Building quality, trust, and innovation — A1 Kahlon Construction LTD turns your vision into lasting reality.
Welcome to A1 Kahlon Construction.
5 Mistakes to Avoid When Re-roofing Your Home in North Vancouver
If you live in North Vancouver, you know the drill: It rains. A lot.
When you are spending $15,000 to $30,000 on a new roof, you expect it to last 25 years. However, I have seen roofs in Lynn Valley and Deep Cove fail in less than 10 years. Why?
It’s not usually because of “bad shingles.” It’s because the roofer treated your home like it was in Arizona, not the North Shore rainforest. Here are the 5 biggest mistakes homeowners (and lazy contractors) make when re-roofing in North Vancouver and how to avoid them.
1. Suffocating Your House (Ignoring Ventilation)
Most people think a roof’s job is just to keep water out. But in our climate, it is equally important to let the air out.
The Problem: In the winter, your house is warm. Your attic is cold. When that warm air rises into the attic and hits the cold plywood of your roof, it turns into water (condensation).
If your roofer slaps on new shingles but doesn’t calculate your intake (soffit) and exhaust (ridge) ventilation, that moisture gets trapped.
- Result: You get black mold in your attic and your plywood rots from the inside out.
The Fix: Ask your contractor for a “Balanced Ventilation Calculation.” You need equal air coming in at the eaves as you have going out at the peak.
- Pro Tip: If you have a low-slope roof (common in 1970s North Van bungalows), standard vents might not work. You might need a power fan.
2. The "Layer Over" Shortcut
You get a quote that is $3,000 cheaper than the others. The contractor says, “We can just nail the new shingles right over the old ones! It saves disposal fees!”
The Mistake: Run away. In British Columbia, this is a recipe for disaster.
- Weight: A second layer adds thousands of pounds of stress to your trusses. Combine that with a heavy “wet snow” load in January, and you are risking structural sagging.
- Hidden Rot: If we don’t tear off the old shingles, we can’t see the plywood deck underneath. We might be nailing your beautiful new roof into rotten wood.
The Fix: Always demand a “full tear-off.” We need to strip the roof down to the wood, inspect the sheathing, and replace any rotten boards before we even think about shingles.
3. Ignoring the "Free Money" (Insulation Rebates)
This is the one that hurts my wallet just thinking about it.
The Mistake: You pay for a new roof, but you leave your old, flattened R-10 insulation in the attic.
The Opportunity: When the roof is off (or even when it’s on), it is the easiest time to top up your attic insulation.
- The Bonus: The CleanBC Better Homes and BC Hydro rebate programs are currently active.
- The Math: You can often get rebates of up to $900 (or more for income-qualified households) just for increasing your attic R-value.
The Fix: Ask us about insulation upgrades before we start. We can blow in new insulation to bring you up to R-50 code, keeping your heating bills down and putting cash back in your pocket.
4. Re-using Old Flashing
Flashing is the metal that goes around your chimney, skylights, and valleys.
The Mistake: A lazy roofer will carefully work around your old chimney flashing to save time.
- Why it fails: Shingles rarely leak in the middle. 90% of leaks happen at the flashing. If your flashing is 20 years old, it has rust holes you can’t see.
The Fix: Your quote should explicitly say: “Supply and install new metal flashing at all penetrations.” If it doesn’t say that, you aren’t getting a new roof; you’re getting a patch job.
5. Choosing Asphalt Under the "Tree Canopy."
Look outside. Do you see massive Douglas Firs or Cedars hanging over your house?
The Mistake: Installing standard asphalt shingles in a heavy tree zone.
- The Science: Trees drop shade and organic debris. This creates a permanent damp spot on your roof. Asphalt shingles are made of limestone filler-moss loves to eat limestone.
The Fix: If you live in a “tree-heavy” zone (like the upper slopes of North Van), you have two options:
- Zinc Strips: We install a zinc strip at the top of the roof. When it rains, zinc particles wash down and kill the moss.
- Metal Roofing: If you plan to stay in the house forever, switch to metal. Moss slides right off, and it lasts 50 years.
A1 kahlon Construction
Get a Free Project Consultation
Support 24/7: +1.778-892-1530 – a1kahlon@yahoo.ca
x
A1 Kahlon Construction LTD.
contact us
Call Us: +1 (778) 892-1530
Mail: a1kahlon@yahoo.ca
Address: 349 Monteray Ave, North Vancouver, BC V7N 3E7, Canada
