15 ft clearance shingle maker IKO recommends keeping all the way around your house during the job

6,000 lbs tear-off debris from a 25-square architectural shingle roof, per IKO’s dumpster sizing guide

240 new nails per roofing square at the building code minimum of four per shingle, 60 shingles a square

$200-$300 per panel to remove and reinstall rooftop solar for a roof replacement, per EnergySage

Knowing how to prepare for a roof replacement comes down to splitting the work correctly. Your part is short: the attic, the walls, the cars, the kids and pets, and the calls only you can make, like the solar company. The roofer’s part covers the nail sweep, the dumpster on your driveway, protecting your landscaping, and repairing anything the crew breaks, and all of it belongs in the contract. This guide sorts both lists by week, day, and morning.

Most roof prep checklists online are written by roofers, and they quietly hand you jobs that belong to the crew. Covering your flower beds, shielding the AC unit, finding every nail in the lawn: those are part of what you are paying for on a $10,000-plus project. Your real prep list takes about an afternoon. The list that protects your money is the one you put in writing before anyone climbs a ladder.

The day you sign is day one of prep

You usually have more lead time than you think. CertainTeed puts a common gap between signing a roofing contract and the start of work at two to six weeks. That window is where the only prep with real lead time happens: scheduling the solar company, sorting out the satellite dish, and settling where a three-ton dumpster will sit. Everything else can wait for the final week.

How long you are preparing for

On most asphalt shingle homes the crew is on the roof for one or two days, and our guide to how long a roof replacement takes breaks down the crew math. So you are not moving out of your life. You are clearing a work zone, protecting a few rooms, and getting the crew’s obligations on paper.

Two Lists: What You Do and What the Roofer Owns

Before the checklist, draw the line. It decides who pays when something goes wrong.

Your list: about an afternoon of work

These are the jobs nobody else can do because they involve your belongings, your family, and your accounts:

• Inside: empty or cover the attic, take down wall hangings, protect fragile items and the garage.
• People and animals: plan for kids, pets, and anyone working from home.
• Access: move the cars, unlock gates, test the outdoor outlet, mow the lawn.
• Calls: the solar installer, the satellite or internet provider, the neighbors, and the HOA if you have one.
• Records: a set of photos of the house and yard before work starts.

The roofer’s list: the jobs that cost money when skipped

Shingle maker IKO describes a professional crew laying tarps to catch debris, placing boards over windows, and using magnets to find nails. Those are the contractor’s tasks. So is repairing what the crew damages. The risk is not that a good roofer refuses. The risk is that nobody wrote it down, so a cracked driveway or a flat tire becomes your word against theirs.

Where the checklists blur the line

Some contractor checklists tell homeowners to tarp their own flower beds or cover their own AC condenser with plywood. Moving the patio furniture is fair. Protecting the shrubs next to the foundation is the crew’s job, done with the crew’s tarps, and a bid should say so.

Two Weeks Out: The Calls Only You Can Make

These are the items with lead time. Skip them and the crew arrives to a roof it cannot finish.

Solar panels: schedule the detach before the roofer

If you have rooftop solar, the array has to come off before tear-off and go back on after, and that is usually a different company on a different calendar. EnergySage puts removal and reinstallation at about $200 to $300 per panel, says a large system can run past $7,000, and recommends calling your original solar installer. It also warns that removal can void the panel manufacturer’s warranty, which is one more reason to use the installer who put it up. Our comparison of solar shingles vs. solar panels on asphalt covers how that detach-and-reset bill fits into the bigger decision.

Book the solar crew as soon as you have a start date, and get the roofer and the solar company talking to each other. The new mounts have to be flashed into the new roof, and someone has to own that detail.

Satellite dishes, antennas, and skylights

Anything bolted through the roof needs a plan. Ask your roofer three questions: who takes it down, who puts it back, and is it in the price? A dish that comes off may need your provider to re-aim it, so call them early rather than lose service after the crew leaves. An old skylight is worth a look too. Skylight makers such as VELUX point to a reroof as the natural time to replace one, since the flashing is being redone anyway, and our guide to why valleys, dormers and chimneys cost more covers what those details add.

Neighbors, the HOA, and the dumpster spot

Give the neighbors a few days of warning about noise, trucks, and possible debris near the property line. If the dumpster cannot fit on your property and has to sit on the street, many towns require a permit for it, so ask the roofer who handles that. If you have an HOA, check whether shingle color needs approval before the order is placed.

Septic tanks, sprinklers, and anything buried

A loaded roll-off truck is heavy. If you have a septic tank, a drain field, or shallow utility lines, show the crew where they are before the dumpster is dropped. IKO also suggests marking sprinkler heads so nobody trips on them, and pointing out ponds or other water features.

The Week Of: Inside the House

Roof work shakes the whole structure. Hammers and nail guns run all day, and some of that force comes through the ceiling.

The attic: why it rains dust up there

Here is the part most checklists skip. The building code requires shingle nails to penetrate at least 3/4 inch into the roof sheathing, or go all the way through sheathing thinner than that. Common roof sheathing runs 7/16 to 5/8 inch thick, so on most houses thousands of nail tips come through into your attic, and every hammer blow shakes loose dust, old granules, and debris. On older homes with board decking, gaps between the boards let even more fall through during tear-off.

IKO recommends moving sentimental and fragile items out of the attic and laying tarps or drop cloths over what stays. If the crew finds soft decking that needs replacing, that sheet comes off and your attic is open to the sky until the new one goes on. Our guide to roof decking replacement cost explains how that gets priced.

Walls, shelves, and top-floor ceilings

IKO’s list includes mirrors, pictures, wreaths, and loose shelving. Pay extra attention to the top floor and any rooms under a vaulted ceiling, since they sit closest to the hammering. Take fragile items off shelves and separate glassware so it cannot rattle together.

While you are up there, photograph any existing ceiling cracks. Older plaster ceilings sometimes crack under that pounding. If you have a before photo, a new crack is clearly new.

The garage and the cars in it

IKO also suggests tarping valuables in the garage. The bigger issue is access. If the dumpster lands in front of the garage door, your car is trapped until it leaves. Pull any car you will need out of the garage before the dumpster arrives, and park on the street, away from the drop zone.

Kids, pets, and working from home

Plan on noise from start to finish on work days. IKO suggests arranging a kennel or a friend’s house for pets, and sending young children to family or friends. Dogs can get stressed by strangers overhead all day, and a yard full of falling debris is no place for kids. If you work from home, move your calls or your desk. The quietest room is usually in the basement or on the ground floor, as far from the tear-off as you can get.

The Day Before: Outside the House

The outside checklist is the one competitors cover best, and IKO’s version is the most specific.

Clear a 15-foot work zone

IKO recommends a 15-foot clearance all the way around your house. Move patio furniture, grills, planters, toys, garden decor, solar path lights, and wind chimes into the garage, a shed, or the far side of the yard. Anything left in that zone will catch shingle scraps and nails.

Cars out, gates open, power on

• Cars: IKO suggests parking a safe distance away on the street. Get everything out of the driveway the night before.
• Gates: unlock them so the crew can reach every side of the house.
• Outdoor outlet: IKO suggests checking that one works, since the crew may need it for powered equipment.

Mow, then take the before photos

IKO says to cut the grass before the job, because short grass makes dropped nails easier to find. Then walk the property with your phone and take a date-stamped photo record: the driveway and walkways, flower beds and shrubs, siding, gutters, the AC condenser, windows, and those interior ceilings. Most roofers never damage anything. Photos make the rare dispute short.

Put the Roofer’s List in Writing

This is where preparation actually protects your money. Each item below should appear in the proposal or contract. A promise at the kitchen table is not a term.

The nail sweep, with numbers behind it

Here is why the magnet matters. The building code minimum is four nails per shingle, and many high-wind installations call for six. IKO’s Cambridge architectural shingle comes 20 to a bundle, three bundles to a square, so that is 60 shingles and at least 240 new nails per square. On a 25-square roof, that is roughly 6,000 new nails, or about 9,000 with a six-nail pattern, plus thousands of old ones coming off the tear-off.

Put this in writing:

• A magnetic sweep at the end of every workday, not just the last one.
• A final sweep covering the yard, driveway, flower beds, and the street in front of the house.
• A visual pass for shingle scraps. IKO points out that magnets cannot pick up shingle pieces.
• Gutters and downspouts checked and cleared of granules and nails.

Dumpster placement and driveway protection

Tear-off debris is heavy. IKO’s dumpster guide puts a 25-square architectural shingle roof at about 6,000 pounds of debris, enough for a 20-yard container, and notes that a hidden second layer doubles it. That is three tons on steel rails, often for days, and asphalt driveways are especially easy to dent. Dumpster rental companies commonly recommend plywood under the rails to spread the load.

Agree on three things in writing: where the dumpster sits, whether plywood goes under it, and who repairs the driveway if it cracks. If a second layer turns up, ask how that changes the haul-off charge, since more tonnage usually means a bigger bill.

Property protection and damage repair

The contract should name what the crew protects: landscaping near the foundation, windows, siding, gutters, the AC condenser, and anything else in the drop zone. It should also say the contractor repairs or pays for damage the crew causes, and within what time. That promise is only as good as the insurance behind it, so get the certificate. Our 5-step contractor vetting guide shows what to check.

Accessories as line items, not assumptions

Solar, satellite dishes, antennas, skylights, and gutter guards should each show up as included, excluded, or priced separately. Our guide to reading a roofing estimate line by line shows where these hide, and our list of questions to ask a roofer before signing covers the rest of the scope. Before you compare bids, check the totals against our roofing cost calculator so an accessory fee does not hide inside a low headline price.

For what the job itself should cost before any of these extras, see our full breakdown of roof replacement cost.

Frequently Asked Questions About Preparing for a Roof Replacement

How far in advance should I prepare for a roof replacement?

Start the day you sign. CertainTeed says a common gap between signing and the start of work is two to six weeks. Use the early weeks for calls with lead time, like the solar installer, the satellite provider, and the HOA. Handle the attic and interior the week of the job, and clear the yard and move the cars the day before.

Should I cover things in my attic during a roof replacement?

Yes. Building codes require shingle nails to go through thin roof sheathing, so nail tips come through into the attic, and the hammering shakes loose dust and old debris. Move sentimental and fragile items out and cover everything else with tarps or drop cloths. Expect some cleanup up there even on a careful job.

Do roofers clean up nails after a roof replacement?

A professional crew should run magnetic sweepers over the yard, driveway, and beds. Put it in the contract anyway, ideally a sweep at the end of each workday plus a final one. A 25-square roof takes roughly 6,000 new nails at the code minimum, and magnets do not pick up shingle scraps, so ask for a visual pass too.

Will a roof replacement damage my driveway?

It can. IKO estimates about 6,000 pounds of debris from a 25-square architectural shingle roof, and that load sits on steel rails for days. Asphalt driveways dent most easily. Ask for plywood under the dumpster, agree on its placement in writing, and get the contractor to state who repairs any damage.

Who removes solar panels for a roof replacement?

Usually your solar installer, not the roofer. EnergySage recommends calling the company that installed the system and puts removal and reinstallation at about 200 to 300 dollars per panel. Book it as soon as you have a roofing start date, because the solar crew runs on its own schedule and has to come back after the new roof is on.

Should I move my car during a roof replacement?

Yes. Get every car out of the driveway the night before and park on the street, away from the drop zone. If the dumpster is going in front of your garage door, pull out any car you will need first, or it stays trapped until the dumpster is hauled away.

What should I do after the roof replacement is finished?

Walk the property in daylight and compare it with your before photos. Check the gutters, flower beds, and driveway for nails and scraps. Confirm that the permit has passed its final inspection if one was required, collect your warranty paperwork, and let your homeowners insurer know you have a new roof. Hold the final payment until the punch list is complete.

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