Roof repair in Laval

What we often repair

Before you hire a roofer in Laval, see what can be repaired. We explain the work before you sign. A repair is often the first reason to call a roofer.

• A leak at one specific spot. We trace the water back to where it gets in, which is not always above the stain, and we redo the waterproofing there.
• Missing, broken or lifted shingles. On a roof still in good shape, they can be replaced in small sections.
• Flashing around a chimney, a wall or a skylight. The covering is taken apart all around, the metal joint is redone, then everything is closed again.
• A blister, a crack or a loose seam on a flat roof. A patch of membrane, wider than the defect, is laid over it.
• A blocked flat roof drain or downspout. As long as water stays on the roof, it looks for a way in.
• A split vent boot. The rubber ring around the plumbing pipe hardens with sun and frost.

Signs that are urgent, and signs that leave time

A ceiling stain that keeps growing or paint that bubbles at the top of a wall calls for a same-day call. In both cases, water is already inside. A lasting damp smell on the top floor also deserves a visit, even without a stain.

Other signs give you a few days: pieces of shingle on the lawn after a windy night, granules at the foot of the downspouts or, on a flat roof, a puddle still there two days after the rain. Nothing is dripping yet, but the roof no longer defends itself as well. This is the right time to request a quote. The roofer can come when it suits them, and the defect is still small.

Two roofs, two methods

Laval's Code de l'urbanisme (urban planning code) divides roofs into two groups. A flat roof has a slope of 2:12 or less, that is 16.7%. Above that, it is a sloped roof. The repair differs from one to the other.

The flat roof. Water drains slowly toward the drain. Every seam has to be watertight. We clean the surface, dry it, then weld or glue a patch that extends past the defect on every side. At the same time, we check the membrane upturn against the parapets and the condition of the drain. If water stays in a puddle at that spot, the repair also has to fix the drainage.

The sloped roof. Here, water slides from one course to the next, and each shingle covers the nails of the course below. To replace a shingle, the ones covering it have to be unsealed, the nails pulled, the new piece slid in and everything closed again. On an older roof, nearby shingles sometimes crack when they are bent, and the area to redo grows.

The roofs we repair in Laval

The City describes Laval as a territory dominated by single-family homes and by one- or two-storey businesses and industries. According to its 2024 figures, detached single-family houses account for 42% of dwellings, and dwellings in a building with two or more units account for 47%.

On a house, the roof is often sloped. Repairs there cover torn-off shingles, chimney flashing, vent boots, and the lower edge of the roof that ice damages in winter.

In the older neighbourhoods, the City notes a larger share of plexes and mixed-use buildings, mostly built in the 1940s and 1950s. It names Saint-Vincent-de-Paul, Pont-Viau, Laval-des-Rapides, Chomedey and Sainte-Rose. On a flat-roofed building, repairs deal with the membrane, its seams, the upturns and the drain. The leak shows up on the ceiling of the top-floor unit, and an owner who lives elsewhere sometimes hears about it last.

How a repair unfolds

Everything starts with a diagnosis. We examine the top of the roof, then the attic or the stained ceiling when there is access. We look for where the water gets in, not only where it comes out.

The quote comes next, in writing. It should say what was found, what is proposed, with which material, and what is under warranty. Ask for photos taken before and after the work. They will be your only way to see the result.

The work itself follows four stages.

1. Strip. We remove the damaged covering until we reach a sound surface. What lies underneath becomes visible.
2. Make it sound. A blackened deck board or soaked insulation is replaced before closing.
3. Redo the waterproofing. The new piece is laid so water runs over the joint, never toward it.
4. Check and clean up the site. We take photos, pick up nails and debris, then tell you what we saw.

Sometimes stripping reveals more damage than expected. Agree in advance, in the quote, that the roofer stops and calls you before going further.

Preparing for the visit

These few steps make the quote more precise.

• Write down the date the problem appeared, and the weather that day.
• Photograph the ceiling stains and what you can see of the roof from the yard or a window.
• Gather your papers: the roof's year, the last invoice, past repairs.
• Clear access to the attic hatch and to the side of the house, without going into the attic yourself.
• If you rent out the top-floor unit, let your tenant know about the visit.

Do not climb onto the roof or up a ladder. Everything done at height is the roofer's job. If you request more than one quote, give each roofer the same information, otherwise the prices cannot be compared.

What affects the price

The price of a repair is set on site and depends on these factors.

• The height of the building and how easy it is to lean a ladder against it or park a truck.
• The area actually damaged, which is only known once the roof is opened.
• The covering in place, and the chance of finding a material that matches it.
• The condition of the roof deck.
• The timing of the call. A stormy evening is not a Tuesday morning.
• The cold, which keeps some products from sticking.

Permits in Laval

Laval's Code de l'urbanisme requires no permit or certificate for the normal maintenance of a building, provided the load-bearing parts of the structure are not modified. It gives tarring a roof and replacing gutters as examples.

For the roof covering, the City's page on exterior residential renovation draws the line elsewhere. Replacing it with the same material requires no permit. Replacing it with a new material requires one. The City does not say at what size a repair becomes a replacement. If in doubt, ask the Service de l'urbanisme (the City's urban planning department) before the work.

If your address is covered by a PIIA (site planning and architectural integration program), maintenance work may require a permit. In the City's Info-règlements tool, a notice indicates that special provisions apply to the zone of the address searched. The Code also states that being exempt from a permit does not exempt you from following the regulations.

In Quebec, a contractor must hold a licence from the Régie du bâtiment du Québec (RBQ, Quebec's building authority), whose register is public.

Four other roofing jobs

Flat roof. Flat roofs often cover plexes, apartment buildings and businesses. In Laval, the Code de l'urbanisme requires a green roof, a white covering or a material with a solar reflectance index of at least 78, without specifying the case of an existing roof.

Shingle roofing. Shingles cover the sloped roofs of houses. An asphalt shingle lasts 15 to 30 years, according to manufacturers and the quality of the installation. Attic ventilation matters as much as the shingle.

Commercial roofing. A commercial roof brings together large surfaces, ventilation units set on top, and tenants or customers inside during the work. Regular maintenance avoids many emergencies there.

Roof replacement. When repairs keep coming back, the whole roof is redone. The job takes preparation: quotes to compare, a material to choose, a permit if the material changes.

Frequently asked questions