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Roof Replacement Cost in Ontario (2026): Shingles, Metal and Flat, Priced on Three Real Roofs
Roofing
What a New Roof Costs in Ontario, and Why the Three Quotes Are $6,000 Apart
Roofing is priced by the square, which is 100 square feet of roof, and almost nobody outside the trade knows how many squares their house has. That is the first reason quotes vary. The second is what each roofer put in, and left out, of the number. Here are the rates, three roofs priced all the way through, and the list of what moves the bill.
The numbers
$6.75per sq ft, architectural shingles installed
$16.00per sq ft, standing seam steel
19squares on a typical 1,600 sq ft bungalow
$16,500that bungalow in shingles, with HST
| Roofing system | Per sq ft installed | Per square | Real life in Ontario |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3-tab asphalt shingles | $4.50 to $6.50 | $450 to $650 | 15 to 20 years |
| Architectural (laminated) shingles | $5.50 to $8.50 | $550 to $850 | 22 to 30 years |
| Premium or Class 4 impact-rated shingles | $7.50 to $11.00 | $750 to $1,100 | 30 years plus |
| Metal panels, exposed fastener | $8.50 to $13.00 | $850 to $1,300 | 35 to 45 years, screws need attention at 20 |
| Interlocking metal shingles | $11.00 to $18.00 | $1,100 to $1,800 | 50 years |
| Standing seam steel | $13.00 to $22.00 | $1,300 to $2,200 | 50 years plus |
| Flat roof, 2-ply modified bitumen, EPDM or TPO | $9.00 to $16.00 | $900 to $1,600 | 20 to 25 years |
| Cedar shakes | $14.00 to $22.00 | $1,400 to $2,200 | 25 to 40 years with care |
Every rate includes stripping one layer of shingles and hauling it away, synthetic underlayment, ice and water shield at the eaves and valleys to code, drip edge, new pipe boots and the nails. Those are the same rates the roof replacement calculator uses. What they do not include is the subject of the second half of this page.
First, how many squares you have
A roofer does not price your house. They price the roof surface, and the surface is bigger than the footprint because it slopes and because it hangs past the walls. The arithmetic, which takes a minute: footprint of the house including the garage, plus about 8% for the eaves and rakes, times a pitch factor. For a 6/12 roof the factor is 1.118; for 8/12 it is 1.202; for 12/12 it is 1.414. A 1,600 sq ft bungalow with a 6/12 roof is 1,600 x 1.08 x 1.118 = 1,932 sq ft of roof, call it 19 squares. The full method, with the factors for every pitch, is on how to measure a roof.
The two-storey surprise: a 2,000 sq ft two-storey has a 1,000 sq ft footprint and about 12 squares of roof. A 2,000 sq ft bungalow has 24. The bigger house has the smaller roof bill, and the bungalow owner who budgeted off a friend’s two-storey is $6,000 short.
Three roofs, priced all the way through
| Line | Bungalow, 6/12 gable, 1,600 sq ft footprint | Two-storey, 8/12 hip with dormers, 1,100 sq ft footprint | Cottage, 10/12 gable, 900 sq ft, metal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roof area | 1,932 sq ft (19.3 sq) | 1,428 sq ft (14.3 sq) | 1,266 sq ft (12.7 sq) |
| System | Architectural shingles, $6.75 | Architectural shingles, $6.75 | Standing seam steel, $16.00 |
| Base | $13,040 | $9,640 | $20,256 |
| Pitch, height, complexity | none | +12% steep, +6% two storeys, +8% complex: $2,506 | +22% very steep: $4,456 |
| Decking allowance | 2 sheets, $240 | 8 sheets (old leak), $960 | Board deck, re-sheet: $4,115 |
| Chimney flashing | 1, $650 | 1 wide with cricket, $1,200 | none |
| Skylight flashing | none | 2, $900 | none |
| Vent boots and caps | 3, $225 | 5, $375 | 2, $150 |
| Ridge vent | 40 ft, $480 | 30 ft plus open the soffits, $960 | none, gable vents |
| Snow guards | none | none | 50 ft, $900 |
| Subtotal | $14,635 | $16,541 | $29,877 |
| HST | $1,903 | $2,150 | $3,884 |
| Total | $16,538 | $18,691 | $33,761 |
Notice the two-storey has 25% less roof than the bungalow and costs more, because every line that is not shingles went up: steeper, higher, cut up by dormers, two skylights, a chimney wide enough to need a cricket. And the cottage, with the smallest roof of the three, is twice the price, because it is metal on a board deck that had to be sheeted first. That last one is the kind of thing that only shows up after the old roof is off, which is why the decking line has a unit price on a good quote and a shrug on a bad one.
What moves the number
- Pitch. Under 6/12 a crew walks on it. At 8/12 they need roof jacks and harnesses and everything takes longer: add 10 to 15%. At 10/12 and up, add 20 to 25%, and some crews will not bid it.
- Height and access. Two storeys adds 5 to 8%. A walkout with a 30-foot rear wall, a roof over a conservatory, a house hemmed in by trees or a neighbour’s fence: more. The question is where the bundles go up and where the old roof comes down.
- Shape. A gable is two rectangles. A hip is four triangles. A roof with dormers, valleys and three ridges is a day of cutting and 15% waste in the material order. Flashing goes up with every valley and every wall the roof meets.
- What is under the old roof. One layer is in the price. A second layer is $1 a square foot more; shingles over cedar shakes, $2 and a dumpster of their own. A deck of 1×6 boards with gaps, which is every house before about 1965, has to be sheeted with plywood before shingles can go on: $3.25 a square foot. The tear-off and decking page prices each case.
- Penetrations. Every chimney, skylight, plumbing stack and vent is a hole in the roof that has to be flashed. New flashing, every time; the old flashing is older than the shingles that failed and it fails next. $650 a chimney, $450 a skylight, $75 a boot.
- Ventilation. A roof that cooks the shingles from underneath lasts two-thirds of its rating, and most attics in Ontario are under-vented. Ridge vent at $12 a foot, soffit intake if there is none, and the bathroom fan that has been blowing into the attic since 1988 finally run outside. Page: attic ventilation.
- Time of year. June to September is full price and a four-week wait. April, May and October are 5 to 10% cheaper and the crew is glad of the work. November is possible on a warm week, and a roof put on at -10 C has seal strips that never bonded. When to replace a roof.
- Where you are. Toronto roofers pay Toronto rents and park on the street; Simcoe County roofers drive an hour to Muskoka. Both show up as 5 to 10% on the number.
What a roofing quote leaves out, and should not
Two quotes for the same house, $14,000 and $19,500. The expensive one lists the shingle by name, tear-off and disposal, new flashing at the chimney, 40 ft of ridge vent, ice and water shield 6 ft up the eaves and in the valleys, a decking unit price, and a 10-year workmanship warranty. The cheap one says “supply and install 25-year shingles” and has a line in small type that says disposal, flashing and decking are extra. By the time the cheap roofer has found two soft sheets and billed the dumpster, the two numbers are the same and only one of them has a warranty. The quote checklist is the list of what must be on the paper; the quote review is for when three of them still do not agree.
Repair or replace, in one paragraph
A roof under 15 years old with a leak at a flashing or a few shingles gone in a windstorm is a $400 to $1,500 repair. A roof over 20 with curling shingles, granules in the eavestroughs and a leak that has moved twice is a replacement, and the repair money is wasted. In between, the honest answer is on the repair vs. replacement page, and the thing to look at is not the shingles but the attic.
Questions people ask
How much does a new roof cost in Ontario in 2026?
$13,000 to $18,000 with HST for a typical bungalow in architectural shingles; $16,000 to $25,000 for a two-storey with a complex roof; $30,000 to $40,000 for either one in standing seam steel. The rate is $5.50 to $8.50 per square foot of roof for shingles and $10.50 to $16 for metal, before HST.
What is a roofing square?
100 square feet of roof surface. A 20-square roof is 2,000 sq ft. Roofers price, order and talk in squares; the per-square number is the per-square-foot number times 100.
Why are my roofing quotes so different?
Usually because they are not for the same roof: one includes tear-off, flashing, venting and a decking unit price and one does not, or one is a different shingle, or one measured 19 squares and one measured 23. Put them on the quote checklist and the difference shows.
Does a new roof add value to a house?
A roof that is due costs more in a sale than replacing it costs, because every buyer’s inspector will call it and every buyer will ask for $20,000 off. A new roof does not add money beyond that; it removes an objection.
Does home insurance pay for a new roof?
For sudden damage from wind, hail or a tree, often, less the deductible and sometimes depreciated by the roof’s age. For a roof that wore out, never. The storm damage and insurance page has the honest version, which is policy-dependent.
Price it before they do
Footprint, pitch, shape, what is poking through. The calculator gives you the number a fair quote should land near, and the scope that makes three roofers price the same roof.
Sources and further reading
- Your rights when starting home renovations or repairs: Ontario government. The 10-day cooling-off period, the 10% estimate rule, and what a contract has to say.
- Construction Act, R.S.O. 1990: the 10% holdback and the lien rules that apply to a roofing contract.
- Ontario’s Building Code: the official page, with the current regulation (O. Reg. 163/24). Roofing is Section 9.26, attic ventilation 9.19.
