Michigan sets one of the lowest licensing thresholds in the country — $600 including materials — behind a genuinely demanding standard of 60 hours of prelicensure education and a two-part exam. Detroit then requires city registration on top. That gives you two things to check, and no grey area about whether a roofing job needs them. This page lists roofers serving Detroit.
What Detroit roofers handle
Ice dam damage and prevention, the defining seasonal failure.
Full replacement on asphalt shingle, the dominant covering.
Decking replacement, routine on ageing stock.
Repairs on long-deferred maintenance, a real share of the local market.
Flat and low-slope roofing on commercial and multi-family buildings.
Ventilation and attic air sealing, where ice dams are actually solved.
Licensing in Michigan
Michigan licenses residential construction from $600 — one of the lowest thresholds in the country.
Anyone contracting with a property owner for residential construction or remodelling worth $600 or more, including materials and labour, must be licensed as a Residential Builder or a Maintenance and Alteration Contractor. That threshold is low enough that essentially every roofing job is covered.
The standard behind it is substantial: 60 hours of approved prelicensure education, a two-part exam, an application fee, and a good-moral-character requirement.
Detroit requires city registration in addition to the state licence, so a contractor working in the city needs both.
Verify the state licence with LARA before signing. With a $600 threshold and a 60-hour education requirement, an unlicensed roofer in Michigan is not a borderline case.
What’s specific to Detroit
Two credentials, both checkable. The Michigan Residential Builder or Maintenance and Alteration Contractor licence is required from $600 and sits behind 60 hours of education and a two-part exam. Detroit adds city registration. Ask for both — the state standard here is high enough that holding it means something.
Deferred maintenance is a genuine market condition. Detroit’s housing stock includes many properties where roof maintenance was postponed for years. That changes what a tear-off finds: more layers, more decking rot, and sometimes structural issues that a covering replacement will not address. A per-sheet decking price is essential rather than optional.
Ice dams on under-insulated attics. Older housing with minimal insulation is exactly the condition that produces dams — meltwater from a warm roof refreezing at a cold eave.
Freeze-thaw cycling is severe. Detroit crosses freezing repeatedly through winter, working on flashing, sealant and any trapped water.
A wide spread of condition within neighbourhoods. Restored houses sit beside long-vacant ones, so a contractor’s experience with your specific type of property matters more here than in a uniform suburb.
Pricing expectations
Detroit figures for 2026, as published by local roofing companies:
- Full replacement: $9,000–$19,000 across both guides, with mid-range projects around $12,000–$16,000
- Three-tab: $3.50–$6.00 per square foot; architectural $4.75–$8.00
- Architectural plus labour, all-in: roughly $450–$600 per square
- Metal: shingles $7.50–$12, standing seam $8.50–$15, premium up to $20+
- Clay or concrete tile: $12–$25; slate $15–$30
- Code-required ice and water protection at eaves and valleys: adds $500–$1,200
- Disposal: $300–$600 for a full roof load; permit $100–$300; labour $150–$300 per square
Michigan requires ice and water protection at eaves and valleys, and one local guide puts that at $500 to $1,200 on a typical roof — a bigger line than the equivalent Massachusetts requirement, because Detroit roofs get it in the valleys as well as the eaves. It is code, so it is not a choice; but it is a useful thing to look for when one quote comes in noticeably under the others. Snow load and freeze-thaw are what the requirement exists for, and they are also why decking condition on Detroit’s older stock is worth pricing before the tear-off rather than after.
These are ranges local roofing companies publish for this metro rather than survey data, so treat them as a bracket to check a quote against, not a price list.
Two contract items: that ice and water protection at both eaves and valleys is specified and priced, and a per-sheet decking price agreed before tear-off.
Neighborhoods served
Roofers listed here work across Detroit, including Corktown, Midtown, Indian Village, Boston-Edison, Bagley, Rosedale Park, Southwest Detroit, Palmer Woods and East English Village.
Most also serve surrounding communities — Dearborn, Ferndale, Royal Oak, Grosse Pointe, Warren, Southfield, Hamtramck and Redford.
How this directory helps
Every roofer here is listed with business name, address and phone so you can verify them yourself.
Three questions sort Detroit contractors. Ask for both the Michigan licence and Detroit city registration — the state threshold is $600, so there is no exemption. Get a per-sheet decking price before tear-off. And ask what they recommend for attic insulation.