Every homeowner we quote a roof for in the GTA gets three numbers on the sheet: asphalt shingle, standing seam metal, and cedar shake. The reason we always show all three is that the honest cost gap between the three materials has gotten smaller over the past five years, and the math on which one is actually the right call for your specific house keeps shifting.
This post is the 2026 line-item breakdown for a standard single-family home roof in the GTA — the numbers we're actually writing on quotes, the things that push each number up or down, and the honest recommendation on which material we'd pick for our own houses. For the tradeoff conversation (noise, aesthetics, ice dams, solar), pair it with our asphalt vs metal vs cedar shake comparison.
Framing the job: we're pricing a full tear-off and replacement on a standard GTA single-family home, roughly 1,800 to 2,200 square feet of living space with 18 to 24 roofing squares (1,800 to 2,400 square feet of actual roof surface) in a standard hip-and-gable configuration. No skylights, no solar, no flat sections, two standard masonry chimneys, three vent stacks, and a ridge run of about 45 feet. This is the job we quote most often. Additions for complexity (skylights, flat decks, mansard sections, cedar shake tear-off underneath) are documented at the end.
Asphalt shingle re-roof — $9,800 to $17,500 CAD
A full architectural asphalt shingle re-roof on a standard GTA single-family home runs $9,800 to $17,500 CAD in 2026. We default to three brands at three price points: IKO Cambridge (budget), GAF Timberline HDZ (mid-tier, and what we install on most jobs), and Owens Corning Duration Flex (premium, with the SureNail strip).
All three are architectural dimensional shingles, all three carry manufacturer warranties between 30 and 50 years, and all three are legitimately good products. The cost spread between them is about $800 to $1,600 on a standard job.
The biggest line on an asphalt re-roof is labor, not materials. Materials on a standard 20-square house — shingles, underlayment, ice-and-water shield, drip edge, flashing, nails — run about $3,800 to $5,800. Labor for the tear-off, disposal, sheathing inspection, and install runs $4,800 to $8,400 on a three-to-five-day job.
The tear-off and disposal alone is $1,200 to $2,200 of the labor — it's physical, sweaty work that takes a full day, and the disposal fees have gone up every year as landfills tighten their shingle acceptance policies.
- Tear-off and disposal, 20 squares: $1,200 to $2,200
- Sheathing inspection and rotted plywood replacement (contingency): $300 to $1,800
- Ice-and-water shield, 6 ft up eaves + 3 ft up rakes + valleys: $520 to $780
- Synthetic underlayment on the field: $380 to $620
- Architectural shingles (mid-tier, GAF Timberline HDZ): $2,800 to $4,200
- Drip edge, starter strip, ridge cap, hip and ridge shingles: $480 to $720
- Step and counter flashing, chimneys and walls: $420 to $820
- Roofing nails, caps, ventilation, and misc hardware: $180 to $340
- Labor, install, cleanup, magnetic sweep: $3,600 to $6,200
- Total, standard 20-square asphalt re-roof: $9,800 to $17,500 CAD
Standing seam metal roofing — $24,000 to $42,000 CAD
A full standing seam metal roof replacement on the same standard GTA house runs $24,000 to $42,000 CAD in 2026. That's roughly 2.5 to 3 times the cost of asphalt, and the jump is almost entirely material cost — metal roofing material itself is $6 to $12 per square foot versus roughly $1.80 to $3.50 for asphalt shingles.
Labor is similar; the install day count is similar (4 to 6 days instead of 3 to 5). What you're paying for is a 50-year roof instead of a 25-year roof, a warranty that usually transfers with the house at resale, and an aesthetic that reads premium.
The brands we install for standing seam metal in Ontario are Ideal Roofing, Vicwest, and AG Pannelli. Ideal is Canadian-made out of Quebec, Vicwest is the biggest North American player, and AG Pannelli is our premium spec for clients who want thicker-gauge metal and a more refined rib profile. Galvalume base metal with a Kynar 500 PVDF coating is the standard spec — anything less than Kynar and the paint finish starts chalking in 8 to 12 years. We don't quote the cheaper acrylic-coated options because the paint failure mode is ugly and the phone calls in year ten are ours to take.
What pushes the metal roof price up and down: gauge of the metal (24-gauge is cheaper, 22-gauge is stiffer and handles impacts better), rib spacing and profile, colour selection (standard colors are free, custom colors add 8 to 15%), and whether the job includes snow retention (snow guards or bar systems, which add $1,800 to $3,600 on a standard roof but are essential above doorways and walkways in Ontario). Standing seam metal shouldn't be installed in Ontario without snow retention above any entryway, driveway, or pedestrian area.
- Tear-off and disposal: $1,200 to $2,200
- Sheathing inspection and replacement contingency: $300 to $1,800
- Ice-and-water shield at eaves and valleys: $520 to $780
- Synthetic underlayment, metal-compatible: $420 to $680
- Standing seam metal panels (Ideal or Vicwest, 24-gauge Kynar): $11,500 to $20,500
- Trim, flashings, ridge cap, drip edge (metal-matched): $1,800 to $3,400
- Snow retention (bars and guards): $1,800 to $3,600
- Labor and install (4 to 6 days, 3-man crew): $6,400 to $9,800
- Total, standard 20-square standing seam metal roof: $24,000 to $42,000 CAD
Cedar shake or shingle roofing — $28,000 to $52,000 CAD
Cedar shake and cedar shingle roofing — the two are different products, shake is hand-split and thicker, shingle is sawn and thinner — runs $28,000 to $52,000 CAD on a standard GTA single-family home in 2026. Cedar is the most expensive of the three materials we install, and it's the one we install the least often.
We quote maybe three or four cedar roofs a year, almost always on heritage homes, clients in historic districts (Rosedale, Old Oakville, Mimico beach), or owners who specifically want the warmest wood-roof aesthetic and are budgeting for it.
The material itself is the biggest line — Western red cedar shake (premium "Certigrade #1" hand-split resawn) runs about $14 to $22 per square foot installed. Labor is higher than asphalt because cedar requires more hand-work at every course and specialized flashing details that asphalt doesn't. Install time is 6 to 10 days for a standard 20-square job, versus 3 to 5 days for asphalt.
Cedar breathes more than asphalt, which means the underlayment strategy is completely different — we skip ice-and-water shield everywhere except the eaves, and we use a specialized breathable underlayment rather than synthetic felt.
Honest lifespan on a cedar roof in Ontario weather: 25 to 40 years depending on maintenance, orientation, and whether the homeowner is willing to pressure-wash and treat the roof every 5 to 7 years. Untreated cedar in direct sun and Ontario winter weather can be tired by year 20. Cedar with regular maintenance and a north-facing orientation can still look great at year 35.
The cost-per-year math is not great on cedar — you're paying roughly twice the asphalt price for a roof that doesn't last twice as long — and that's why we don't spec cedar often. When we do, it's because the homeowner specifically wants the look.
- Tear-off and disposal (asphalt or existing cedar): $1,200 to $3,400
- Sheathing inspection and replacement: $300 to $2,400 (cedar often hides more rot than asphalt)
- Breathable underlayment (Cedar Breather or similar): $680 to $1,200
- Premium Certigrade #1 hand-split cedar shake: $15,000 to $26,000
- Stainless or copper flashing (required for cedar): $1,600 to $3,200
- Ridge cap, starter course, hip and valley detail: $1,200 to $2,400
- Labor (6 to 10 days, skilled cedar crew): $7,200 to $12,800
- Total, standard 20-square cedar shake roof: $28,000 to $52,000 CAD
What moves the price on any re-roof
Five things move a roof quote off the standard number. First: pitch. A standard 6/12 or 8/12 pitch is one price. A 10/12 or 12/12 pitch (steep enough that we need roof jacks and harnesses for safe work) adds 15 to 25% in labor. A 14/12 or steeper requires full fall-arrest systems and takes 30 to 40% longer than a standard pitch. A shallow 4/12 or 3/12 is also tricky for different reasons (water runs slower, so sealing details have to be perfect) and adds about 10%.
Second: skylights, solar panels, and chimney count. Each skylight on a re-roof adds $480 to $1,200 depending on size and whether it needs replacement. Solar panels that have to be removed, stored, and reinstalled add $1,400 to $3,800 for the solar installer's time plus our crew's downtime. A masonry chimney needs new step-flashing on every re-roof regardless of cost — that's $380 to $720 per chimney in labor and material.
Third: the existing roof layers. Ontario allows up to two layers of asphalt shingles in most residential applications. If your current roof is a single-layer, tear-off is standard. If it's already a re-cover (two layers), we'll tear off both and usually find sheathing that needs work underneath. If it's three layers (which we see occasionally and which has always been against code), the tear-off takes an extra day and the disposal cost almost doubles.
Fourth: the sheathing itself. 1960s and 1970s houses in the GTA often have 3/8-inch plank sheathing instead of modern 5/8-inch plywood, and some of those planks are sagging or rotten. Budget $800 to $2,800 contingency for sheathing replacement on any house older than 50 years. A post-storm drone roof survey often reveals plank sheathing issues before the tear-off begins.
- Steep pitch (10/12+): +15 to 40% on labor
- Each skylight: $480 to $1,200
- Solar panel removal and reinstall: $1,400 to $3,800
- Extra masonry chimney: $380 to $720 in flashing labor
- Third layer of shingles (unexpected): +$600 to $1,400 in tear-off and disposal
- Old plank sheathing replacement: $800 to $2,800 contingency
“Nobody else quoted us metal. When you showed us the spread, metal came out $650/year versus asphalt at $560, and we decided the extra $90 a year for a 50-year roof was worth it.”
The reason we walk every client through all three material options is that the right answer for your house might not be the obvious one. Clients come in wanting asphalt because it's cheaper, and sometimes we agree with them — if you're in a house you plan to sell in seven years, asphalt is the honest call. Clients come in wanting metal because it looks premium, and sometimes we talk them down because the math doesn't work for their budget.
Clients come in wanting cedar because it looks beautiful, and we tell them what it's going to cost them in year 25 on maintenance. The job is to give you the real numbers and let you make the real choice. Our roofing and siding service page covers the full install process.
