How much does an annual moss service contract cost?

Contracts sell best where moss grows fastest: the Douglas fir neighbourhoods of Saanich around Mount Douglas and Cedar Hill, the Highlands and Metchosin acreages, and any north-facing slope in the Highlands-facing subdivisions of Langford. There the roof is green again within a year of a clean, and at $300 to $600 a visit a standing arrangement is simpler than calling a company from scratch each spring, when every Victoria moss firm is booked.

The other customer is the seller. Victoria home inspectors check moss extent and roof age, and a realtor guide notes that a moss-covered roof is one of the things buyers and inspectors flag first. A documented contract with dated invoices reads well in a disclosure package and can head off a price reduction. Sunny Sidney, Fairfield and Dallas Road waterfront roofs, wind-scoured and south-facing, often go years without visible growth and do not need a contract at all.

A useful moss contract is not just a spray. It should specify a manual or soft-wash removal of existing growth (never pressure washing on asphalt), a treatment product and how it is applied, gutter and valley clearing, a walk-around check of flashing, boots and ridge caps, photographs before and after, and a written note of anything the technician noticed. The visit becomes an informal annual inspection, which on a roof past 15 years is worth as much as the moss work.

• Removal method stated (brush, soft wash, no pressure)
• Product named; safe for your gutter metal
• Gutters and valleys cleared in the same visit
• Photos and a short condition note each year
• Price fixed for the term, cancellable

If the roof is 18 or more years old with curling edges or bald patches, paying $300 to $600 a year to maintain shingles that will be replaced in two or three years is money better put toward the replacement. Our repair-or-replace tool includes maintenance in its five-year view. Likewise, once you switch to metal the contract ends; metal sheds needles and moss cannot root in it, so a rinse every few years is enough.

Ask for the roof area in squares and the price per visit, not just an annual figure. A bungalow with 24 squares should not pay the same as a two-storey home with 12. Ask whether the first visit, which usually involves heavy removal, is priced separately, and whether a mid-year touch-up after a wet winter is included. Three quotes from local moss companies will show the spread; the market here is competitive, with many dedicated firms.