🏠 Roofing: what it costs in the GTA (2026)

An asphalt shingle is a mat soaked in asphalt with stone granules pressed on top. The granules take the UV beating so the asphalt doesn't. When you see granules collecting in gutters and bald patches on shingles, the sun is now cooking the asphalt directly, and the countdown gets fast. Architectural (laminate) shingles run thicker and handle GTA wind better than old 3-tab, which is why almost nobody installs 3-tab here anymore.

Shingles get the blame, but most leaks start at the details: flashing around chimneys and skylights, valleys where two slopes meet, plumbing vent boots that crack after ten summers, and nail pops that back out through the mat. That's good news. Detail fixes cost hundreds. It's also why a roof can leak at 12 years old and still not need replacement. Get the leak diagnosed, not the whole roof condemned.

Your attic needs to breathe: intake at the soffits, exhaust at the ridge. Block that airflow and summer attic heat bakes shingles from underneath while winter moisture condenses on the underside of the deck and rots it. Ice dams? Mostly a ventilation and insulation problem wearing a roofing costume. If a quote doesn't mention ventilation, the estimator didn't go in the attic, and you should ask why.

Look for five things: full tear-off (not an overlay), ice-and-water shield along eaves and valleys (code in most of the GTA), new flashing rather than reused, the shingle line and wind rating in writing, and disposal included. Then look for the WSIB clearance and liability insurance. A crew on your roof without WSIB coverage is your financial problem the second someone slips.