate Red Shield Licensed Contractor
• UNIFLEX Premier Elite Contractor

Industry Membership:

• BBB A+ Accredited
• CTRCA (Central Texas Roofing Contractors Association) Member