Updated August 2026
What a new roof costs on the east coast of Vancouver Island
A roof replacement in Nanaimo runs $4 to $9 a square foot installed for architectural asphalt and $8 to $30 for metal. Slope, the number of valleys and penetrations, storey height and how much sheathing needs replacing decide where inside those ranges a given roof lands.
Updated August 2026
Roofing is priced by the square foot of roof area, not floor area — a 1,500 square foot bungalow with a simple gable has more roof than the number suggests, and a steep cut-up roof has more again.
For a full breakdown of what an install involves, seea new roof installation.
What is being priced
A roof replacement is the removal of the existing covering down to the deck, any repair the deck needs, and a new assembly built back up: underlay, eave detail where required, flashings, the covering itself, and venting to code. Anything that stops short of the deck is a repair, and it is priced differently.
| Covering | Installed, per sq ft | Typical service 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 |
| Clay tile | $15 – $20 | 50+ years |
| Slate | $20 – $40 | 75+ years |
| Flat and low-slope membrane | $4 – $12 | 20 – 30 years |
British Columbia ranges, Green Building Canada, updated July 2025.
Where the money goes on a typical replacement
A quote is one number, but it is assembled from parts that behave differently. Tear-off and disposal is fixed by area and by how many layers come off. Labour scales with slope and access. Materials scale with area. Ventilation and flashing are small line items that decide whether the rest lasts.
| Component | Range |
|---|---|
| Shingles | $2,625 – $5,250 |
| Underlayment | $700 – $1,313 |
| Flashing | $625 – $1,500 |
| Ventilation | $500 – $1,125 |
| Gutters | $1,250 – $3,125 |
| Tear-off and disposal | $1,875 – $3,750 |
| Labour | $3,750 – $7,500 |
| Standard total | $11,325 – $23,563 |
Vancouver component figures, RenoCalc, 2026.
The five things that move a quote most
Slope, first: anything above about a 6-in-12 pitch needs staging and slows every stage of the work. Then the count of valleys, dormers and penetrations, because each one is a hand-cut detail rather than a run of field shingles. Then storey height, which changes access and disposal. Then the number of existing layers coming off. Then sheathing, which is the only one nobody can price with certainty until the roof is open — which is why it belongs in a quote as a per-sheet rate rather than a guess.
Where metal earns the difference
Metal costs roughly twice asphalt at the low end and lasts roughly twice as long, so on a house that will be held for decades the arithmetic is close to even and the maintenance is lower. On a house being sold inside five years it is not close. The slope decides it outright in one case: below 1 in 3 asphalt is out, and between 1 in 4 and 1 in 3 the choice is metal or a low-slope method.
What a quote should say before it is signed
The covering named by product and not by category. The slope, measured. The venting ratio the finished roof will meet. What happens to rotten sheathing and at what rate. Whether gutters and flashings are included or excluded. And the number of days the roof will be open. A quote missing any of those is a price without a scope, and the two are not the same thing.
Permits and what they add
The City of Nanaimo issues building permits under Building Bylaw 2016 No. 7224. The Regional District of Nanaimo requires a permit for new construction, alteration, addition and demolition across every electoral area, and the District of Lantzville requires one for new buildings, additions and renovations. Where a permit applies it is confirmed with that authority before the work is booked.