Replacements have a rate. Repairs don’t. Two repairs covering the same area can differ several times over depending on what’s wrong, where it is, and how much has to come apart to reach it.
So there’s no dollar range on this page, on purpose. Every repair we do is priced by hand after someone has been on the roof. The problem is written up as an itemized scope under one price you approve before any work starts. Anything found once the roof is open, like soft decking, is a signed change order at a price you see first. Most repairs take no deposit and are invoiced on completion, and the repair carries a 1-year workmanship warranty on the work we did.
Why there’s no square-foot rate
The area of a repair is a poor predictor of its cost. What actually decides it:
- Access. A repair on a walkable back slope and the same repair on a steep third-storey gable are different jobs with different equipment.
- Diagnosis time. Finding a leak is frequently most of the work. Water travels along decking and rafters before it drops, so the ceiling stain is rarely under the entry point.
- What has to come apart. Replacing a few shingles is quick. Reaching failed flashing behind a chimney means removing and reinstating surrounding courses.
- Whether the decking is sound. Nobody knows until it’s open.
- Material matching. Discontinued shingle lines and ten years of UV fade make an invisible repair genuinely hard, and sometimes impossible.
The common Calgary repairs
The ones that come up most often on Calgary houses, in no particular order.
- Flashing at chimneys and walls. A frequent repair on older houses, and a frequent cause of leaks on a roof that’s otherwise sound.
- Wind-lifted or missing shingles, usually on a windward slope or at ridge and hip caps.
- Valley failures, particularly where debris has been packed in and holding moisture.
- Skylight leaks, which are usually the flashing rather than the unit.
- Vent boot and penetration seals, which have a shorter life than the shingles around them.
When a repair stops being sensible
If a repair holds, do the repair. Spending replacement money on a roof with ten years left is a bad trade. The signs that it won’t hold: shingles brittle enough to crack rather than flex when lifted, damage across multiple slopes rather than one area, widespread granule loss, and a roof near the end of its expected life. InterNACHI’s rough guideline is about 20 years for a 3-tab asphalt roof and about 30 for an architectural one, and Calgary weather can shorten either. At that point a repair is buying a season, and you’ll pay for the access twice.
Repairs and insurance
You pay the deductible on any claim, so a small repair that costs less than your deductible can leave you with nothing back and a claim on your record. Where it flips is storm damage across a whole roof, which is a replacement conversation rather than a repair one.
How do you price a repair, then?
From what’s actually on the roof. After the inspection the problem is written up line by line, covering labour, materials and clean-up, under one fixed price. You approve it before we start, and hidden damage means a signed change order, never a surprise on the invoice.
Can you match my existing shingles?
Sometimes. Discontinued lines and UV fade make exact matching hard on an older roof, and we’ll tell you before we start whether the repair will be invisible or merely watertight. On a front-facing slope that distinction matters.
Do I pay anything up front for a repair?
Usually not. Most repairs are invoiced when the work is done. If a large repair needs a 30% deposit, the proposal says so before you sign.
What warranty comes with a repair?
One year on our workmanship, on the work we did, plus the manufacturer’s warranty on any parts we supplied. It doesn’t cover the rest of the roof, and it isn’t the 5-year warranty that comes with a full replacement.
Should I just replace the whole roof instead?
Only if the roof is genuinely near the end. Brittle shingles, damage across several slopes, widespread granule loss and an ageing roof are the signs a repair is only buying time.
Where the facts on this page come from. If a source has changed since we last checked, tell us and we'll fix the page.
- Hiring a contractor · Government of Alberta
- Home insurance · Financial Consumer Agency of Canada
- Is it hail damage? · Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety
- InterNACHI's estimated life expectancy chart for homes · InterNACHI