People search for what a roof costs in Calgary hoping for one number. There isn’t an honest one to give from a web page. Two houses on the same street can carry very different roofs: different area, different pitch, a second layer of old shingles on one, rotten boards under the other.
So this page doesn’t publish prices. Every Big Boy Roofing replacement is a written price from your measured roof, for the shingle you pick, with GST as its own line. What follows is what goes into that price, so you can read a quote, ours or anyone else’s, and understand why it says what it says.
Roof size comes first
Roof area, not floor area, is the biggest single driver. It’s measured off the roof itself, and it’s the area printed on your quote. A two-storey house can carry far less roof than its living space suggests, and a wide bungalow can carry more.
Shingles are ordered for more than the measured area. Every roof uses up material in cuts, overlaps, starter strip and ridge cap, so the material order includes an allowance for waste on top of the measured roof.
What else moves the price
Beyond area, these are the things that make one roof more work than another.
- Pitch. A steep roof needs staging and fall protection, and every square takes longer to install safely. A low, walkable roof is simpler work.
- Tear-off layers. A second layer of shingles from an earlier re-roof means more tear-off, more weight coming down and more disposal.
- Complexity. Valleys, dormers, chimneys, skylights, vents and plane transitions are hand-detailed flashing work, so two roofs with the same area can price differently.
- Access. A driveway beside the house with room for a disposal bin makes for an easier job than a tight lot or a roof that can only be reached from the back yard.
- The shingle. IKO Cambridge is the base line. IKO Dynasty and IKO Nordic are priced upgrades on the same system underneath.
- Decking. If boards under the old shingles are rotten, they’re replaced only with your written approval, at $100 per 4x8 sheet. Older houses often have board decking, and IKO doesn't recommend shingles over board decks, so ask about it when you get the quote.
What a written quote from us shows
When you want the number for your own roof, ask for a quote. It’s a written price, and it lays out what the price is built on.
- The roof area it was priced on, measured off the roof.
- The IKO shingle line it was priced in.
- GST as its own 5% line, separate from the price of the work.
- The e-transfer, cheque or cash price. Paying by card is 3% more.
- The decking rate, so rot found during tear-off is priced before anyone replaces a board.
- How long the price holds: 14 days.
What should be in the price and often isn’t
This is where two quotes stop being comparable. Ask about every one of these.
- Ice and water shield at eaves, valleys and penetrations. It protects the spots where ice dams back water up under the shingles.
- New flashing at chimneys, walls and skylights, not reused.
- Drip edge.
- Ventilation correction. IKO's limited warranty excludes damage caused by inadequate ventilation, so an attic that can't breathe is a warranty problem as well as a shingle problem.
- Tear-off, disposal, and a magnet sweep of the property.
- A stated allowance or process for rot found in the decking, by signed change order.
Where costs run higher in and around Calgary
As a general pattern rather than a rule, geography moves it in ways people don’t expect. Newer suburban two-storeys (Chestermere, Kinniburgh, Panorama Hills) often carry more roof area and more complex pitches than their footprints suggest, so they tend to cost more than the house size implies. Older, simpler houses (Huntington Hills, Thorncliffe) tend to be simpler jobs: smaller, walkable roofs with simple gables, offset by a higher chance of board decking or a second layer. Large acreage roofs in Bearspaw are their own category.
Insurance changes the question, not the cost
If this is a hail claim, the relevant number is what your policy pays and what you contribute, more than what the roof costs. Many replacement-cost policies pay actual cash value first and release the withheld depreciation once the work is complete and invoiced, so check how yours works. The deductible is yours to pay on any claim, and anyone offering to make it disappear is proposing insurance fraud with your name on it.
Why don’t you publish a price?
Because a number given before anyone has measured your roof tends to become a change order later. Your written quote is priced on your measured roof and the shingle you pick. Rotten decking is the one thing that can be added once the old shingles are off, and only with your written approval. A quote’s price holds for 14 days.
Is Class 4 worth the extra?
In Calgary it often is. IKO Nordic is a priced upgrade over Cambridge and Dynasty, and the difference grows with the size of the roof, so ask for your quote priced both ways. Some insurers offer a premium discount for an impact-rated roof. Confirm yours in writing before you count on it.
One quote is thousands cheaper. What’s the catch?
Usually scope, not efficiency. Materials and labour make up most of the price. Check for a missing decking allowance, reused flashing, thinner ice-and-water coverage, no ventilation work, or a second layer being left in place.
Does the time of year change the price?
Availability more than price. After a major hailstorm every crew in the city is booked and lead times stretch; in late winter you have your pick. If your roof isn’t leaking, booking off-season gets you a better schedule.
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.
- Cambridge architectural shingles · IKO
- Dynasty performance shingles · IKO
- Nordic performance shingles · IKO
- Cambridge shingles application instructions · IKO
- Limited warranty, asphalt shingles (Canada) · IKO
- GST/HST calculator (and rates) · Canada Revenue Agency
- Home insurance · Financial Consumer Agency of Canada