It is the first question almost every homeowner asks, and the honest answer is that no two roofs cost the same. What follows is what actually moves the price, so you know what a roofer is looking at when they work out a number for your home.
We are W Contracting Roofing, a Saskatoon roofing company, and what follows is what we look at before we put a number on a roof. The local range and what moves it sit on our roof replacement cost in Saskatoon page.
We do not put a price on a roof without seeing it, and any roofer who quotes a firm number over the phone is guessing, and spotting that is one of the checks in our guide to choosing a Saskatoon roofing company. A roof replacement is priced per job after an inspection, because the cost is built up from several things that are different on every house. Here is what each one is.
The size and shape of your roof
The biggest single factor is how much roof there is to cover, measured in squares rather than floor area, and a steep roof adds to that because a crew cannot walk it safely and the work slows down. Valleys, dormers, hips and multiple levels all add cut shingles, flashing and labour, so a plain gable roof and a complicated one of the same size are not the same job.
The material you choose
Material is the next big lever. A quality asphalt shingle system like the GAF shingles we install is the common choice and the more affordable one.
Metal roofing costs more up front but lasts far longer, and flat or rubber sections are priced differently again. If you are weighing shingles against metal, our guide to metal versus asphalt on the prairies lays out the trade-offs.
Tearing off the old roof and what is underneath
Stripping the old roof takes time and disposal, and a roof already carrying two layers costs more to remove than one. The bigger variable is what the tear-off uncovers, especially on older houses in Nutana or Caswell Hill that have had more chances to be roofed over.
Decking that has rotted or delaminated under an old leak has to be replaced before the new roof goes on, and that is not always visible until the shingles are off. A good estimate accounts for the likely condition and is clear about how any surprises are handled.
Access, flashing and the details
The parts of a roof that are easy to overlook are often where the labour goes, because chimneys, skylights, vent stacks and wall junctions all need flashing done properly and that is where most leaks start.
Height and access matter too, along with any ventilation that needs correcting while the roof is open. These details are a real part of the cost, and they are also the difference between a roof that lasts and one that leaks in five years.
How the age of your home changes the job
The age of the house tells us a lot about what we might find once the old shingles come off. It does not set the price by itself, but it changes which of the factors above are likely to show up.
Older homes
Homes in Saskatoon's older neighbourhoods, like Nutana or Caswell Hill, have seen more decades of prairie weather and more chances to be roofed over. On an older house we check for these:
- More than one layer of shingles, which means more to strip and haul away.
- Board sheathing under the shingles instead of plywood. Gaps or soft boards may need new sheathing before a new GAF shingle roof can be nailed down properly.
- A brick chimney that needs its own flashing, and sometimes repair work around it.
- An attic with poor ventilation, which is often behind ice dams and shingles that wear out early.
Newer homes
In newer areas like Evergreen or Rosewood, a replacement is often the first one the house has had. There is usually one layer to remove, and the plywood deck tends to be in better shape.
Newer homes in Evergreen or Rosewood can still have busy rooflines, with several hips and valleys and an attached garage tied in. That detail work adds labour on any house, so a newer home is not always the simpler job.
When the work happens
Timing plays a smaller part: the prairie roofing season is busy through the warm months, and booking ahead of a rush or outside the peak can help. A roof that has to be weatherproofed now and replaced in spring is a different plan than one done in a single visit, and we will lay out the options for your situation rather than push one.
Where insurance and financing come in
Price is not always the same as what you pay. If the roof was damaged by a storm, a home insurance claim may cover the replacement, and our Saskatchewan hail damage claim guide walks through how that works.
Insurance covers sudden storm damage, not age or ordinary wear, so it is not a fit for every roof. For the rest, we keep financing available through Financeit so the cost can be spread over manageable payments instead of paid all at once.
What a written estimate should spell out
A roof estimate is only useful if you can see what is in it, so ours lists the material, the scope and what is included, and any quote you get should do the same. Look for these lines on the page:
- Tear-off: how many layers are coming off, and where the old material goes.
- Decking: how rotten or damaged boards will be handled if the tear-off finds them, and how you will be told.
- Underlayment and ice and water shield, including where the membrane goes: ours goes at the eaves, where ice dams form.
- Flashing, and whether it is new or reused at chimneys, walls, skylights and vent stacks.
- Ventilation, meaning the roof vents or ridge vent and anything being added or corrected.
- The shingle by brand, line and colour: we install GAF Timberline HDZ, and the colours are on our shingle colours page.
- Clean-up and the warranty in writing, including who stands behind the workmanship.
If a line is missing, ask about it before the job is booked. A short, vague quote can look cheaper on paper and still cost more once the extras show up on the final bill.
Why two quotes for the same roof can look so different
It is normal to get two or three quotes with totals that do not line up, and most of the time the gap comes down to scope, with one roofer pricing work the other left out.
These are the questions we would want answered by any roofer, us included:
- Are you pricing a full tear-off to the deck, or shingling over the old roof?
- How many layers did you count, and how did you check?
- What happens, and what does it cost, if you find soft decking?
- Are the flashings and vents new or reused?
- Does the price include disposal and clean-up?
- What does the manufacturer cover, and what does your workmanship warranty cover?
Our replacements strip the roof to the deck, so we can check the plywood before the new roof goes on. Every roof we install carries a 10-year workmanship warranty through GAF, and you can see how the work runs on our Saskatoon roof replacement page.
Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Saskatoon?
Not for a like-for-like job, going by the City. The City of Saskatoon's building permits page lists replacing or repairing roofing with exactly the same roofing material, above the decking, as work that does not need a building permit.
The same page lists construction that increases the roof top loading as work that does need one. If you are changing materials, say from shingles to metal, check with the City before the job is booked. If your home is outside Saskatoon, in Warman or Martensville for example, check with your own town office.
Work that often gets done at the same time
When the crew and equipment are already on site, some homeowners take care of nearby work in the same visit. It adds to the total, but it saves a second setup later.
- Eavestroughs, soffit and fascia, especially if the troughs sag or the fascia boards behind them have gone soft.
- A low-slope section over a garage, porch or addition. It takes a different system than the GAF shingles we install, and our flat and rubber roofing page covers those.
- Attic ventilation fixes, which are easiest while the roof deck is exposed.
Ask for each of these as its own line on the estimate. That way you can see what each one adds and decide what to do now and what can wait.
What to have ready before the inspection
A few details from you make the inspection quicker and the estimate more accurate. None of them are required, but they help.
- The age of the roof, or the year you bought the house if you are not sure.
- Any past repairs, and the receipts if you kept them.
- Where you have seen leaks or ceiling stains inside, and when they show up, like during the prairie spring melt or after a heavy rain.
- If a storm did the damage, the date of the storm and your home insurance policy details.
- Shingle colours you like, so we can talk through options on the spot.
On the roof we document what we find with photos and video. You see the same problem spots we do, and the estimate is built from them.
How to get an accurate number for your roof
The only way to know what your Saskatoon roof will cost is to have someone measure it, get up and look at the condition, and put it in writing. Our inspections are free and come with no obligation, and you leave with a written estimate that spells out the material, the scope and what is included. If your roof is past its years or has been repaired more than once, our guide on repairing versus replacing a roof is worth reading first, and the roof replacement page covers how we do the work.