CENTRAL SAANICH
Moss Removal in Brentwood Bay
Brentwood Bay sits between water and heavy cedar cover. Damp air that never really leaves, and roofs of every vintage on the same street.
What's included
What you get
Every visit covers the same ground, whatever the property.
- Growth lifted off by hand and brushed clear, worked down-slope so nothing packs under the courses
- Valleys, hips and the shaded lower courses checked, not just the faces you can see from the road
- Debris cleared off the roof and taken away, and kept out of the gutters and drains on the way down
- Care taken around what is planted underneath, and around anything on the roof that should not get wet
- A plain account of the covering’s condition, with no obligation attached
- Houses, character homes, townhouse rows, strata blocks and commercial roofs
Brentwood Bay grows moss for two reasons that reinforce each other: the trees and the air.
The cedar and fir cover through Central Saanich is heavy, and a lot of it sits close to the houses — this is not subdivision planting that grew up, it is original cover that was built around. Under that canopy a roof spends the whole winter in half-light.
Then there is the water. Being close to the inlet keeps the air damp in a way that inland Saanich is not, and mornings here hold moisture long after the sun is up. It is not dramatic and it will not cause anything on its own, but it removes the drying-out periods that would otherwise slow growth down between rains.
Every vintage on one street
What makes Brentwood Bay awkward to quote from a distance is that the housing is not from one period.
There are small forties and fifties cottages, some of them with roofs that have not been off since. There are seventies and eighties family homes with cedar shake. There are recent builds with steep pitches and modern shingle. And there are large newer houses set into treed lots on the slopes above the water, with complex rooflines and a great deal of shade.
Four different jobs, and they can be neighbours. So the estimate comes from what is actually there rather than from an area rate.
Cedar, and there is a lot of it
Proportionally more cedar shake turns up here than in most of the district, both on the older stock and on the higher-end newer builds where it was chosen deliberately.
Cedar changes the work. The growth sits in the keyways between shakes rather than on the faces, so it is hand work along every course, and a shake that has been damp for twenty winters is softer than it looks from the ground. The pace is slower and the estimate says so.
A cedar roof cleared properly still looks like an old cedar roof — grey and textured. That is the correct result.
The cottages, and when to say no
The small older houses here take the most judgment. Some have roofs at the end of their lives: brittle, thin at the butts, with growth that has been part of the structure for a decade.
Clearing a roof like that makes it look better and does not make it last longer, and on the worst of them walking it does more harm than leaving it. Where that is what we find, that is what you will hear, and the estimate stops.
Access above the water
Properties on the slopes have driveways at angles and houses well above or below the road, which means a longer ladder route and more setup time. It is manageable and it is worth knowing about beforehand — a photo of the side of the house saves a revised figure on the day.
Free estimate, Monday to Friday, insured and WCB-registered.
Also working through Saanich, north into North Saanich and out to Sidney.
How it works
How a Moss Visit Runs
Four steps, and the roof is ours from the moment the ladder goes up. You tell us what you are looking at, we price the roof in front of us, and you hear what we found before we leave.
Tell us what you can see
Your address, the roof covering if you know it, and which slopes have gone green.
A photo from the driveway is worth more than a description. North side, shaded by a big fir, growth thick enough to see from the road — that tells us most of what we need before we arrive.
We price the roof itself
Cedar, asphalt and concrete tile are three different jobs, and the quote reflects which one yours is.
Covering, pitch, height, how far the growth has spread and what stands under the eaves all move the figure. You have it before anything is booked.
The growth comes off carefully
Moss is lifted and brushed off the surface, not driven off with pressure.
We work down the slope so nothing is pushed under the courses, keep the run of water in mind the whole time, and take care around whatever is planted below.
You hear what the roof told us
Standing on a roof shows you things the lawn never will.
A course lifting at the edge, a valley holding damp long after the rest has dried, granules already thin where the growth was heaviest. You get that plainly, with nothing attached to it.
Four steps, and the green is gone.
- You send the address and a photo.
- We send back a price for your roof.
- The growth comes off.
- You know what shape the roof is in.
Send the form or call for a free, no-obligation estimate.
Got questions?
Moss removal in Brentwood Bay — questions
Does being near the water make moss worse?
It keeps the air damp, which helps growth along, and it brings a bit of salt with it that is harder on metal than on the covering. The bigger factor here is still the cedar cover — the trees do more than the inlet does.
Do you cover Central Saanich generally?
Yes — Brentwood Bay, Verdier, up West Saanich Road, out toward Wallace Drive and across to the Saanichton side.
There is a lot of cedar shake around here. Do you do it?
Yes, and there is more of it in Brentwood Bay than in most of the district. It is slow hand work through the keyways rather than anything quick, and it is priced by the roof rather than the footprint.
My property is on a slope above the water. Is access an issue?
It usually means a longer ladder route and more setup, which we would rather work out from a photo than discover on the morning. It is not a reason to leave a roof.
Do you work on the older cottages?
Yes, and they need the most judgment. A small 1940s roof that has never been off may not be worth walking, and if that is what we find we will say so rather than take the money.
Customer reviews
What customers say
“Great customer service, and they came quickly..will be using again for sure”
“They do a great job and provide great customer service! They are always reliable. Thank you,”
Moss removal in Brentwood Bay
Tell us the address and send a photo of the shaded side, and we will get you a price.