Free written scope consultation - allowances, timeline, and change-order rules on paper before a single trade is scheduled
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterFast, Reliable Roofing Across Hillsborough
Roofing in Hillsborough is different from roofing anywhere else on the Peninsula. The salt air off the Pacific, the steep hillside lots, and the Town’s Architectural Review Board all shape what gets installed and how long it lasts. If you’re starting to notice sagging gutters, cracked barrel tile, or rust bleeding through your flashing, you’re seeing what decades of coastal fog do to roofing fasteners and flashings. Barrett & Sons has been on Hillsborough roofs since 1998, and Tom Barrett’s sons run the crews themselves. Call (877) 610-1318 and we’ll come take a look, usually within a day or two.
Why Barrett & Sons Construction Is Hillsborough’s Preferred Roofing Company
We’re not a franchise sending strangers from three counties away. Tom Barrett put his name on the trucks in 1998, and his sons are on Hillsborough rooftops every week. When a homeowner on Crystal Springs Road calls about a leak, the person who answers the phone knows the difference between the flat-seam metal roofs on the mid-century moderns and the barrel tile on the Spanish Revivals below the Summit. That kind of local knowledge only comes from working the same streets for years.
Our Roofing team handles everything from single tile repairs to full tear-offs on multi-acre estates. We pull every permit, handle the ARB submittal paperwork, and put every scope and allowance in writing before a nail goes in. If something isn’t done right, Tom comes back. It’s written on every contract as the 90-Day Done Right Promise, and it’s been honored since the first job.
Hillsborough homeowners tend to check credentials before they sign anything. Tom’s license number, his home address, and 29 years of project history are all published and verifiable. You can look us up. You can also ask anyone up on Butternut Drive or down near the Carolands neighborhood. Word travels in Hillsborough, and we’ve built our name on it.
Town of Hillsborough Architectural Review Board: What It Means for Your Roof
Every re-roof in Hillsborough’s 94010 ZIP must pass the Town’s Architectural Review Board. That’s not a suggestion, and it catches contractors from San Mateo and Burlingame by surprise. The ARB reviews roofing materials, profiles, and massing against the estate’s original architectural character. Spanish Colonial barrel tile and Tudor slate-look profiles are effectively locked by design review, not just owner preference. If your 1920s Mediterranean was built with low-profile red clay tile, the Board expects a suitable replacement, not a generic asphalt shingle. We prepare the material sample boards, handle the submittal, and sit through the review meetings so you don’t have to. This is Hillsborough-specific work, and it adds weeks to a project timeline that a normal building permit alone wouldn’t require. Anyone who tells you otherwise hasn’t worked here.
Our Roofing Services in Hillsborough
Roof Repair in Hillsborough
Most Hillsborough repair calls start as a ceiling stain or a musty smell in an upstairs hallway. By the time a leak shows itself inside, the damage underneath has usually been building for a while. On older estates, the culprit is often the fasteners, not the roofing material itself. Zinc-galvanized nails and flashing rust through within 5 to 7 years of coastal fog exposure, loosening shingles and tile even when the surfaces look fine. We inspect the whole roof, not just the obvious spot, and we replace bad hardware with marine-grade stainless so the repair holds. Roof repair in Hillsborough typically runs $400 to $1,800 depending on what we find once we open things up.
Roof Replacement & Installation
A full Roofing replacement on a Hillsborough estate is a bigger undertaking than the same job down in flat Burlingame. The homes are larger, the roof geometry is more complex, and the ARB review sits on top of the building permit. We handle the entire sequence: inspection, material selection, ARB submittal, tear-off, deck repair, underlayment, installation, and final inspection. Roof replacement in Hillsborough runs $8,000 to $20,000 for most homes, with larger custom estates exceeding that range once complex flashing, steep-slope labor, and material upgrades are priced in. Every scope change arrives as a written change order before work proceeds.
Metal Roofing
Standing seam metal roofs are common on Hillsborough’s mid-century modern homes, particularly along the upper hillside roads off Crystal Springs and Butternut. The original installations from the 1950s and 60s used zinc-plated screws that corroded into powder after decades of salt air. We replace them with 316 stainless clips and high-temp ice-and-water shield at valleys and penetrations. A new standing seam installation in Hillsborough runs $15,000 to $40,000, with the higher end covering complex slopes, hidden fastener systems, and copper flashing details that the ARB often requires on visible elevations. Metal Roof Installation is one of our most requested services because owners see what the fog did to their original roof and don’t want to repeat it.
Tile Roofing
Terracotta barrel tile defines the older Spanish Colonial Revival homes throughout Hillsborough. The tile itself can last a century, but the ridges and fasteners rarely do. Thermal shock from cold fog mornings followed by hot inland afternoons cracks tiles along the ridge, letting water run under the field tile and rot the skip sheathing beneath. Tile roof repair in Hillsborough runs $600 to $2,500. We stock matching tile profiles from local salvage yards and manufacturers so repairs blend with existing roofs, and we handle the ARB review for any visible material change.
What happens when you call
- 1
A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
- 2
You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
- 3
A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
- 4
You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Trusted Brands We Service in Hillsborough
We carry and install Simonton windows, Ply Gem siding and trim, and PGT impact-rated products where coastal exposure and hillside wind loads call for them. On roofing specifically, we work with GAF and CertainTeed lines and have access to the full material range each manufacturer offers. For Hillsborough customers, we keep common tile profiles, standing seam panels, and marine-grade flashing stock on hand or available within a couple of days. That shortens tear-off to dry-in time, which matters when the winter rain is coming off the ridgeline and the roof is open.
Common Roofing Problems We See in Hillsborough Homes
- Rusted flashing and fasteners: The salt fog doesn’t announce itself. Nails, screws, and galvanized flashing corrode from the underside, hidden by roofing material. By the time rust streaks show on tile or shingles, the hardware underneath may already be failing. We specify stainless and copper where Hillsborough homes need them.
- Sagging wide box gutters: The 1910s to 1930s estates typically have wide built-in box gutters with original cast-iron hangers. Those hangers were never designed for decades of salt air, and they corrode and fail at the fascia. We swap them for marine-grade stainless brackets and rebuild the gutter line so water stops running down the stucco.
- Cracked ridge tile from thermal shock: Cold marine layer mornings followed by warm inland afternoons create rapid temperature swings that crack barrel tile at the ridge lines. The cracks let water under the tile and into the skip sheathing, where the rot starts. A single broken ridge tile can be the entry point for thousands of dollars in wood repair.
- Corroded standing seam fasteners: On mid-century modern estates, particularly flat-seam and standing seam metal roofs from the 50s and 60s, the original zinc-plated screws fail first. On one job off Crystal Springs Road, we found the fasteners had turned to white powder under the panel seams. The roof looked fine from the ground. It was leaking at every seam.
What the Salt Air Decides: Coastal-Spec vs. Inland-Spec
Here’s the thing most roofing contractors won’t tell you until the roof is open. There’s a coastal-spec version of a Hillsborough roof and an inland-spec version, and they are not the same job. Twenty minutes away in San Mateo or Burlingame, a tile roof might get galvanized steel flashing, standard ring-shank nails, and basic underlayment. That’s what the manufacturer warranties cover for inland conditions, and it’s what most bids include because it’s cheaper. On a Hillsborough hillside, that same spec rusts out in under a decade. The salt air off the Pacific is relentless. It sits in the morning fog, condenses on the roof, and works its way into every unprotected steel component.
We specify hot-dip galvanized or 316 stainless fasteners, copper flashing at valleys and penetrations, and high-temp ice-and-water shield at all transitions. That coastal-spec upgrade adds real money to a bid, which is why we show it as a separate line item and explain it in writing. A roof that saves $2,000 up front and fails at year seven costs far more in wood repair, drywall, and a second full replacement. We’d rather tell you that before the job starts than apologize after.
Pricing for Roofing in Hillsborough, CA
Hillsborough pricing reflects three things: the size and complexity of the estates, the ARB review layer, and the coastal-spec materials required to survive the marine air. Below are the ranges we typically see on Hillsborough projects.
| Service | Typical Range in Hillsborough |
|---|---|
| Roof Repair | $400 - $1,800 |
| Tile Roof Repair | $600 - $2,500 |
| Roof Replacement | $8,000 - $20,000 |
| Metal Roof Installation | $15,000 - $40,000 |
Call (877) 610-1318 and we’ll give you a written line-item estimate. No trip charge inside the county, and if you have another written estimate, we’ll give you a free second opinion on it.
We Also Serve Cities Near Hillsborough
Our crews work throughout Hillsborough and the neighboring Peninsula communities. If you’re in Burlingame, Millbrae, San Mateo, or San Bruno, the same owner-operated crew, the same 90-Day Done Right Promise, and the same written change orders apply. Call us and we’ll come out.
Serving Hillsborough, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Hillsborough 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 - Roofing in Hillsborough
Yes, in most cases. The Town of Hillsborough requires ARB review for re-roofing projects within the 94010 ZIP, even when the new material matches the existing profile. Like-for-like replacement streamlines the review, but it doesn’t skip it. We prepare the submittal materials and handle the review process for you. Call (877) 610-1318 and we’ll walk you through what your specific roof will require.
Hillsborough’s ridgeline properties sit in heavier marine fog than lower-lying Burlingame, and that salt air corrodes galvanized steel flashing in five to seven years. A tile roof in Burlingame might get 20 years from standard flashing. The same job in Hillsborough needs copper or 316 stainless to last the life of the roofing material. It’s a materials-only difference, and it’s one of the reasons Hillsborough bids run higher than bids across 280.
Yes. We work on narrow private roads throughout Hillsborough’s upper hillside, including Butternut Drive and similar winding lanes built for 1920s-era vehicles. We use smaller staging vehicles, hand-carry materials when necessary, and coordinate delivery windows with the Town’s right-of-way rules. It adds labor time, which shows up in the bid, but it’s done safely and without a crane unless the roof geometry absolutely requires one. Call (877) 610-1318 and we’ll assess your specific site.
Almost always. The visible broken tile is usually the symptom, not the problem. The underlying skip sheathing is typically water-damaged by the time you see cracks at the ridge, and the original nails have often loosened from thermal cycling. A proper tile repair in Hillsborough means lifting the field tile, inspecting and replacing the sheathing where needed, re-anchoring the field with corrosion-resistant fasteners, and only then resetting the tile. Expect $600 to $2,500 depending on what’s found. Call us for a free estimate.
Plan on an extra two to six weeks, depending on the Board’s meeting calendar and whether the project requires architect-stamped plans or a material sample board session. A standard building permit in San Mateo or Burlingame would typically be issued in a week or two. The ARB layer is Hillsborough-specific and can’t be skipped or rushed. We build the review time into the project schedule up front so you know when the tear-off actually starts. Call (877) 610-1318 for a timeline estimate on your home.
Ready to Talk About Your Hillsborough Roof?
If you’re seeing rust, leaks, broken tile, or you just want someone who knows Hillsborough roofs to walk yours and tell you what’s there, call (877) 610-1318. Tom Barrett or one of his sons will answer. We’ll come out, take a look, and put a written estimate in your hand. No trip charge inside the county. No pressure. Just straight answers from a name you can look up.
Written by Tom Barrett, Owner at Barrett & Sons Construction, serving Hillsborough since 1998.