Roofing · Nanaimo and the RDN
Roof replacement and repair in Nanaimo
Nanaimo Roofers installs and repairs asphalt, metal and low-slope roofs across Nanaimo, Lantzville, Cedar and Gabriola Island. Nanaimo takes 1,000 mm of rain a year against a 1-in-50 wind load of 0.50 kPa, and those two numbers set the underlay, the fastening and the venting on almost every roof in the Regional District of Nanaimo.
- Written scope before any work starts
- Built to BC Building Code Section 9.26
- WorkSafeBC covered and fully insured
What gets done
Four kinds of roof work
Most calls fall into one of these. Where a roof needs two, the quote separates them and prices each on its own.
New roof installation
Full tear-off to the deck, rotten sheathing replaced, then underlay and architectural asphalt shingles. Asphalt needs a slope of at least 1 in 3, or 1 in 6 using the low-slope method set out in the BC Building Code.
Metal roof systems
Standing seam and profiled metal, which the code allows down to 1 in 4 with no upper limit. Metal is the answer on a roof too flat for shingles and too steep for a membrane — the two ranges meet at exactly that slope and swap either side of it.
Roof repair and leak tracing
Finding where water enters, which is rarely where the stain appears. Flashing, valleys, penetrations, and the head and end laps the code sets at a minimum of 50 mm.
Moss removal and roof maintenance
Low-pressure treatment and zinc or copper strips at the ridge. Asphalt is never pressure-washed. Spring and fall is the interval worth keeping to.
What it costs
Roofing prices in British Columbia
Priced by the square foot of roof area, installed. A simple gable costs less per foot than a cut-up roof with dormers, valleys and three penetrations, and a second storey costs more than a bungalow.
| Material | Installed, per sq ft | Typical life |
|---|---|---|
| Architectural asphalt shingles | $4 – $9 | 25 – 30 years |
| Standing seam and profiled metal | $8 – $30 | 40 – 70 years |
| Cedar shakes and shingles | $14 – $30 | 25 – 40 years |
| Flat and low-slope membrane | $4 – $12 | 20 – 30 years |
Ranges: Green Building Canada, British Columbia, updated July 2025.
How it goes
From first call to final sweep
A look at the roof
On the roof where it is safe to be, from a ladder and the attic where it is not. Deck condition, venting, flashing and the age of what is up there.
A written scope and price
Materials named by product, the slope, the venting ratio, what happens if sheathing turns out to be rotten, and a fixed price with the unknowns listed separately.
A date and a weather window
Booked around the forecast. A tear-off is not started on a roof that cannot be made watertight before the crew leaves.
Tear-off, install, clean-up
Old material to the bin, deck repaired, new roof on, magnet over the whole property. Photographs of anything hidden before it is covered.
Where the work is
Four jurisdictions, four different answers
Nanaimo, Lantzville and the two rural electoral areas each handle roofing permits their own way, and the answer for a Cedar acreage is not the answer for a house in Departure Bay.
Departure Bay & North Nanaimo
Post-war and 1970s stock, much of it re-roofed once already, taking wind straight off the Strait of Georgia.
Lantzville
Its own District of 3,817 people with its own building department, and a lot of long low roofs on acreage lots under mature Douglas fir.
Cedar
Electoral Area A, 7,481 people. Farm buildings for farm use on land with farm status under the Assessment Act sit outside the permit requirement.
Gabriola Island
Electoral Area B, 4,500 people. Everything arrives by ferry, which changes how a tear-off is staged and when the bin lands.
Nanaimo Roofers works across all four, and the full service area lists the smaller communities in between.
Frequently asked
Roofing questions, answered
What a roof costs in this area and the permit answer for each community are set out in full on their own pages.
- Does a re-roof need a building permit in Nanaimo?
- The City of Nanaimo issues building permits under Building Bylaw 2016 No. 7224, which sets out no roofing-specific exemption, so Nanaimo Roofers confirms the answer with the City before a job is scheduled. In the Regional District of Nanaimo, permits cover new construction, alteration, addition and demolition across every electoral area.
- Is eave protection required on a Nanaimo roof?
- Section 9.26.5.1 of the BC Building Code calls for eave protection 900 mm up the slope, to a line 300 mm inside the inner face of the exterior wall. Section 9.26.5.2 exempts regions with 3,500 or fewer degree-days. Nanaimo sits at 3,000, so the exemption applies here, and a second exemption applies again on most asphalt shingle roofs.
- How steep does a roof have to be for shingles?
- Table 9.26.3.1 sets asphalt shingles at a minimum slope of 1 in 3, or 1 in 6 where the low-slope method is used. Profiled metal starts at 1 in 4 with no maximum, and modified bituminous membrane runs from 1 in 50 to 1 in 4. Below 1 in 50 the job is a re-slope, not a re-roof.
- Do roofers in British Columbia have to be certified?
- Roofer is a Red Seal trade in British Columbia, at 4,950 hours of work-based training and 15 weeks of technical training. It is not one of the seven trades where Skilled Trades Certification is compulsory, so certification is voluntary — which is what makes it worth asking about.
- How much venting does a roof need?
- Section 9.19.1.2 sets unobstructed vent area at not less than 1/300 of the insulated ceiling area, or 1/150 below a 1-in-6 slope. The venting must be distributed on opposite sides, with at least 25% at the top and at least 25% at the bottom.
- What can be done about moss?
- Low-pressure treatment lifts it without driving water under the courses, and zinc or copper strips at the ridge slow it coming back. Asphalt shingles are never pressure-washed. Roofs on this coast are worth inspecting in spring and again in fall, and after any severe wind.