Free roof inspection with deck photos before we talk money - GAF and Owens Corning certified installation
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AfterFast, Reliable Roofing Company Across San Francisco
If you own a flat-roofed Victorian, Edwardian, or Sunset-style home in San Francisco, you already know the city’s roofing problems don’t look like anywhere else in California. We’re Tilehurst Roofing, part of the Kingswell family of roofing companies founded in 2000, and our Roofing Company team works on the specific roof systems that dominate this city: built-up tar-and-gravel, modified bitumen, torch-down, and TPO membranes. A typical flat-roof repair in San Francisco runs $850-$2,400, while full membrane replacements on attached rowhouses start around $14,000 and climb with parapet scope. Call (945) 303-9821 and you’ll speak with a live person, not a voicemail queue.
Why Tilehurst Roofing Is San Francisco’s Preferred Roofing Company Company
San Francisco homeowners call us after someone else got it wrong. That’s the honest pattern. They hired a roofer who quoted pitched shingles for a flat roof, or who re-flashed a party-wall parapet without the neighbor’s written sign-off, or who never pulled the SFDBI permit and left an escrow time bomb behind. We fix those situations and we prevent them.
Our Roofing Company in San Francisco crews work in the Outer Sunset, Outer Richmond, Mission, Noe Valley, Castro, and every neighborhood in between. Every technician is background-checked and uniformed, so you know exactly who is on your roof. Every job starts with a written price in your hands before any work begins. When we finish, we leave a written guarantee on the repair, not a verbal promise.
Greg Holloway leads our San Francisco Bay Area operations. He insists on the Kingswell Way: say the price before the work, show up in the window we gave, leave the place cleaner than we found it, put the guarantee in writing, and come back if it fails. That last part is the 365-Day Done Right Promise. If a repair fails inside one year, we return at no charge. No argument, no negotiation.
Commercial Roofing in San Francisco
Commercial Roofing in San Francisco means flat and low-slope membrane work on mixed-use buildings, storefronts with residential units above, and small apartment buildings, many of them Edwardian-era originals with tar-and-gravel still in place from decades ago. These buildings concentrate in the Mission, Castro, and along the commercial corridors of the Richmond and Sunset. The roofs are flat, the parapets are shared, and the fog does more damage than rain ever will.
Most commercial flat-roof replacements in San Francisco run $18,000-$45,000 depending on square footage, decking condition, parapet flashing scope, and whether a crane is needed to lift materials in a dense block. Repairs on flashings, scuppers, and membrane seams typically run $900-$3,200. We provide written line-item quotes before ordering any materials.
Membrane Replacement and Recover Systems
We install modified bitumen, torch-down, and TPO systems matched to the building’s drainage and exposure. On many San Francisco commercial roofs, the existing tar-and-gravel has been layered over two or three times, which adds dead load and makes leak tracing nearly impossible until we cut test cores to find the sound deck.
Parapet and Drainage Repair
Scuppers, drains, and parapet cap flashings are the failure points we see most on commercial flat roofs near the Bay. Salt air corrodes metal faster here than in any inland market. We re-flash, replace, and seal these details with materials rated for coastal exposure.
Metal Roof Installation in San Francisco
Metal Roof Installation in San Francisco is a specialty niche, usually for modern additions, contemporary rebuilds, and the occasional pitched-roof Victorian in neighborhoods like Noe Valley or Pacific Heights where a homeowner wants a standing-seam profile that lasts decades. Standing-seam metal on a San Francisco home typically runs $22,000-$55,000 depending on roof size, panel gauge, and the number of penetrations and valleys.
Metal delivers real value in this climate because it sheds fog condensation rather than absorbing it, and modern standing-seam systems use hidden fasteners that resist salt-air corrosion far better than exposed screws. For homes in the Outer Sunset or Richmond where wind and salt spray are constant, metal is a legitimate upgrade over membrane systems.
Standing-Seam and Hidden-Fastener Systems
We work with Atlas, Tamko, and Boral metal products among others, and we spec hidden-fastener panels wherever possible on coastal properties. Hidden fasteners reduce the number of exposed screw heads that eventually leak under constant salt exposure.
Removing Old Built-Up Layers First
On many San Francisco jobs, metal installation begins with removal of old built-up roofing down to the deck. That work requires a permit and careful debris handling on attached rowhouses. We handle the entire sequence, including the SFDBI paperwork.
Trusted Brands We Service in San Francisco
We’re not locked into one manufacturer. Our material options include GAF, CertainTeed, Owens Corning, IKO, Atlas, Tamko, and Boral. For San Francisco flat roofs, we frequently turn to Atlas and Tamko for torch-down and modified bitumen systems, and Boral when a tile or stone-coated product fits the home’s architecture. We stock common flashing, membrane, and fastener parts locally so a small repair in the Richmond doesn’t wait on a shipment from out of state. Fast turnaround is a function of having the right material on hand, not promising what we can’t deliver.
Common Roofing Company Problems We See in San Francisco Homes
- Fog condensation on membrane seams: Karl the Fog brings moisture on 100+ days a year in the western neighborhoods, saturating membrane seams and parapet flashings even when it never rains. This chronic damp promotes moss, algae, and premature seam failure that a rain-only diagnostic misses entirely.
- Shared party-wall parapets: On attached Victorians and Edwardians throughout the Mission, Castro, and Noe Valley, the parapet wall is a shared boundary. Re-flashing the base without the adjacent owner’s written sign-off creates liability when the neighbor’s roof starts leaking into the adjoining unit.
- Layered-over tar-and-gravel roofs: Many San Francisco flat roofs have been re-covered two or three times without removing the old layers. That adds weight and hides deck rot until we cut test cores. A proper replacement means cutting down to sound decking.
- Unpermitted replacements surfacing in escrow: SFDBI requires a permit for full roof replacements. Skipping it is common and cheap in the short term, but the unpermitted roof surfaces during escrow inspections in one of the nation’s most litigious real-estate markets, and the seller eats the cost.
Pricing for Roofing Company in San Francisco, CA
Here’s what you can expect in San Francisco’s current market. Flat-roof repairs run $850-$2,400 for membrane patches, flashing reseals, and drain clearing. Full flat-roof replacements on attached rowhouses start around $14,000 and reach $35,000+ when parapets are involved and crane access is tight. Commercial membranes run $18,000-$45,000. Standing-seam metal roofs run $22,000-$55,000. What drives the final number is parapet scope, deck condition once we cut into it, and access logistics on dense blocks. You’ll get a written, line-item price before any materials are ordered. Call (945) 303-9821 for a free estimate.
We Also Serve Cities Near San Francisco
Our crews also serve Daly City, Brisbane, Sausalito, and South San Francisco, where flat and low-slope roofs are similarly common and fog-driven moisture is the same constant threat. If you’re outside San Francisco proper, you’ll get the same written price, the same written guarantee, and the same live person answering the phone at (945) 303-9821.
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 Roofing Company in San Francisco
Lead times, not labor, set the calendar on San Francisco flat-roof work. Membrane and flashing materials ordered to spec can take two to six weeks to arrive, and SFDBI permit review adds another week or two depending on inspection load. The on-site work itself is often three to five days. We fix the price in writing before ordering, so the wait doesn’t become a moving target. Call (945) 303-9821 and we’ll give you a realistic timeline with the quote.
Yes, the SF Department of Building Inspection requires a permit for full roof replacements. Skipping it saves a few hundred dollars short-term, but the unpermitted roof surfaces during escrow inspections and typically costs the seller far more in concessions or a forced retrofit. We pull the permit on every replacement and pass the final inspection before we call the job done.
Rain runs off. Fog condenses and sits. On 100+ foggy days per year in the Outer Sunset and Outer Richmond, condensation saturates membrane seams, parapet flashings, and fasteners for months at a time, even when the gauge shows almost no rainfall. That’s why we inspect seams and flashings for moisture absorption, not just storm damage. The fix is material selection and detail work, not more drains.
Because the parapet wall between attached units is a shared party wall. Re-flashing its base often requires the adjacent owner’s written permission, since the work touches both sides of a common boundary. We confirm party-wall scope in writing before any flashing is removed, which protects you from liability when the neighbor’s roof inevitably shares the same wall. Call (945) 303-9821 and we’ll walk you through exactly what your building needs.
Modified bitumen or TPO membrane over a sound deck is what we specify for 1930s-1940s Sunset-style homes in the Outer Sunset and Richmond. These roofs are flat, exposed to constant salt air, and often still carrying original built-up tar-and-gravel. We remove the old layers down to decking, install the new membrane with proper flashing, and document the permit so escrow doesn’t flag it later. Estimates are free at (945) 303-9821.
Written by Greg Holloway, Owner at Tilehurst Roofing, serving San Francisco since 2000.