Asphalt shingle
Moss Removal for Asphalt Shingle Roofs in Nanaimo
Asphalt is the most common roof in town and the easiest to ruin with the wrong tool. We take the moss off by hand, keep the granules on and flag any tabs that have lifted.
Customer reviews
What customers say
The service provided by the owners of the company and the staff were beyond exceptional. The price was also very exceptable and affordable.
Amazing! Sent in a request form on their website in the morning, heard back that afternoon, and booked for the next day. Very fast, reliable, and efficient.
They are efficient, hardworking, and reliable. I’ll definitely call them again for other services. Highly recommended!
Why us
Why customers love our service
And why you will get the best moss removal service in Nanaimo!
Fast and efficient moss removal
We turn up on the day we said, clear the whole roof, and get off your property without stretching the job out.
Clear and quick communication
You get an answer when you call or text, a price before we start, and a straight account of what we found up on the roof.
Five-star reviews
Consistent five-star reviews from the homeowners our crew works for.
Clearing moss since 2021
Asphalt shingle, cedar shake, tile and metal roofs, and the driveways and paths below them.
- Every slope checked for lifted, cracked or bare tabs before we start
- Moss eased off with plastic scrapers and soft brushes, top to bottom
- Keyways between tabs and the starter row at the eave cleared out
- Ridge cap and hip shingles brushed clean along their full length
- A follow-up treatment on the root film left in the surface
- Photos of any unsealed or damaged tabs, so you can see what we saw
Before and after
One roof, before and after
Each set is shot from one position: once before we start, and again when the moss is off and the debris is gone.
Asphalt shingle covers more Nanaimo houses than any other material, from the 1970s split-levels around Departure Bay to the newer subdivisions in North Nanaimo and out toward Lantzville. It is also the roof that suffers most when moss is taken off the wrong way. This page covers what moss does to this one material and how we work on it. The general reasons moss has to come off any roof are on our main roof moss removal page.
What an asphalt shingle is made of
Each shingle is a fibreglass mat soaked in asphalt, with a layer of crushed mineral granules pressed into the top surface. The asphalt is the waterproof part. The granules are its sunscreen. Ultraviolet light dries out and hardens bare asphalt within a few summers, so a shingle that loses its coating starts cracking and curling long before its expected age.
Moss attacks that coating from two directions. Its root threads, called rhizoids, push down between the granules and loosen their grip. And because the cushion holds water against the surface for weeks at a stretch, the shingle never gets the dry spells it was designed around. When we lift a thick clump off a shaded slope, the patch underneath is often visibly thinner than the shingle around it.
The glue strip and the lifted tab
Along the underside of each course is a strip of sealant that the summer sun softens and bonds to the shingle below. That bond is what keeps the tabs flat when a southeaster blows in off the Strait of Georgia. Moss grows into the slot under the lower edge, and as it swells with rain it levers the tab upward and breaks the seal.
On a three-tab roof you see this as individual tongues standing proud of the row. On laminated, or architectural, shingles the thicker profile hides it better, but the edge still lifts along the bottom of each course. Once unsealed, a tab can flap in the wind and tear at the nail line. We check for these as we go and photograph the ones that do not lie flat once the moss is gone.
How it works
Getting Your Roof Moss Removal Booked
Simple from start to finish. Tell us about your roof, get a straightforward quote, and let us do the climbing.
Tell us about your roof
A few details are all we need.
Send us your address, the number of storeys, what the roof is made of if you know, and how much moss you can see from the ground—plus any trees hanging over it.
Get your quote
We price your roof, not a generic house.
Pitch, height, roofing material, how thick the moss is and how we get up there all matter. You'll have a clear quote before we start.
We clear the roof
You stay on the ground.
We lift the moss off by hand, brush the courses clean, treat the roof where it helps, and bag the moss and take it with us. Any washing is a low-pressure soft wash, and high pressure never touches your shingles.
You know what we found
We'll let you know if we spot something.
Lifted shingles? A cracked shake? Worn granules or tired flashing? We'll give you a straightforward heads-up.
That's it.
- You tell us about the roof.
- We give you a clear quote.
- We take the moss off.
- You get one less chore to worry about.
Ready to get the moss off your roof? Get your quote and let us do the climbing.
How we take moss off asphalt
The work itself is hand work from the ridge down, with the lap of the shingles, as set out step by step on our roof demossing page. What is particular to asphalt is where the moss hides: in the keyways between three-tab tongues, under the bottom edge of each laminated course, along the starter row at the eave and in the valleys where washed-down needles pile up. Those spots get the most time, and the slots between tabs are cleared with a brush rather than a blade so the sealant edge is not nicked.
Pressure washers stay off the job. A wand strong enough to shift moss blasts granules off and drives water up under the courses. Wire brushes and steel blades cause the same damage more slowly. Ridge cap pieces need their own care: they are bent over the peak, crack easily on a cold day, and are worked from the side rather than stood on.
The work
On the job
Timing on an asphalt roof
Shingles change with the temperature. On a frosty January morning in Harewood or up toward Mount Benson they are stiff enough to crack if bent or stepped on at an edge. On a hot afternoon in July the asphalt softens and a boot can scuff the coating loose. We plan asphalt jobs for mild, dry days, and on a sunny day we may switch slopes as the sun moves to keep the shingles in the right state.
Keeping it off afterwards
On asphalt, a zinc strip at the ridge and some trimming of overhanging branches will slow regrowth noticeably. Both are explained on our moss treatment and prevention page. If you are unsure whether your roof needs a visit, send us a couple of photos from the ground and we will tell you what we think.
Why choose us
Why choose us for asphalt shingle roofs
Granules left where they belong
We work slowly and with soft tools because every bit of coating that comes off shortens the life of that shingle.
We pick the right hours
Shingles are stiff and brittle on a cold morning and soft on a hot afternoon. We work in the window between.
Honest about worn roofs
If the shingles are near the end of their life, we tell you before you pay for moss removal you may not need.
Insured, WCB-registered, guaranteed
Roof work carries real risk, and our cover reflects that. If you are unhappy with a slope, we return and sort it out.
Got questions?
Asphalt shingle moss questions
Will removing the moss take granules off my shingles?
A few loose ones come away with the moss, because the roots have already been working them free. What we avoid is stripping sound coating, which is what happens with stiff brushes, metal scrapers and high pressure.
If there is a lot of grit at the bottom of your downspouts after the visit, it was mostly loose before we got there.
Some of my shingle tabs are lifted. Will they lie back down?
Often they settle once the moss underneath is gone and a warm spell softens them again. A tab that has been up for several winters may have lost its glue strip for good.
We note which ones look like that so a roofer can tack or seal them if needed. Fixing tabs is roofing work, not something we sell.
Is a dark streaked roof the same thing as moss?
No. The black streaks running down many north-facing roofs are mostly algae, which stains rather than lifting the shingle. Moss is the raised, spongy growth.
Streaks are handled with a gentle wash, described on our roof cleaning page, and plenty of roofs need both.
My roof is fairly new. Does it still need moss removal?
Age matters less than shade. A newer roof under a big fir can carry more moss than an older one on an open lot, and a young roof is the one you most want to protect.
Clearing it early, while the growth is thin, is also the quickest job.
Can you tell if my asphalt roof needs replacing rather than cleaning?
We can tell you what we see: curling or cupped tabs, shingles that crack when bent, slopes where the black mat shows through. Those point to a roof near its end.
We are not roofers and do not sell replacements, so you get a plain description, and a suggestion to call a roofer when what we found points that way.
Do you walk on asphalt shingles?
On a moderate pitch, yes, in soft-soled boots and only once the surface is dry and has lost its morning chill. On steep slopes we work from roof ladders or from the eave instead.
Asphalt Shingle Roofs in Nanaimo and the mid-Island
Tell us the address and we will get you a price.