Leak repair, slate and copper work, flashing, eavestroughs and full replacements, with the right specialists and one Home Manager overseeing it.
On a large or older roof, water can travel a long way before it shows. A stain on a bedroom ceiling may start at chimney flashing, a cracked slate behind it, an ice dam at the eaves or a clogged valley. Patching the wrong spot is why so many roof leaks come back.
Zebrano finds the source first. Your Home Manager brings in the right specialist for the roof you have, schedules the work around the weather and, where it makes sense, has other exterior work done while the scaffold is up.
Once a leak is fixed, an ice-and-water membrane under the flashing, better attic ventilation and heat cable at the eaves are the usual upgrades.
In a heritage conservation district, or on a designated property, roofing materials and visible details can need heritage approval. We check before work starts and choose trades who work with slate, copper and original detail.
A well-kept slate roof can last generations; a neglected one fails piece by piece. Your Annual Home Review records your roof's condition, and the Five-Year Capital Plan in your Annual Home Care Plan shows when repair stops making sense and replacement should be budgeted. If you are at that point, see our roof replacement page, and for the gutters that protect the roof edge, our eavestrough cleaning and repair page.
Roofing work is priced per job and billed through Zebrano as it is done, including our management margin. Members buy a minimum of 60 hours of Home Manager time at $121 an hour, with no monthly fees, and unused hours never expire.
After a stretch of freeze and thaw, a stain appears on a bedroom ceiling and ice hangs from the eaves of an old slate roof. The owner calls the Home Manager, who checks the roof's notes from the Annual Home Review and arranges a safe look at the roof, the attic and the eavestroughs. The cause is usually an ice dam, not the spot where the stain shows. A roofer who works with slate clears the ice and repairs the flashing, adding the ice-and-water membrane that roofs of that era lacked. If the roof is nearing replacement, the Five-Year Capital Plan is updated.
A well-installed natural slate roof can last 75 to 100 years or more, and many in older Toronto neighbourhoods are original. What usually fails first is the flashing and the nails, not the slate itself. Regular repairs by a slate specialist extend a slate roof's life considerably.
Many repairs can, especially emergency leak repairs, flashing and slate replacement on dry days. Some work, like new asphalt shingles, is better done in warmer weather because the shingles need heat to seal. In winter your Home Manager can arrange a temporary fix and book the permanent repair for spring.
Ice dams form when heat from the house melts snow on the roof and it refreezes at the colder eaves, pushing water up under the roofing. Better attic insulation and ventilation and sealing air leaks into the attic are the main fixes, with heat cable at the eaves in some cases. An ice-and-water membrane under the eaves protects the roof if dams do form.
Like-for-like repairs with the same materials generally do not need one, even in a Heritage Conservation District. Changing materials, or altering visible features like dormers or skylights, may. Rules vary by district and by designation, so check with the City's Heritage Planning before work starts. We do that check for members.
Flashing seals the joints where the roof meets chimneys, walls, valleys and skylights, which is where most leaks start. Copper lasts for decades and suits slate and heritage roofs, but once a seam or fastener fails, water gets behind it. Repairing the flashing is often all a leaking slate roof needs.
There are no monthly fees. Members buy a minimum of 60 hours of Home Manager time at $121 an hour, and unused hours never expire. Trade and maintenance work is billed through Zebrano as it is done, on the same invoice, because every home's needs are different.
We coordinate the roofer, the sheet-metal trade and the mason so a leak is fixed once. Your Home Manager keeps the roof's history and plans the big work before it becomes an emergency.
Zebrano - Luxury Home Management. We look after Toronto homes: maintenance, trades, small renovations, refreshes and emergencies. In business since 2001.