Where is the best place to buy architectural shingles?

It’s not where, but what brand, and the contractor you select. Look on Angie’s List for contractors in your area and read the reviews, and ask neighbors. It’s more the labor that runs up the pricing than the materials, unless you’re putting in a slate or metal roof. Where your costs are going to come in is the tear-off, repairs to wood underneath the roof, modifications to venting. I have Corning dimensional shingles on my house and the cost difference in terms of materials was only about 15% of materials, and about 4% of the total job.

Make sure you get at least 3 bids. To roof my house ranged from $19,000 to $8,200. This included venting and $1,200 for work on a flat roof. People will bid high if they don’t really want to work for you. I ended up going with a company that bid $8,900 because of their reputation for showing up early, working hard, and cleaning up at the end of the day. They arrived with an army of workers, and knocked the house out in 3 days.

@BarnacleBill
Wow, thanks!

How much is Angies list?

$5 sign-up fee, $2.60 for one month, $20.00 for a year. In some areas, it’s free because they are building up the list. My BIL owns a decking business in another part of the country and told me about the site. It’s been very helpful.

http://www.angieslist.com/