Stivi Roofing · Calgary roofer
Calgary roofing, done by the roofer you talk to
I'm Stivi, and Stivi Roofing is my roofing company in Calgary. I repair leaking pitched and tile roofs, repair and replace flat roofs with torch-on SBS membrane, and repair or replace skylights. You deal with me from the first photo to the cleanup, and I fix the joint the water came through, not just the stain on your ceiling.
- Asphalt shingle and concrete tile roofs
- Two-ply torch-on SBS flat roofs
- Skylights re-flashed or replaced
The problem
Where do Calgary roofs start leaking?
Calgary roofs start leaking at the places where the roof changes direction or meets something else. On the roofs I work on, that comes down to three places.
- Pitched roofs: valleys, vent pipes, and the line where shingles meet a wall or a low-slope section. Chinook freeze-thaw cycles open these joints a little more every winter.
- Flat roofs: membrane seams, the corners where the roof meets a stucco wall, and the curbs around vents and skylights. Water that sits on a flat roof finds every open lap.
- Skylights: the curb and the flashing around it, especially where a past repair relied on a bead of sealant instead of lapped metal and membrane.
What I've learned
Most roofs fail at the joints, not in the middle
The field of a roof, the big open slope of shingles or membrane, rarely lets water in first. The joints do: the flashing, meaning the metal or membrane that seals a joint, around a vent, along a wall, under a skylight or down a valley. A new roof with poor flashing leaks sooner than an old roof with good flashing.
So every job I do, from a single vent pipe to a full flat roof replacement, starts and ends at the joints. I open them up, replace what's rotten behind them, and rebuild them so each layer laps over the one below it. Water then runs off the roof instead of into it, with or without sealant.
The fix
How I fix each kind of roof leak in Calgary
Roof repair in Calgary
I trace the leak to the valley, vent or wall it came through, replace any rotten sheathing, and rebuild that joint with new membrane, flashing and shingles. I work on asphalt shingle and concrete tile roofs.
Roof Repair
Flat roof repair in Calgary
When the membrane is still sound, I repair the open seam, the wall corner or the curb that let water in. When the insulation underneath is wet, I tell you a repair will not hold.
Flat Roof Repair
Flat roof replacement in Calgary
I tear off to the deck and install two-ply torch-on SBS: a base sheet and a granulated cap sheet over fastened coverboard, with every wall, curb and drain detail rebuilt. Balconies too.
Flat Roofing
Skylight repair and replacement in Calgary
I re-flash leaking skylights, and when the unit is fogged or the curb is rotten I build a new curb and install a new skylight in the same opening.
SkylightsNext step
Need a roofer in Calgary? Here's how a job with me works
Stivi Roofing repairs pitched, tile and flat roofs and repairs or replaces skylights in Calgary, and I fix the joint the water came through. Here is what happens after you reach out.
- You send me the details. Tell me where the water shows up and send photos of the ceiling and the roof if you can safely take them.
- I go on the roof. I find the joint that is letting water in and check the sheathing, insulation and flashing around it.
- I tell you repair or replace. You get a straight answer and a quote for the work that will actually stop the leak.
- I do the work and show you. I rebuild the joint layer by layer and clean up when I'm done.
Questions Calgary homeowners ask me about their roofs
- How long do roofs last in Calgary?
- Calgary roofs wear faster than the label on the bundle suggests, because chinooks swing the roof between freezing and thawing many times each winter and summer hail bruises shingles. The roofing material itself is rarely what fails first: the flashing at valleys, vents, walls and skylights usually goes before the shingles or membrane do. That's why I check every joint before I tell you a roof is finished.
- Can you repair just a section of a roof?
- Yes. I repair a section when the leak comes from one joint and the roofing around it still lies flat, seals and sheds water. I cut back to sound material, replace any rotten sheathing, and tie the new membrane, flashing and shingles into the old roof so the repair laps water the same way the original roof does.
- Should I repair or replace my roof?
- Repair it when the damage is local and the rest of the roof is sound. Replace it when the same roof leaks in several places, the shingles are curling or losing granules across whole slopes, or, on a flat roof, the insulation under the membrane is wet. I give you that answer after I have been on the roof, not before.
- What is the best time of year to repair a roof in Calgary?
- Spring through fall gives the most working days, and torch-on flat roofing needs a dry surface. A leak should not wait for the season, though: water that gets into the deck and insulation turns a small repair into a larger one. I fix active leaks as soon as the roof is dry enough to work on.
- What type of roof is least likely to leak?
- A roof with properly lapped flashing at every joint. On pitched roofs that means step flashing at walls, a lined valley and sealed vent boots. On flat roofs it means a two-ply membrane turned up walls and curbs under metal counterflashing. The material on the field of the roof matters less than those details.