SHINGLEROOFING

The question we answer most often in San Francisco is a simple one — is this a repair, or is the roof finished? San Francisco sits about 337 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles and sits close enough to the water that salt air is part of the equation on every roof, and Marine layer mornings keep roofs damp long after sunrise, and onshore wind drives rain sideways into flashings. This page is about telling the difference between a roof that needs a repair and a roof that's done — and what each one costs.

What to expect while we're on your roof

Most repairs are a single visit. A full replacement on a typical San Francisco home runs one to three days: tear-off to bare deck, deck repair, underlayment and drip edge, flashing, then field shingles, caps and ventilation. We tarp landscaping and AC units before anything comes off, magnet-sweep for nails each evening, and finish with a photo walkthrough. You can stay in the house throughout.

When replacement is the honest answer

• Shingles are brittle across the whole roof, not just one slope
• Leaks are showing up in more than one place
• The roof has already been layered over once
• Decking is soft underfoot or visibly delaminated
• The roof is past 20 years and the granule surface is gone

If two of those are true, money spent on repairs is usually money spent twice. We'll say so rather than sell you a patch.

What changes on a San Francisco roof

The job list in San Francisco repeats itself for a reason - whatever fails first on these roofs fails at the edges. Our shop sits about 337 miles northwest of San Francisco, so a crew is on site the same morning.

We know Daly City, South San Francisco and Oakland as well as we know San Francisco.

• Access gets planned first - driveway, staging, dumpster placement - so the street stays usable.
• Permits and inspections run through the local building department, and we pull them rather than leaving it to you.
• Gutters are pulled and refitted properly instead of being crushed by a ladder.
• Solar panels get detached and reset on a schedule that matches the roofing crew.
• Dry-in happens the same day the old roof comes off; nothing sits open overnight.

Book in the dry months and the whole job happens on dry decking. If a repair solves it, we quote the repair instead of selling a replacement.

How to read your own roof before you call

You can learn most of what you need from the ground and the attic. From the street, look for shingles sitting out of line, dark patches where the mat is showing, and caps missing along the ridge. In the gutters, look for granules: a coffee-can worth after a storm is normal on a new roof, routine on an old one, and a clear signal when it keeps happening. In the attic on a bright day, look for daylight at penetrations and dark water tracks down the rafters.

What you can't see from the ground is whether the deck underneath is still sound. That's the part that decides whether a repair is worth doing, and it's why our inspection includes photos of every slope.

What the work looks like in San Francisco

Financing exists if you want it, and nobody pushes it on you.

• Change orders are discussed before anything is done, not billed afterwards.
• Rake and eave metal is new on every job; reusing bent metal is false economy.
• Neighbours get a heads-up about the dumpster before it lands.
• If the attic has no real intake, we fix that rather than leaving a new roof to bake.

The four repairs we do most in San Francisco

• Wind-lifted shingles. Santa Ana gusts break the seal along rakes and ridges. The shingle often looks flat again the next morning while the seal underneath is gone.
• Flashing leaks. Chimneys, skylights, wall transitions and valleys account for most of the interior stains we're called out to in San Francisco.
• Cracked and brittle field shingles. Damp shade, salt and wind-driven rain are what age a roof here, more than raw heat, and by year fifteen a shingle can crack under foot traffic alone.
• Ridge and hip cap failure. Caps are the most exposed part of any roof and the first to go.

Shingles we install in San Francisco

Architectural shingles are what goes on most San Francisco homes now — two laminated layers, a better wind rating, and a longer warranty than three-tab for a modest step up in price. Sierra Grey and Moonlight are the most requested colors locally; Sandcastle and Shasta White reflect more heat and suit homes with heavy afternoon exposure. We install Owens Corning, CertainTeed and GAF, and we install the full system — starter, underlayment, field, hip and ridge, ventilation — because that's what earns the manufacturer warranty.

What drives the price of a San Francisco roof

A targeted repair is priced on access, materials and time. A replacement is priced on size, pitch, the number of layers coming off, decking condition, and how much flashing detail the roof carries. Tight lots and alley access are common, so material staging and debris control get planned in advance.

Our written estimate itemizes materials, labor, tear-off and permits, and states the per-sheet price for decking before we start so nothing appears mid-job. For a fast number on your own roof, the instant roof estimate tool measures your actual property from the air. Financing is available at $99 a month on qualifying projects.

Storm and wind damage claims in San Francisco

After a significant wind event, damage is often broader than the one spot that's leaking. We document the whole roof the way adjusters expect to see it: slope-by-slope photos, close-ups of lifted and broken shingles, and notes on where the seal failed. We'll meet your adjuster at the property so nothing gets missed on the walkthrough, and if a claim comes back short we can supply the detail needed for a re-inspection.

Not every claim is worth filing. If the repair costs less than your deductible, we'll tell you that too.

San Francisco and the surrounding communities

We work throughout San Francisco and the surrounding San Francisco County communities, including Daly City, South San Francisco and Oakland. We also handle tile, torch down, TPO and roof coatings when shingles aren't the right answer for the property.

How to tell a San Francisco roof is wearing out

Repairs are worth doing while the roof still has life in it. The test is whether the shingles away from the damage still bend instead of crack. A leak at a skylight on an otherwise healthy ten-year-old roof is a repair too.

We keep the common Owens Corning colors in stock so a repair blends into the field instead of standing out as a patch, which matters on a street where the roofs are visible from below.

Getting the full life out of the roof

• Clear gutters and valleys before the rainy season
• Trim branches that drag across shingles in wind
• Check attic ventilation — a cooler attic is a longer-lived roof
• Look the roof over after every significant wind event
• Have flashings resealed before they leak, not after

Talk to a San Francisco roofer

Licensed, insured, and working in the Bay Area — reach us any day between 7:00am and 10:00pm. Call for a repair, a second opinion, or a replacement quote. You'll get a straight answer either way, in writing.

Details that decide a San Francisco roof

Most homes take two to four days once material lands.

• Neighbours get a heads-up about the dumpster before it lands.
• One person runs your job and answers the phone the whole way through.
• Edges are fastened to spec because that is where uplift starts.
• Change orders are written and signed, never verbal.