On this page
Why there’s no price range yet
We only show price ranges when they’re backed by real LokalMatch quote data or reliable, cited sources. Until then, here’s what usually changes the price — and the quickest way to a real number is to compare quotes.
What affects the price
- How much deck sheathing has to be replaced, which is unknown until the tear-off
- The number of existing layers to strip and the disposal that comes with them
- Pitch and height, which decide whether the crew can walk the roof or has to stage it
- Roof complexity: valleys, dormers, skylights, chimneys and every piece of flashing around them
- Self-adhered ice and water membrane at the eaves and in the valleys
- Attic ventilation, which often needs correcting at the same time as the roof
- Shingle grade, and whether the choice is architectural asphalt, metal or cedar
- Access for the bin and a conveyor, or hand-carrying everything through a narrow side yard
- Time of year — cold-weather work and shoulder-season scheduling price differently
- The length of the workmanship warranty, which is a real cost to the roofer and shows in the price
The deck is the clause that matters
Every honest roofing quote has a line about replacing sheathing at a unit rate, because nobody knows what the plywood under the shingles looks like until the shingles are off. A roof that has leaked quietly around a vent for five years can have a soft patch a metre across. Read the unit rate, ask what a typical job uses, and treat a quote with no such clause as incomplete rather than cheap.
The second thing hidden under the shingles is how many layers are up there. Two or three layers of old asphalt weigh a lot, take longer to strip, and fill the bin faster — and the bin is a real line on the bill, not an afterthought.
Pitch and storeys change the labour more than the area
Roofing is priced by area, but the same area costs differently depending on whether a crew can walk on it. A shallow bungalow roof is a walking surface. A steep three-storey with dormers means staging, harnesses and a slower pace, and the quote reflects it. Access for the bin and for a loading conveyor matters too: a narrow side yard with a hedge in it is hours of hand-carrying.
Ice at the eaves and air in the attic
In most of Canada the first courses at the eaves get a self-adhered membrane, because meltwater running down a warm roof refreezes at the cold overhang and backs up under the shingles. That membrane is standard work and should be on the quote.
Ventilation belongs in the same conversation. Natural Resources Canada's own guidance for attics uses a ratio of 1 to 300 — unobstructed vent area to insulated ceiling area — and notes the vent area must be increased when vents are screened or baffled, which reduces their clear area. A new roof over a poorly vented attic is a new roof that ages early.
Where the money goes
Shingles are the cheapest part of a roof. The labour, the tear-off, the disposal, the flashing at every wall and chimney, the vents, the drip edge and the underlayment are the rest of it. For a sanity check on the labour side: Job Bank puts roofers in Canada between 22.00 and 44.24 CAD an hour with a median of 30.97, updated 19 November 2025. That is the roofer's wage, not the crew rate you are billed — insurance for work at height is not a small number.
Season, warranty and the quote that expires
Asphalt shingles need warmth to seal. Roofs go on in the cold all the time, but the tabs may not bond until spring, and a roofer will tell you that if you ask. The busy season runs from late spring through fall, and prices and lead times are softest at the edges of it.
Two warranties come with a new roof and they are not the same thing. The manufacturer covers the shingles. The roofer covers the workmanship, and workmanship is what fails first. Get the length of the workmanship warranty in writing, and check that the business that gave it has been around longer than the warranty is meant to last.
When a permit is involved
A straight replacement usually is not permit work. Changing the structure is — new dormers, a change of roof line, altering the trusses. If a quote includes structural changes and no permit, ask why.
Frequently asked questions
Why does the quote say the price could change?
Because of the deck. Nobody can see the sheathing under the shingles until they come off, so a good quote sets a unit rate for replacing it. A quote with no such clause has either priced for the worst case or has not thought about it.
Can I put new shingles over the old ones?
Sometimes, and it is cheaper today. You give up the chance to see and fix the deck, the roof runs hotter, and the next replacement is more expensive because there are two layers to strip. Most roofers will do it if asked and recommend against it.
Is a roof replacement permit work?
A like-for-like replacement generally is not. Structural change is — adding a dormer, altering trusses, changing the roof line. That is a municipal question, and the answer is on your city's building department page.
Does a new roof fix my ice dams?
Only partly. Ice dams come from heat escaping into the attic and melting snow that refreezes at the cold eaves. The membrane at the eaves stops the water getting in; air sealing and insulating the attic ceiling is what stops the dam forming.
Sources
Where the facts on this page come from.
Keeping the Heat In — Section 5: Roofs and attics — Natural Resources Canada (accessed September 21, 2026)
Roofer in Canada — wages — Job Bank, Government of Canada (accessed September 21, 2026)
Who wrote and reviewed this
Written by
LokalMatch EditorialReviewed by
LokalMatch Editorial
Our guides are written and checked by people, and updated when things change. Read our editorial policy