Metal roofing
Tile roofing
GAF
Owens Corning
Flat & low-slopeFree roof inspection with deck photos before we talk money - GAF and Owens Corning certified installation
Fast, Reliable Roof Installation Across San Marino
Roof installation in San Marino means working on homes that were built to last a century, not a decade. The estates here, most built between the 1920s and 1950s, carry clay tile and cedar shake roofs over steep gables, complex dormers, and ornamental ridges that demand more than a standard tear-off and nail-down. We know these houses. We know what hides under those vintage tiles. And we give you a written price before any work starts, a trackable arrival time, and photo documentation before and after. Call (626) 389-1956 to schedule your free estimate.
Why Crestview Roofing Co Pasadena Is San Marino’s Preferred Roof Installation Company
San Marino homeowners don’t call the cheapest roofer. They call the one who can explain what they’re actually paying for. Dylan Pace built Crestview Roofing on that principle: write the price down, photograph the work, and stand behind it for a full year. Our crews have opened up Mission District roofs and found what no drone photo ever showed: original clay tiles nailed over spaced sheathing with no underlayment at all. That’s a building method banned for decades, and it changes the scope of a roof installation fast. We find it before the contract is signed, not after.
Every job runs on The Relay Visibility Guarantee. You get a written price before we begin, before-and-after photos, a live arrival time you can track from your phone, and a digital invoice sent by text. No four-hour windows. No number that moves once we start. The 365-Day Done Right Promise covers every installation repair for a full year, in writing, at no extra cost.
Scheduling and dispatch are coordinated from our Los Angeles office, and our crews serve San Marino directly. When you call, a live person answers. Always. No voicemail loops, no waiting until Monday.
Styles & brands we work with





Tile Roof in San Marino
Tile roof work in San Marino is rarely a simple swap. The original barrel tiles on these Spanish Colonial and Mediterranean estates were often set over spaced sheathing, a method that left bare gaps between boards with no solid deck beneath. Modern code requires solid plywood or OSB decking, plus underlayment, before tile goes back on. That means a tile roof installation here usually starts with structural work, not tile work.
Full Decking Replacement
When we pull back cracked clay tiles on a 1930s Mission District estate, the framing under them is often exposed. Spaced sheathing means the tile was resting on slats, not a sealed surface. We replace that with plywood decking, add ice and water shield at the eaves, then synthetic underlayment over the whole roof. Only after that do we reinstall the salvaged barrel tiles. The tiles go back where they were, matched by profile and patina.
Historic Tile Matching
Matching new clay tiles to vintage ones isn’t about color alone. The barrel profile, the thickness, the surface texture, even the way the tile sits on the ridge all matter. We sort salvaged tile first and source compatible new material from manufacturers like Boral and US Tile when the original count falls short. A San Marino roof should look like it belongs to the house, not like it was dropped on from a catalog.
Roof Ventilation in San Marino
Roof ventilation in San Marino matters more than people expect, especially on clay tile homes with no original ridge venting. The same dry heat that cracks tiles also bakes attics, and without airflow, that heat pushes down into the living space and drives cooling costs up all summer. A properly vented roof also pulls moisture out before it rots decking.
Ridge Vent Installation That Respects the Architecture
Yes, you can vent a clay tile roof without wrecking the historic lines. We install low-profile ridge vents under the cap tiles, so the vent does its job while staying visually quiet. On homes where a ridge vent would alter the original silhouette, we use box vents placed away from the street-facing elevations.
Ventilation as Part of the Install
Here’s the thing: if the roof is coming off anyway, that’s the time to fix ventilation. Adding intake at the eaves and exhaust at the ridge costs far less when the deck is already exposed. We write it into the installation quote as a line item, never as an afterthought that shows up later.
Trusted Brands We Service in San Marino
We install and repair roofs using manufacturer-backed materials from GAF, CertainTeed, Owens Corning, and Boral. For San Marino clay tile work, Boral and US Tile provide barrel profiles that match the original estate profiles closely. For composition and underlayment jobs, GAF and CertainTeed give us the warranty-backed systems our customers expect. We stock common tile profiles and trim locally, so a repair doesn’t wait on a shipping schedule. Your Roof Installation estimate includes the specific material brands and grades we plan to use, in writing.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterCommon Roof Installation Problems We See in San Marino Homes
- Spaced sheathing with no underlayment. Many original clay tile roofs in the Mission District were laid directly over slats with nothing sealing the deck. Small leaks go unnoticed for decades until ceiling stains appear inside.
- Rotted or undersized decking. The vintage tile hides the damage. Once we open the roof, the plywood underneath is often soft, cracked, or too thin for modern code, which means structural repair before the new roof goes on.
- Santa Ana wind damage to cedar shakes. The dry wind lifts and snaps wood shakes on Tudor and Craftsman-style estates. Annual inspections before the windy season catch loose shakes before they become missing shakes.
- Thermal cracking on clay tile. San Marino’s dry summers and cold winter nights make tiles expand and contract. Hairline cracks let water in slowly, and by the time you see it inside, the decking below is already compromised.
Pricing for Roof Installation in San Marino, CA
A full clay tile roof installation in San Marino typically runs $32,000 to $65,000 on a standard 3,000 – 4,500 square foot estate. The range is wide because what’s underneath the tile varies wildly. Homes with solid plywood decking already in place sit at the low end. Homes with spaced sheathing and no underlayment, which describes much of the Mission District, need full decking replacement, ice and water shield, and synthetic underlayment before the first tile goes back. Cedar shake installations run $28,000 to $55,000 depending on grade. Roof ventilation upgrades typically add $2,500 to $6,000. Every quote is line-itemed and written before work starts. Call (626) 389-1956 to schedule your free estimate.
We Also Serve Cities Near San Marino
Crestview Roofing serves homeowners across San Marino and the surrounding communities. We handle roof installation in Pasadena, Arcadia, Altadena, and El Monte. Each area has its own mix of housing stock, from mid-century ranches to hillside estates. Same crew, same written-price guarantee, same 365-day promise on every job.
Serving San Marino, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the San Marino 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 Roof Installation in San Marino
If your home still has original spaced sheathing, code requires replacing it with solid plywood or OSB decking before installing new tile. You cannot install modern underlayment over open slats, and skipping the re-deck means the roof fails inspection. We write the re-deck into your quote from the start so there’s no mid-job price change. Call (626) 389-1956 for an exact scope assessment.
Yes, a roof installation on a San Marino estate requires a city permit, and the permit typically triggers several code upgrades once the roof is open: solid decking, ice and water shield at the eaves, improved attic ventilation, and sometimes seismic tie anchors. We pull the permits, schedule inspections, and include the code-required items in your written estimate. No surprise line items after the fact.
We sort salvaged tiles from your own roof first. When we need new material, we source barrel tiles from Boral and US Tile that match the original profile, thickness, and surface texture, not just the color. The goal is a roof that looks like it belongs to the house, even up close. We can show you samples before we order.
We write any change into a line-item change order, and you approve it in writing before we touch the affected area. That’s the whole point of how we run jobs: inspection first, allowances written into the contract, and no work on a surprise until you’ve seen the price. Call (626) 389-1956 to get an exact quote on your roof.
Yes, you can vent a clay tile roof without changing the historic silhouette. We install low-profile ridge vents under the cap tiles, or use box vents placed on rear elevations when the ridge line is too visible. Ventilation is a code trigger on most San Marino roof permits anyway, so we plan it into the original quote.
Call (626) 389-1956 to schedule your free roof installation estimate in San Marino. A live person answers, and you’ll get a written price before any work begins.
Written by Dylan Pace, Owner at Crestview Roofing, serving San Marino with written-price roof installation and repair.