Roofer in Sainte-Rose: redoing a roof in a heritage village

An 18th-century village

The City's land use plan ranks this village core among the heritage ensembles of metropolitan interest. The rules for roofing in Laval by area are the same in Sainte-Rose as anywhere else. A single Code de l'urbanisme covers the whole city. Part of the area, however, lies in a territory that the Code protects.

What the City describes in Sainte-Rose

Along boulevard Sainte-Rose, the City writes, nearly 200 buildings of interest bear witness to old construction techniques. The same plan notes that in Sainte-Rose, plexes stand alongside traditional Canadian houses as well as apartment towers. The area is bordered by the Rivière des Mille Îles.

The Sainte-Rose-de-Lima church, built from 1852 to 1856, is a classified heritage building.

In its Politique de l'habitation (housing policy), the City also names Sainte-Rose among its older neighbourhoods. The City sees in these neighbourhoods a higher share of plexes and mixed-use buildings, most of them built in the 1940s and 1950s.

Roofs in the heritage inventory

The City's architectural heritage inventory, dated 2018, lists 171 principal buildings in Sainte-Rose. The four most common roof profiles are:

• the gable roof with flared eaves, on 53 buildings
• the straight gable roof, on 44 buildings
• the flat roof, on 27 buildings
• the mansard roof, on 17 buildings

For the roof covering, the inventory records asphalt shingles on 77 of these buildings, profiled sheet metal on 35 and standing seam metal on 14.

These figures describe only the heritage buildings in the inventory, not the whole area.

The heritage territory and the PIIA

The village of Sainte-Rose is a territory of heritage interest. In such a territory, changing the roofing materials of a principal building may require a PIIA (site planning and architectural integration program). The Code exempts three cases:

• replacing a material with the same material of a similar colour
• replacing it with a material that preserves or restores the original or traditional characteristics
• renovation work on a flat roof

Your project may require a PIIA or be exempt from one. The City decides. The same rule applies to buildings of heritage interest, wherever they are.

The boundaries of the territory appear on the Code's maps. To find out whether your address is covered, look it up in the City's Info-règlements tool. A notice there warns that special provisions apply to the zone.

The permit: same material or new material

For a residence, the City's page on exterior renovation uses a single criterion.

• Replacing the roof covering with the same material, even when adding insulation: no permit.
• Replacing the covering with a new material: permit required.

The City does not define what counts as the same material. When the permit applies, the City lists a cost of $92 for the first $20,000 of work, plus $2.50 per $1,000 or part of $1,000. The stated processing time is about 30 days, counted from the complete file.

The application is made online, in Mon Dossier (the City's online portal). If you cannot submit it that way, the City says to file it in person at the Service de l'urbanisme (urban planning department), 1333 boulevard Chomedey, ground floor, after making an appointment.

Flat roof: article 380

The Code defines a flat roof as a roof with a slope of 16.7% or less, which is 2:12. For principal and accessory buildings that have one, article 380 requires one of the following coverings:

• a green roof
• a white material, painted white or covered with a reflective coating or white ballast
• a material with a solar reflectance index of at least 78, confirmed by the manufacturer's specifications or by a professional's specifications
• a combination of these coverings

The article makes exceptions, among others, for a residential accessory building with a footprint under 40 m².

The Code does not say what applies to an existing flat roof that is redone identically. Ask the Service de l'urbanisme before settling on your choice.

Before our visit

Everything can be seen from below. From the street or the yard, photograph the roof and write down what you see: its shape and what covers it. If you have an old photo of the roof, keep it, and ask the Service de l'urbanisme whether it can be used for your file.

Request a quote from us for a Sainte-Rose roof through this site. Before signing with a contractor, look up their name in the public register of the Régie du bâtiment du Québec (RBQ, Quebec's building authority). The contractor must hold a licence there.

The five Sainte-Rose pages

Flat roof in Sainte-Rose. The PIIA exemption and the article 380 caveat.

Shingle roofing in Sainte-Rose. The sloped roof in the heritage territory, case by case.

Commercial roofing in Sainte-Rose. Mixed-use buildings and apartment towers.

Roof replacement in Sainte-Rose. The order of the steps and the heritage program.

Roof snow removal in Sainte-Rose. Ice at the roof edge, icicles over the walkway and when to request a quote.

Frequently asked questions