What Drives Roof Replacement Cost

Because four of the biggest cost drivers are invisible from a phone call. Pitch decides whether crews can walk the roof or need staging. Access decides how far bundles and debris get carried. The number of existing layers is only visible at an edge or a vent. Deck condition is not knowable until the shingles are off. A phone number is a guess, and guesses get revised upward.

You sometimes can, but the BC Building Code allows a maximum of two layers of asphalt shingles, so an overlay is only possible over a single existing layer, and only where that surface is flat and the deck is sound. It also hides the sheathing, usually leaves old flashings in place, and adds weight. Most coastal homes are better served by a full tear-off, and many manufacturers limit warranty coverage over existing layers.

Nobody can see plywood through shingles, so the quantity is unknown until tear-off day. On a dry roof you may replace nothing. On a roof that has leaked around a chimney or skylight for a few winters you may replace six or eight sheets. We show you the bad sheathing on site and confirm the added cost in writing before replacing it.

Usually because they are not the same job. Read what each quote includes: tear-off of all layers or one, disposal, synthetic or felt underlayment, self-adhered membrane at eaves and valleys, new step and chimney flashing or reused, and how unexpected sheathing repairs are handled. A cheap quote often reuses flashing and skips the eave membrane, which is where coastal roofs leak first.

We serve British Columbia, Alberta and Texas. Our core service area is Metro Vancouver, including West Vancouver, North Vancouver, Burnaby, and Langley.