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 Altadena
Finding a roofing company in Altadena that understands what this community has been through since January 2025 is harder than it should be. Hundreds of homeowners are navigating LA County’s rebuild requirements for the first time, and a roofer who doesn’t know the unincorporated County process will cost you weeks. Mercer Roofing serves Altadena with crews who know the foothills, the fire-code requirements, and what these older homes actually look like under the shingles. If you need a straight answer about your roof, call (743) 200-8347 and a real person picks up, day or night.
Why Mercer Roofing Is Altadena’s Preferred Roofing Company
Altadena is different from every surrounding community, and the work we do here reflects that. This is the only market we serve where every rebuild runs through LA County Building & Safety instead of a local permit counter. Our crews have pulled countless Altadena permit sets since the Eaton Fire, and we’ve learned exactly what County plan-checkers flag and what sails through on the first submittal. That local knowledge is the difference between starting your roof this month or waiting on a re-submittal queue that hasn’t shortened much since 2025.
Grant Whitlock leads our Altadena work, and he insists on one thing above everything else: you know who’s coming to your door before they arrive. Every technician gets background-checked to the Threshold Verified standard, shows up in a clean, marked uniform, and hands you a photo ID badge at the door. We send the technician’s name and photo to your phone before the visit. For a homeowner who’s already been through enough, that’s a non-negotiable, not a nice-to-have.
Our 365-Day Done Right Promise covers every repair in writing. If something isn’t right within a year, we come back and make it right, and if a repair fails, the second visit is free. No fine print, no phone tag, no arguing. That’s how we’ve built our reputation in Altadena, and it’s why homeowners here keep our number saved.
Residential Roofing in Altadena
Residential Roofing in Altadena now means something specific: meeting LA County’s Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone Class A requirements while preserving the character of homes built between the 1920s and 1950s. Whether you’re rebuilding after the Eaton Fire, re-roofing a surviving Craftsman, or putting a new roof on a fresh construction, the permit path runs through LA County DPW plan-check, not a city hall. Get the assembly spec wrong and you’ll sit in re-submittal limbo while your neighbors move forward. We package complete Class A permit sets the first time, because we’ve learned what County inspectors need to see.
Class A Rebuilds and Re-Roofs
Surviving Altadena homes often carry original wood shake or two to three layers of aging composition. Under LA County’s current fire code, wood shake is off the table, and multi-layer tear-offs are mandatory before any new assembly goes down. A typical full tear-off and Class A composition re-roof on a 1,500-square-foot Altadena home runs $16,000 to $24,000 depending on decking condition and access.
New Construction After the Eaton Fire
Post-fire construction leans heavily toward concrete tile, Class A standing-seam metal, and fire-rated composition. We work with GAF, Atlas, and Boral systems that clear LA County’s fire-resistance testing without sacrificing the look of a classic Altadena roofline. On new builds, plan-check coordination is everything, and we handle it from first drawing to final inspection.
Roof Maintenance in Altadena
Roof Maintenance in Altadena isn’t optional, not when Santa Ana winds scream down the San Gabriel foothills every fall and summer sun bakes the roof deck hotter than flatland Pasadena just below. Granule loss on south- and west-facing composition shingles happens faster up here, and that’s before you factor in wind-driven ember exposure. A maintenance visit that catches a lifted shingle or cracked flashing in September is the difference between a $400 repair and a full re-roof after the first big wind event of the season.
Pre-Wind-Season Inspections
We recommend an inspection every fall before the Santa Anas start, and again after any wind event strong enough to rattle windows. We check the entire roof surface, all penetrations, flashing, valleys, and the condition of attic ventilation. Most Altadena inspections run $250 to $350, and the written report tells you exactly what needs attention now and what can wait.
Post-Storm and Ember-Damage Checks
After a wind event, embers can lodge in gutters, against fascia, or under lifted shingles, and they don’t always ignite right away. We inspect for ember intrusion points and document everything in writing. If an issue requires a repair, you’ll get a written quote before any work starts, and every repair includes the 365-Day Done Right Promise at no extra cost.
Trusted Brands We Service in Altadena
We install and repair roof systems from GAF, Atlas, and Boral, along with CertainTeed, Owens Corning, IKO, and Tamko, all of them manufacturer-recognized and cleared for Class A fire-rated assemblies when the spec calls for it. Because we’re on Altadena roofs almost daily, we keep the most common flashings, underlayment, and accessories stocked for fast turnaround, and we can often begin a repair within days of your inspection. If you have a specific brand on your home now, call (743) 200-8347 and we’ll confirm coverage before we schedule the visit.
Common Roofing Problems We See in Altadena Homes
- Dry rot around chimney penetrations. On 1920s and 1940s homes with original framing, chimney flashing failures let water in for decades before anyone notices, and by the time we open the roof, the decking around the chimney is often gone. This is the most common repair we make on surviving pre-fire Altadena homes.
- Multi-layer composition roofs without modern underlayment. Many older Altadena homes never got an ice and water shield in the valleys or drip edge at the eaves, because those weren’t standard when the roof was first installed. Once we tear off, the decking beneath is often compromised.
- Wind-lifted shingles on foothill-facing exposures. Santa Ana gusts hit Altadena far harder than flatland cities, and we regularly see entire windward planes with lifted tabs after a single season. Fixing them early costs a few hundred dollars; ignoring them rots the deck.
- Non-fire-rated materials from pre-2025 installs. Some Altadena roofs were permitted under older codes that allowed materials now prohibited in the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone. Those roofs need full replacement under current LA County requirements, not piecemeal repair.
Pricing for Roofing Company in Altadena, CA
Here’s what we see across Altadena right now. A roof inspection runs $250 to $350. A minor repair like a cracked flashing or a few lifted shingles runs $350 to $800. A full tear-off and Class A composition re-roof on a typical 1,500-square-foot home runs $16,000 to $24,000. Standing-seam metal runs $28,000 to $45,000 on the same footprint, and concrete tile lands between $30,000 and $50,000. Decking replacement, when rot or fire damage requires it, adds $3 to $6 per square foot depending on the extent. Every quote we give is written, itemized, and fixed before work starts. Call (743) 200-8347 to schedule a free estimate and we’ll put real numbers in front of you.
We Also Serve Cities Near Altadena
Mercer Roofing works throughout the San Gabriel Valley foothills, including Altadena, Pasadena, La Canada Flintridge, San Marino, and Sierra Madre. Each community has its own permit quirks and housing stock, so you get a team that knows the difference between a Pasadena city inspection and an LA County plan-check. Ask us about your jurisdiction when you call.
Serving Altadena, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Altadena 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 Altadena
Every roof rebuild in Altadena goes through LA County Building & Safety and DPW plan-check, because Altadena is unincorporated and there is no city permit counter. Submitting an incomplete permit set, especially one without a compliant Class A assembly spec, triggers a re-submittal that can cost you weeks in the current backlog. Mercer Roofing packages complete first-submittal sets, which is how we keep jobs moving while neighboring rebuilds stall. Call (743) 200-8347 and we’ll walk through what your specific job requires.
On a 1940s Craftsman bungalow off Fair Oaks Avenue, our crew tore off three layers of aging composition and found original 1×6 skip sheathing with visible dry-rot around a chimney penetration, plus no ice and water shield in the valleys. We replaced the rotted decking, laid a GAF Class A fire-rated assembly with new underlayment, drip edge, and flashing, and packaged the complete permit set for LA County plan-check on the first submittal. That homeowner avoided the re-submittal queue that was stalling neighboring rebuilds. Every older Altadena roof has surprises; the question is whether your roofer planned for them.
No. LA County’s Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone Class A requirements prohibit wood shake and other non-fire-rated materials on Altadena roofs, so any remaining wood shake roof must be replaced with a Class A assembly, not repaired or re-used. The specific material choice, composition, standing-seam metal, or concrete tile, depends on your home’s structure, exposure, and budget, and we can quote all three options in writing before you decide.
It absolutely does. Altadena sits directly at the base of the San Gabriels, so Santa Ana winds arrive faster and hit harder here than in Pasadena just below. South- and west-facing roof decks also run hotter in summer, which accelerates granule loss on composition shingles. That’s why we recommend fall inspections before wind season and why we detail fasteners and underlayment differently on foothill exposures. Give us a call at (743) 200-8347 to schedule an inspection before the next wind event.
We inspect first, then write allowances into the contract for the conditions we expect on an older Altadena home: decking rot, undersized framing, missing underlayment. When we open the roof and find something outside the allowance, we stop, document it, and get your written approval with a fixed price before we touch it. You never get a surprise change order at the end. The written price you approve before work starts is the price you pay unless you approve a change in writing, and every repair carries the 365-Day Done Right Promise. Call (743) 200-8347 for a free estimate and we’ll show you exactly how this works on your roof.
Written by Grant Whitlock, Owner at Mercer Roofing, serving Altadena since 2000.