Our process · Metro Vancouver & the Fraser Valley
How a roof gets done here: from first enquiry to the final walkthrough
There are five steps: a measured estimate from your address or a phone call, a free inspection that turns it into one fixed written price, scheduling against the weather, the work itself over one to three days, and a final walkthrough with the warranty handed over in writing.
Nothing in it is a surprise. What cannot be known until the old roof is off is named and priced in the quote before the first shingle moves.
Step one
An instant estimate, or a phone call.
Most roofing enquiries begin with someone wanting a number and being offered a callback. This starts the other way round.
Type your address into the estimator and the roof is measured from satellite imagery: area in squares, the pitch of each plane, the facet count, and the linear metres of ridge, hip, valley, eave and rake. That measured roof is priced against the materials that suit it, before we ask you for anything.
It is an estimate rather than a quote for a specific reason: imagery cannot tell how many layers are already up there, whether a bin and a ladder can reach where they need to be, or what the flashings, chimney and attic are doing. If you would rather talk it through, call — either route ends at the same free inspection.
Step two
A free inspection, then one fixed written price.
The inspection is free anywhere from West Vancouver to Chilliwack, travel is never a line on the quote, and there is no obligation at the end of it.
What gets checked: the roof field and its remaining life, the flashings, valleys, penetrations and vent boots, the number of existing layers, the access for equipment and waste, and the attic — where ventilation and the state of the deck are really decided. Then you get a written scope and one fixed number, not a range, separated into two lists.
Included in the price
- Removal of the existing roofing, and full clean-up of debris
- Ice and water shield and underlayment
- The chosen product installed to manufacturer specification
- New hip and ridge; existing attic vents replaced with new
- New pipe jacks and flashings
- The city permit where one is required
- Insured crews, and the written workmanship warranty
Named and priced separately, up front
- New decking, per sheet, only if rot is found
- More than one existing layer to tear off
- A second storey, or access that will not take a ladder or a bin
- An unusually complex roof
- Skylights, chimney flashing, gutters and structural repairs
Comparing us with somebody else? Lay the two included lists side by side: most of the gap between roofing quotes is scope, not margin.
Step three
The deck question, settled before it is asked.
This is the step most roofing processes leave out, and it causes most of the mid-job arguments in this trade.
Nobody — not us, not the roofer with the lower number — can see the plywood under an intact roof. So rather than discovering it on the Thursday, decking is quoted as a conditional item in the original quote, at a fixed rate per sheet, and charged only if sheets have to be replaced. None found, nothing charged. Three found, three charged, at the rate you already have in writing.
On about one tear-off in ten there is rot at all, usually a couple of sheets around a penetration. The other nine need only re-nailing. The exception is cedar: shakes were laid over spaced strapping rather than solid plywood, so a cedar conversion always includes a full new deck, as a line in the quote from the start. Whatever is found is photographed before it goes in the bin.
Step four
Scheduling, and what the weather actually changes.
Once the quote is accepted the job goes on the schedule with a start date and a material order behind it. You are told the date, the expected number of days, where the bin will sit, and what needs to be clear on the first morning: the driveway, and access on two sides of the house.
Weather moves dates here and always will. If a start has to move, it moves with an explanation and a new date rather than a crew that does not arrive.
Rain during a job is handled by sequence rather than luck. The roof is stripped slope by slope, so the open deck at any moment is only as much as can be covered again quickly, and everything opened is dried in before anyone leaves.
Torch-on is stricter: it needs a dry deck to bond to, so it waits for a dry window and an urgent leak gets a temporary repair meanwhile. Winter shingle work follows the manufacturer's cold-weather bulletin. It goes ahead routinely here; it simply takes longer.
Step five
The work: one to three days, and what makes it four.
Day one is set-up, tear-off and dry-in. Day two is flashings, field and vents. Day three, where needed, is the ridge, details and clean-up. The house is watertight at the end of every one of those days.
Set-up is not optional: tarps over landscaping and the driveway, and the bin placed so the tear-off has somewhere to go that is not your lawn. The roof is stripped to the deck; flashings are never reused. Once the deck is repaired the layers go back in order, finishing with new Duraflo 50 vents and the ridge cap. The full replacement sequence sets out every stage.
Five things reliably turn a three-day roof into a four-day roof, and all five are visible in advance, which is why they appear in the quote:
- Size — more squares is more days.
- Pitch — a steep roof means rope work and carried material.
- Cedar — far more tear-off waste, and always a new deck behind it.
- A re-deck — a stage on its own.
- Winter — short daylight and a deck that has to be dry.
The end of it
Clean-up, walkthrough, warranty.
The last thing that happens is a walk round with you, not an invoice through the door.
Clean-up runs at the end of every day, not only the last: debris removed, gutters cleared of tear-off grit, and a magnet sweep over the driveway, lawn and perimeter. Then we go round the roof with you and point out anything found — the sheets replaced, the flashing detail rebuilt, the soffit intake that turned out to be painted shut.
Two documents are handed over then rather than posted later. The workmanship warranty: ten years on shingle, metal, cedar and composite, five on torch-on and flat. And the manufacturer's product registration, submitted per product line, because registration windows are short. The two are never added together — what each covers is on the warranty page.
Questions
The process, plainly answered.
What are the steps from first enquiry to a finished roof?
Five. You get a measured estimate from your address in the online estimator, or you call. We come out for a free inspection and turn that estimate into one fixed written price. The job is scheduled against the weather and confirmed with a start date. The crew does the work, which is one to three days on a standard home. Then the site is cleaned, we walk the roof and the perimeter with you, and the workmanship warranty and the manufacturer registration are handed over in writing.
How accurate is the instant estimate before anyone has visited?
Close, because it is measured rather than guessed. From your address we measure the roof from satellite imagery: total area in squares, the pitch of each plane, the number of facets, and the linear metres of ridge, hip, valley, eave and rake. What imagery cannot see is how many layers are already up there, whether a bin and a ladder can get where they need to go, the state of the flashings and chimney, and what the attic ventilation is doing. That is what the inspection is for, and it is what turns an estimate into a fixed price.
Is the roof inspection really free, and what does it include?
Yes, free, with no obligation and no charge for travel anywhere from West Vancouver to Chilliwack. The estimator walks the roof where it is safe to do so, checks the flashings, valleys, penetrations, vents and gutters, looks at the attic where there is access, counts the existing layers, and assesses the access for equipment and waste. You get the findings and a written scope whether or not you go ahead, including being told that your roof has years left in it if that is the answer.
What happens if rot is found in the plywood deck?
It is quoted before the job starts and charged only if it is actually found. New decking is priced at a fixed rate per sheet, written into the original quote as a conditional item, so the arithmetic is yours to check in advance rather than ours to explain afterwards. When a sheet is replaced you get a photograph of it before it goes in the bin. On about one tear-off in ten we find rot at all, and it is usually a couple of sheets around a penetration rather than a whole slope.
How long does the work itself take?
One to three days for a standard Lower Mainland home, from the first shingle coming off to the final magnet sweep. Two to four days is normal for a larger or steeper roof, a cedar tear-off, a roof that needs a full new plywood deck, or winter work where short daylight and wet weather break the days up. The house is dried in and watertight at the end of every working day regardless of how many days the whole job runs.
What happens if it rains during my roof replacement?
The work is sequenced so that rain is an interruption rather than a problem. The roof is stripped slope by slope rather than all at once, so the amount of open deck at any moment is the amount that can be covered again before the weather turns, and everything opened is dried in before the crew leaves. If a forecast makes a start date unworkable we move it and tell you why rather than opening a roof into a storm. Torch-on and flat membrane work needs a genuinely dry deck, so it waits for a dry window.
Do I need to be home while the roof is being done?
No, and most people are not. Access to the inside of the house is not normally needed unless there is attic work or an interior repair in the scope. What does help is a clear driveway and clear access on the sides of the house on the first morning, and knowing in advance where the bin can sit. We would rather you were there for the final walkthrough than for the tear-off.
Who arranges the building permit?
We do, where the municipality requires one, and it is included in the quoted price rather than added afterwards. Most Lower Mainland municipalities require a permit for a full re-roof, but the requirement and the process differ between Vancouver, Burnaby, Surrey, Richmond, Abbotsford and the rest. Knowing which applies to your address is part of the job.
What happens at the end of the job?
Debris is removed, the gutters are cleared of tear-off grit, and a magnet sweep is run over the driveway, lawn and perimeter, at the end of each day rather than only on the last one. Then we walk the roof and the perimeter with you, point out what was done and anything that was found, and hand over the written workmanship warranty and the manufacturer's product registration. The paperwork arrives at the walkthrough, not in the post two months later.
Next
Start at step one.
Type your address, we measure the roof from imagery and price it. The inspection that fixes the price is free.