When a homeowner takes on the full envelope at once, the order of the trades and the timing across the calendar decide whether the project saves money or creates the leaks it was supposed to fix.
Quick answer: Run the trades in this order. Roof first, gutters second, siding last. The roof tear-off sets the drip edge and step flashing the siding has to tie into. Gutters drop in once the fascia is finished. Siding closes everything in. On a typical 2,200 to 2,800 square foot West Michigan home, combining the three trades into one project saves 8 to 15 percent versus running them separately, and eliminates the leak paths that show up when finished work has to be opened later to access flashings.
The owners who book a single exterior contractor for the full envelope are usually the owners who did it the other way once already. They replaced the roof in 2018, the gutters in 2021, and the siding now. The 2021 gutter install required new fascia, which required the roofer back to redo the drip edge. The 2026 siding install is finding the 2018 step flashing damaged, the housewrap behind it torn from the 2021 fascia work, and a slow leak above a sidewall window that nobody saw coming. None of that is bad work in isolation. It is uncoordinated work.
This piece walks the replacement-led order for a combined exterior project, the West Michigan calendar windows that the project has to fit inside, the seam-by-seam decisions that get made differently when one team is running the whole sequence, and the typical cost and savings picture for a 2026 full exterior.
The right order is not a preference. It is set by which layer covers which other layer at the wall-to-roof intersection. Walk the seam from the deck out: roof underlayment, drip edge and gutter apron at the eave, step flashing at sidewalls, housewrap on the wall, gutter on the fascia, siding over the housewrap and step flashing. Each layer is installed in that order because it laps over the one beneath. Reverse any of it and the lap is wrong, the water path is wrong, and the assembly leaks.
The roof goes first because the step flashing has to be installed by the roofing crew while the deck is open. Step flashing is the small bent pieces that tuck under each shingle course where a roof meets a vertical wall. The flashing has to be set with the roof, and then it has to remain exposed and undisturbed until the siding crew comes in to lay housewrap and siding over it. A roofer who walks off a job leaving step flashing exposed has done it right. A siding crew that tears off old siding and finds step flashing already installed has been handed the correct deck-to-wall detail.
Gutters drop in once the roof is finished and the fascia is set. The drip edge along the eave overlaps the back of the gutter, and the gutter apron (the small flashing piece behind the gutter) is part of the roof tear-off package, not the gutter package. A gutter installed without an apron behind it dumps water behind the gutter and into the fascia. A gutter installed before the roof drip edge is on misses the lap entirely. The order matters at one-eighth-inch precision.
Siding closes the envelope. The housewrap goes up over the sheathing, sealed at every seam and folded into window and door openings. Step flashing already on the wall gets housewrap behind it (cut to fit) and siding lapped over it. The siding terminates against the gutter on the eave and against the soffit on the rake. When the siding crew is the last trade on a coordinated project, every seam they finish is the final layer. When they are not, they are working around finished work and the seams compromise.
The single most common leak path in West Michigan homes is a sidewall where roof meets vertical wall, the dormer cheek, the second-story wall above a porch roof, the chimney chase, the bay window roof. Every one of those is a step-flashed seam, and every one of those is where uncoordinated exterior projects create problems.
The pattern: a roofer installs new step flashing in 2018 with the old siding still on the wall above. The flashing is correctly installed against the existing siding. Five years later a different siding crew tears off the old siding and removes the step flashing in the process, because that is what they have always done. They install new step flashing as part of the siding job. Except they are no longer working with the roof open, so the new flashing tucks over the shingles rather than under them. The lap is wrong. The seam leaks within two seasons.
When one team runs the whole project, the step flashing goes in once, the housewrap and siding go up over it in the correct order, and the seam is built right. When the siding crew is the same crew or a coordinated subcontractor on the roof project, the seam handoff is named in the project plan. When the projects are years apart, the handoff is whatever the next crew chooses to do, and the choices add up.
The same problem repeats at chimneys, where chimney flashing has counterflashing that is cut into the masonry; at skylights, where the manufacturer's flashing kit assumes a specific install sequence with the roof; and at any wall-side gutter outlet where the downspout penetrates a fascia or wall. Coordinating the trades eliminates the seam ambiguity at each.
A full exterior cannot be poured into a winter slot. The materials have temperature minimums and the work has light minimums. Asphalt shingles need a deck temperature above 45 degrees Fahrenheit for the sealing strip to activate and bond panel-to-panel. Below that threshold the install is mechanically secure but the sealing strip does not bond until the next warm day, and exposed sealing strips are how wind takes shingles. Housewrap manufacturers void the warranty for installs below freezing. Vinyl siding cracks at low temperatures during cut and nailing. Caulks and sealants used at flashing details have temperature minimums printed on the tube.
That sets the West Michigan clean window at roughly mid-May through late October. The shoulders of that window (early May and early November) are workable for roof-only projects but compress the timeline for siding, which cannot proceed if the day forecast drops below threshold mid-job. The reliable scheduling sweet spots:
A project booked in March for a mid-June start is on a calm calendar. A project booked in mid-October for an emergency tear-and-replace before the first storm is on a stressful calendar that the West Michigan weather will probably win. The replacement-led conversation, when the homeowner has the lead time, schedules the project at the front of the season, not the back. Our piece on spring roof maintenance covers the inspection that often surfaces the full-envelope conversation in March or April.
Three operational realities change for the better when the same project manager owns roof, gutters, and siding from contract to closeout.
Mobilization consolidates. One dumpster sits in the driveway for the whole project rather than three at three different times. One scaffold or lift mobilization covers the full sequence. The lockbox, the materials staging, the daily site protection, all of it runs as one operation. That single mobilization is roughly two to four percent of the total project cost on a typical home and it shows up in the savings.
Material orders coordinate. The drip edge profile and the gutter profile are picked to match. The trim color on the roof line matches the gutter coil. The siding profile choice considers how it terminates against the fascia detail the roof crew is building. When the orders are placed by separate contractors years apart, the matches are accidental.
The seam handoffs get named in the project plan. The step flashing detail at every sidewall, the chimney counterflashing, the gutter apron at the eaves, the soffit detail at the rake, the kick-out flashing at the wall-roof terminations: all of these get walked at the bid stage, called out on the project plan, and built in one coordinated sequence. Every one of them is a seam that leaks when uncoordinated. None of them leaks when one crew owns the order.
The replacement-led project, where the homeowner is doing the full envelope deliberately rather than reacting to storm damage, takes about ten working days for a typical West Michigan home: two days for roof tear-off and dry-in, three to five days for shingle install and trim, one to two days for gutter install once the fascia is closed, and three to five days for siding tear-off and reinstall. The phases overlap where they can. The house is dried in at the end of every workday throughout.
The pricing brackets below assume a 2,200 to 2,800 square foot home, two stories, moderate trim complexity, mid-range product specs. They are honest brackets for what the work costs in West Michigan in 2026. Premium specs (Class 4 impact-rated shingles, fiber-cement siding, oversized gutters with high-end leaf protection) push the top of each range higher. Stripped specs (three-tab shingles, basic vinyl, standard gutters) sit at the bottom.
| Trade line | 2026 cost range (typical home) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Roof: tear-off and architectural asphalt re-roof | $14,000 to $22,000 | CertainTeed Landmark, Owens Corning Duration, GAF Timberline class |
| Roof premium: Class 4 impact-rated | add $2,000 to $4,000 | Triggers Michigan insurance discount |
| Siding: full tear and replace, vinyl | $22,000 to $32,000 | Includes housewrap, trim, J-channel, soffit and fascia as needed |
| Siding: full tear and replace, fiber-cement | $32,000 to $45,000 | James Hardie or equivalent, 30 plus year lifespan |
| Gutters: seamless aluminum, downspouts, leaf protection | $2,500 to $5,000 | 5-inch standard, 6-inch on long runs and lakeshore-zone homes |
| Combined project total range | $38,000 to $72,000 | Single-mobilization discount of 8 to 15 percent applied |
The 8 to 15 percent savings versus running the three trades separately is concentrated in three line items. Dumpster and disposal: one rental, one haul, instead of three (saves $800 to $1,500). Scaffold and lift: one mobilization instead of two or three (saves $1,200 to $3,000). Project management overhead and permit fees: consolidated (saves $1,000 to $2,500). On a $50,000 combined project, those savings total roughly $3,000 to $7,000, which lines up with the 8 to 15 percent range. The full roof replacement cost guide walks the roof-only number in more detail, and the siding services page covers product options.
A bid worth signing for a combined exterior is more than a price. It is a project plan with named details at every seam and a sequence on the calendar. The items that should appear in writing:
A bid that runs all of that in writing is a bid that has been thought through. A bid that gives a single number for the full exterior with no detail on the seams is a bid that has not. Our piece on Kent County roofing permits covers the permit side, and the insurance claim supplement piece covers what happens when the project is part of a claim rather than a planned replacement.
We have run combined exterior projects across Grand Rapids, the East Grand Rapids and Reeds Lake corridor, Forest Hills, Cascade, and out to Holland and the lakeshore since 1994. The lesson the work has taught is the same one every season: the seams set the lifespan. A coordinated sequence builds the seams right the first time, and that is the difference between a 25-year envelope and a leak that finds you in year three.
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Roof first, gutters second, siding last. The roof tear-off and install have to happen before the siding goes up because step flashing on a vertical wall ties into the siding and the wall housewrap. Gutters drop in once the fascia and drip edge are set during the roof phase. Siding is the last layer because it covers the housewrap, step flashing, and gutter outlet detail. Reversing the order forces tear-out of finished work to access flashings.
On a typical 2,200 to 2,800 square foot West Michigan home, combining the three trades saves about 8 to 15 percent versus running each project separately. The savings come from a single mobilization, shared dumpster and disposal, shared scaffold or lift, and one project manager coordinating the deck-to-finish sequence. Permit fees consolidate. Inspection trips consolidate. The savings rise on more complex roofs with significant siding tear-out.
The clean window is mid-May through late October. Asphalt shingles need a deck temperature above 45 degrees to seal, and the housewrap and siding manufacturers void warranties on installs below freezing. The best scheduling is early summer or early fall: ground is dry, daylight is long enough for a full crew day, and the project closes before the first heavy frost. November and early December are workable for roof-only but risky for a full exterior tear and replace.
Yes, and that is how most West Michigan projects run. The roof and siding work happens with the house dried in at the end of every workday. The roof tear-off section gets underlayment and sometimes shingles the same day so the house never sits open overnight. Siding goes up over an installed housewrap so the wall is sealed even before the new cladding is on. Power, water, and HVAC stay on throughout.
Three common failures. First, step flashing on sidewalls that was installed during the roof project gets damaged or removed when the siding crew works around it months later. Second, the drip edge and gutter apron set during the roof phase do not line up with a gutter installed on a different size fascia profile. Third, the housewrap behind the siding gets cut to install gutter brackets after the fact, creating leak paths into the wall. Single-team coordination eliminates all three.
A 2,200 to 2,800 square foot home with architectural asphalt re-roof, full vinyl or fiber-cement siding replacement, and seamless aluminum gutters runs 38,000 to 72,000 dollars complete in 2026. The roof line runs 14,000 to 22,000. Siding runs 22,000 to 45,000 depending on vinyl versus fiber-cement and trim complexity. Gutters and downspouts run 2,500 to 5,000 with leaf protection. Discounts of 8 to 15 percent versus separate projects are typical when run as one job.