Free roof inspection with deck photos before we talk money - GAF and Owens Corning certified installation
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterFast, Reliable Roof Replacement Across San Francisco
A full roof replacement in San Francisco typically runs $18,000 to $42,000 for a standard asphalt shingle roof on a single-family home, with most jobs completing in five to ten working days once permits clear. That range accounts for the city’s permit fees, historic-district requirements in some neighborhoods, and the near-certain discovery of some dry rot under the old roof. If you’re pricing a replacement in San Francisco, call us at (325) 246-5075 and we’ll give you a written line-item estimate before any work starts.
We know San Francisco roofs differently than a crew that parachutes in from the East Bay or Sacramento. The fog belt in the Richmond and Sunset soaks north-facing roof planes for months at a time. Victorians in the Mission and Noe Valley hide decking rot under three layers of old shingles. Mid-century boxes in the Excelsior have low slopes that pool water. None of this shows up on a satellite photo or a 15-minute walkthrough. It shows up when the tear-off starts. Our Roof Replacement team builds the scope for what we’ll actually find, not what the old roof looks like from the street.
Why Crestview Roofing Is San Francisco’s Preferred Roof Replacement Company
Crestview Roofing has been replacing roofs since 2000, and we’ve built our San Francisco reputation on one thing: the written price you approve is the price you pay. Every job is governed by The Relay Visibility Guarantee, which means a line-item quote before work begins, before-and-after photo documentation, a live trackable arrival time, and a digital invoice sent by text when the job is done. No one in San Francisco should wonder who’s showing up, when they’ll arrive, or what the final bill will say.
Dylan Pace leads our San Francisco Bay Area team. When you book, you’ll know the name of the technician coming to your home, and that person is background-checked and uniformed. Calls are answered by a live person around the clock. If something looks off mid-job, we send photos and explain what we found before we touch anything else. That’s how a roof replacement should work in a city where homeowners are tired of vague quotes and voicemail black holes.
Roof Replacement Contractor in San Francisco
A Roof Replacement Contractor in San Francisco does more than swap old shingles for new. The job means tearing off every layer down to the decking, inspecting what’s underneath, replacing rotted wood, repairing or replacing flashing at penetrations and valleys, installing new underlayment to meet current code, then laying the new roof system and finishing with ventilation and edge metal. On most San Francisco homes, a full replacement runs $18,000 to $42,000 depending on size, access, and what the tear-off reveals.
What the Scope Actually Includes
We scope every San Francisco roof replacement with a line-item breakdown: tear-off and disposal, decking inspection and replacement, underlayment, flashing at chimneys and skylights and sidewalls, shingles or membrane, ridge vent or box vents, drip edge, and final cleanup with magnetic nail sweep. You’ll see the cost per square before you sign anything. No allowances buried in the fine print.
Permits and Historic Review
San Francisco’s Department of Building Inspection requires a building permit for full reroofs, and many properties fall under Article 10 or Article 11 historic district rules. That matters because some replacements must match original roof profiles and materials. We handle the permit paperwork and coordinate with DBI inspections so the job doesn’t stall mid-teardown.
Asphalt Shingle Roof Replacement in San Francisco
Asphalt Shingle Roof Replacement in San Francisco is the most common roof system we install because it handles the city’s wet winters and fog-belt moisture well when detailed correctly. A standard architectural shingle roof in San Francisco runs $18,000 to $32,000 for a typical 20-to-30-square home, while steep Victorians with complex roof planes and limited staging space push toward the upper end or beyond.
Architectural Shingle Detail
We install architectural shingles from GAF, CertainTeed, and Owens Corning. These are laminated shingles, thicker than three-tab, rated for 110-plus mph winds in exposed areas like Twin Peaks and Diamond Heights. Most San Francisco homeowners choose architectural shingles for the balance of price, lifespan, and the way they hide minor decking irregularities on older homes.
Decking and Underlayment Reality
San Francisco homes built before the 1960s often have skip sheathing, spaced boards rather than solid plywood. Current code requires solid decking under asphalt shingles in most cases, which means we typically re-sheath with plywood or OSB before underlayment goes down. That’s a line item we include in our initial estimate when the age of the home makes it likely.
Trusted Brands We Service in San Francisco
We install and repair roofing systems from GAF, CertainTeed, and Owens Corning, which means manufacturer-backed material warranties are available on every San Francisco roof replacement we complete. Because our crews work San Francisco every week, we keep common trim, flashing, and accessory stock staged locally, so we don’t lose days waiting on a supplier across the bridge. If you have a preference on manufacturer, tell us during the estimate and we’ll price that system for you.
Common Roof Replacement Problems We See in San Francisco Homes
- Historic-district conflicts. Homes in Article 10 or Article 11 districts sometimes need roof profiles and materials that match the original building. If Planning review flags the profile mid-job, the delay is measured in weeks, not days. We check the property’s status before we submit the permit.
- Fog-belt moisture damage. In the Richmond, Sunset, and Parkside, north-facing roof planes stay damp for months. Flashing that looked fine on a dry walkthrough turns out to be corroded or improperly lapped once tear-off starts.
- Hidden dry rot. Decking, fascia, and soffit near the eave line rot quietly behind old gutters and layers of shingles. We find it on roughly half the pre-1970 San Francisco homes we reroof, and we photograph every rotted board before replacing it.
- Three-layer tear-offs. Many older San Francisco houses have two or three layers of composition shingles stacked on top of each other. That increases disposal costs and often means the underlying decking has been hiding problems for decades.
Pricing for Roof Replacement in San Francisco, CA
A typical asphalt shingle roof replacement in San Francisco runs $18,000 to $42,000. The biggest cost drivers are total roof square footage, number of roof planes and penetrations, tear-off layers, decking and fascia replacement, access difficulty, and whether the property sits in a historic district that requires material or profile matching. Flat roof sections using modified bitumen or TPO add cost per square compared to shingle slopes. Every Crestview estimate is line-itemed in writing before work starts, and the number on the page is the number on the invoice.
We don’t bid low and change-order high. If we find dry rot under the old roof, we photograph it, show you the scope adjustment in writing, and get your approval before any carpentry begins. Call (325) 246-5075 to schedule a free estimate.
We Also Serve Cities Near San Francisco
Beyond San Francisco, our crews regularly work in Daly City, Brisbane, Sausalito, and South San Francisco. If your home is in one of those cities and you need a roof replacement, our San Francisco team can usually schedule an estimate within a few days and apply the same written-pricing process to your job.
Serving San Francisco, CA – Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the San Francisco area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage – if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs About Roof Replacement in San Francisco
Yes. San Francisco’s Department of Building Inspection requires a building permit for full reroofs, and homes in Article 10 or Article 11 historic districts may also need Planning Department review to confirm the roof profile and materials match the original. We pull the permit, manage inspections, and handle any Planning coordination as part of the job. Call (325) 246-5075 and we’ll check your address’s specific requirements before you commit to anything.
A square is 100 square feet of roof area, and most San Francisco single-family homes run 20 to 30 squares. That number drives material quantity, tear-off cost, labor hours, and disposal fees, so any meaningful estimate must be built on an accurate square count, not a satellite guess. We measure every roof physically during the estimate, then show you the square count and the per-square price in writing.
Very likely, especially on pre-1970 San Francisco homes with original skip sheathing or older fascia. Dry rot at the eave line, around chimneys, and under old valley flashing is extremely common here because of fog-belt moisture and decades of small leaks. We include a decking replacement allowance in our initial estimate, photograph any rotted wood we find, and get written approval before replacing it.
In San Francisco, the main cost drivers are roof size in squares, tear-off layer count, decking and fascia condition, roof plane complexity, access for staging and debris removal, historic-district material requirements, and permit fees. A simple bungalow with one tear-off layer runs lower; a steep Victorian with three layers, multiple penetrations, and Planning review runs higher. Our written estimate shows each line item so you see exactly what you’re paying for.
Most San Francisco roof replacements take five to ten working days of on-site work once permits clear and materials are delivered. Historic-district review can add two to six weeks before work begins, so we confirm that status early. Weather interruptions in the winter rainy season can also add days, and we schedule accordingly. Call (325) 246-5075 for a realistic timeline specific to your roof.
What a San Francisco Roof Replacement Actually Looks Like
On a steep 1920s Marina District home off Chestnut Street, we tore off three layers of old composition shingles, replaced rotted skip sheathing with new plywood decking, and installed a CertainTeed Landmark system with ice and water shield in the valleys, a starter strip along the eaves, and new drip edge and ridge vent. Because the original fascia and soffit were dry-rotted at the eave line, we added carpentry to the scope before the underlayment went down. That’s the honest reality of roof replacement in San Francisco: the house tells you what it needs after the old roof comes off, and a good contractor adjusts in writing, with photos, before touching anything.
Written by Dylan Pace, Owner at Crestview Roofing, serving San Francisco since 2000.