A Tree or Branch Fell on the Roof: Safety, Who to Call and What It May Cost

Tree strikes are the West Shore and rural Saanich version of storm damage. The Highlands, Metchosin, Prospect Lake and the forested lots of North Saanich sit under mature Douglas fir that shed heavy limbs in southeasterly gales, and Broadmead's design covenants kept the firs and Garry oaks that are now thirty years bigger and leaning over the roofs they were meant to frame. In the old core, Fairfield and Oak Bay's Garry oaks can drop large limbs in late summer drought as well as in winter wind, which arborists treat as a known habit of the species.

The first call is not always the roofer. If a tree is across a service line or a street line, BC Hydro has to make it safe before anyone works near it. Several Greater Victoria municipalities have tree protection bylaws, so removing or heavily pruning a large tree afterwards may need a permit; confirm with your municipality before booking the arborist for more than making the roof safe. Strata townhomes in Westhills and Royal Bay usually route roof damage through the strata's insurer rather than the owner's.

A branch on the roof is frightening but usually not structural; a whole tree can be. If the ceiling below has sagged, cracked or dropped debris, keep everyone out of that room and the attic. If any part of the tree touches a wire, assume it is live, keep well back, and call BC Hydro before anyone else. If the roof is open to the sky and rain is coming, move belongings and put down buckets. None of this involves a ladder.

Tree damage brings three trades together. The order depends on what is on the roof.

• BC Hydro if a line is involved, before anyone touches the tree.
• An arborist for a whole tree or a limb too large for a roofer to handle safely; large removals may use a crane.
• A roofer to remove smaller limbs, assess the puncture from the attic and the roof, and fit a temporary cover.
• Your insurer, once photographs are taken and the roof is covered, to open a claim before permanent repairs.
• Your municipality if the tree needs removing or heavy pruning afterwards, since tree bylaws may apply.

From the ground the damage looks like a few torn shingles. What a professional checks is underneath: whether the underlayment is torn, whether the sheathing is cracked or holed, and whether a rafter or truss took the impact. Fir and cedar limbs tend to punch holes; heavy Garry oak limbs tend to crack decking over a wider area. The attic gives the honest answer, which is why a roofer will usually look from inside before quoting, and why a whole tree should not be dragged off until someone has judged what it is holding down.

In our pricing model the temporary cover is $300 to $800 before GST, a section shingle repair $800 to $2,500 and localized decking replacement $500 to $2,000; framing repair is priced after inspection and may need a permit. Sudden tree damage is the type of event home insurance commonly covers, though a BC claims guide notes older roofs may be settled at depreciated value, so ask the insurer how the roof's age will be treated. Whose tree it was matters less than people expect: the damage to your roof is normally claimed on your own policy. Removing what is left of the tree, and any bylaw permit, is usually a separate cost.