Can you find a leak that only shows in heavy rain?

Usually. We look for stains on the deck and rafters in the attic, check the flashings above the stain, and look for the path water takes. A leak that only shows in wind-driven rain is often at a wall or skylight flashing.

Is a leak an emergency?

Active water inside is. We can tarp an open roof so the house stays dry until the repair can be done properly.

Will a repair match my old shingles?

We match the colour and style as closely as the current product lines allow. Older shingles fade, so a new patch is visible for a while.

Do you repair flat roofs?

We work on sloped shingle roofs. For a flat roof on a garage or addition, we tell you what we see and refer you to a flat roof specialist.

Richmond Hill · roof repair

Roof repair in Richmond Hill

A stain on the ceiling is rarely under the hole in the roof. Water runs along the deck and the rafters before it drips. A roof repair starts with finding where the water gets in, then fixing that point and the area around it.

The entry point found, with photos
Repair or replacement, named before the price
Emergency tarping when the roof is open

Icicles hanging from the eaves of a house in winter

Where Richmond Hill roofs leak

On the houses we see, most leaks start at one of six places. The shingles in the middle of a slope are rarely the cause.

Skylights. Many 1980s and 1990s houses have skylights as old as the roof. The seal or the flashing around the frame fails before the shingles do.
Plumbing vent boots. The rubber collar around a vent pipe dries and cracks in the sun.
Valleys. Where two slopes meet, the water from both runs in one channel. Complex rooflines with many valleys are common on larger two-storey houses.
Wall flashing. Where a roof meets a second-storey wall, a garage roof meets the house, or a dormer meets the slope.
Wind-lifted shingles. Shingles that lose their seal lift in a strong wind and then tear off.
Eaves. Ice dams back water up under the first rows of shingles in a freeze-thaw week, and Richmond Hill gets about 40% more snow than Toronto Pearson.

Repair or replace: how we decide

We recommend a repair when the problem is at one point and the shingles around it still have life: they lie flat, they hold their granules, and they bend without cracking. We recommend a replacement when the shingles are worn across the whole roof, when there are two layers already, or when the deck is soft in more than one place.

You get the photos either way. If a repair buys you three to five more years, we tell you that, and you choose.

What a roof replacement includes →Book a roof inspection →

What a repair visit includes

An inspection of the roof surface and, if we can reach it, the attic over the stain
Photos of the entry point and of the area around it
The repair: new flashing, a new vent boot, replaced shingles, or a resealed detail
A check of the eavestrough and downspout at the area, because overflow is often part of the cause

Roof repair prices

Repair prices depend on the detail and the access, so we quote them on site. A vent boot and a skylight re-flash are very different jobs. The quote names the work and the price before we start, and nothing is added without your approval.

Questions

Can you find a leak that only shows in heavy rain?: Usually. We look for stains on the deck and rafters in the attic, check the flashings above the stain, and look for the path water takes. A leak that only shows in wind-driven rain is often at a wall or skylight flashing.
Is a leak an emergency?: Active water inside is. We can tarp an open roof so the house stays dry until the repair can be done properly.
Will a repair match my old shingles?: We match the colour and style as closely as the current product lines allow. Older shingles fade, so a new patch is visible for a while.
Do you repair flat roofs?: We work on sloped shingle roofs. For a flat roof on a garage or addition, we tell you what we see and refer you to a flat roof specialist.