Flat roof repair in Orillia

Flat roof services in Orillia

Many homes in Orillia are rented, so a roof leak is often reported first by a tenant, then handled by a landlord or property manager. Orillia has one of the ten heaviest design snow loads of the 40 cities on this site, so drains and parapet flashings get extra attention. We find where the water gets in, fix that spot and tell you how much life the rest of the roof has.

When a roof is past repair, we replace it with EPDM, TPO, PVC or modified bitumen, and fix the drainage so water does not sit on the new membrane. Owners and property managers also book inspections and maintenance visits.

A small lakeside city with an old core in Orillia

Orillia developed at the Narrows between Lake Couchiching and Lake Simcoe and became a commercial centre and summer resort once links to Toronto and Georgian Bay opened. It became a city in 1969, and its population grew from 8,774 in 1921 to 24,040 in 1971. Industry has included machinery and automotive parts. Census data shows about 58% of homes were built before 1981, and about 31% before 1961.

The downtown, including the Arts District on Peter Street, has older brick buildings where flat roofs sit behind parapets. Houses from the early twentieth century, many near the waterfront at Couchiching Beach Park, often have flat-roofed additions. Schools, institutional buildings and industrial plants of the mid-century decades are typically low-slope. Newer retirement residences and apartment buildings add membrane roofs, and about a quarter of the city's dwellings are in apartment buildings.

Orillia weather and your flat roof

Ontario's Building Code sets the climate values used to design roofs in each municipality. They show what a flat roof in Orillia has to handle.

• 2.4 kPaGround snow load (about 50 lb per sq ft)
• 0.4 kPaRain load added to snow (Sr)
• 25 mmRain in a 15-minute storm (design value)
• 103 mmRain in one day, 1-in-50-year storm
• -25 °CJanuary design temperature
• 4,260Heating degree-days per year
• 0.36 kPaHourly wind pressure, 1-in-50-year

That snow load is about 2.7 times the Toronto figure. Snow drifts against parapets, walls and rooftop units, and the weight sits on the roof for weeks. Drains that freeze shut leave meltwater nowhere to go.

A design storm can drop 25 mm of rain in 15 minutes. On a flat roof that water has to reach a drain or scupper quickly, so clear drains and sound drain flashings matter as much as the membrane.

Source: Ontario Building Code, Supplementary Standard SB-1, Table 1.2

Homes and buildings in Orillia

The age and type of buildings shape the flat roofs we see. These are the 2021 Census figures for Orillia.

• 58%Homes built before 1981
• 19%Homes built since 2001
• 58%Detached and semi-detached houses
• 9%Row houses and townhouses
• 6%Apartments in buildings of 5+ storeys
• 39%Households that rent

39% of households in Orillia rent. Landlords and property managers can send photos and the tenant's description of the leak, and we reply with the scope and a quote by email. See apartment buildings.

About 58% of homes in Orillia were built before 1981, more than in 23 of the 40 Ontario cities on this site. Older houses often have flat roofs over rear additions, kitchens and porches, sometimes with two or three layers of old roofing on top of each other. Replacing one usually starts with a full tear-off and a look at the wood deck underneath.

Source: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census Profile

Orillia: facts for property owners

• Population of Orillia: 33,411 (2021 Census). Source

Rules and programs change. Confirm current details with the municipality before you start work.

Starting prices in Orillia

Starting prices in CAD before 13% HST, based on typical Ontario contractor rates (mostly Toronto and the GTA). The final price depends on roof size, access, the layers to remove, the membrane, drains and flashings, and is confirmed in your written quote.

See all prices.