---
title: "Roofers in Pasadena, CA"
description: "Roofers in Pasadena, CA: roof replacement and repair on Pasadena homes, incl. tile and historic districts, by a licensed Los Angeles roofer (CSLB #1147688)."
url: "https://aacaliforniaroofing.com/areas-we-serve/pasadena/"
updated: "2026-10-03"
---

# Roofers in Pasadena, CA

AA California Roofing is a team of licensed roofers serving Pasadena, CA: we replace and repair asphalt shingle, tile and low-slope roofs, including houses in the city's landmark and historic districts, and we pull the City of Pasadena permit for the work. We are licensed by the CSLB (#1147688), and a Pasadena homeowner has reviewed our roof replacement on Google.

For a free estimate, book online through our [contact page](https://aacaliforniaroofing.com/contact-us/). We are open Sunday to Friday, 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM.

## What Pasadena homeowners hire us for

Most Pasadena roof work falls into four kinds of jobs. Each one has a local twist, because so much of the city's housing is old and so many houses sit in designated districts.

- **Roof replacement.** A full tear-off down to the deck, new underlayment and flashing, and a new covering, with the permit, the inspections and the Climate Zone 9 energy rules covered below. Here is how a [roof replacement](https://aacaliforniaroofing.com/new-roof-installation/) runs from estimate to final inspection.
- **Roof repair.** Leaks at chimneys, valleys and flashing, slipped or broken tiles, and storm damage. On a historic house, repairing a sound roof keeps original material in place, which is what the City's historic-district guidelines prefer. More on [roof repair and leak detection](https://aacaliforniaroofing.com/roof-repairs/).
- **[Tile roofs](https://aacaliforniaroofing.com/tile-roofing/).** Clay tile on Spanish Colonial Revival and Mission houses: replacing broken tiles, repairing leaks under the tile, and full tile roof replacement. In historic districts the City asks for matching tile whenever feasible.
- **Low-slope and flat roofs.** Prairie and Mission style houses can have flat roofs behind parapets, and the City's guidelines warn that shallow roofs are hard to see, so problems tend to go unnoticed until they leak. Our [flat roof services](https://aacaliforniaroofing.com/flat-roof-services/) cover torch-down and other low-slope systems.

## Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Pasadena?

Yes. Re-roofing is not on the City of Pasadena's list of work exempt from a building permit, so a roof replacement goes through the Building and Safety Division at the Permit Center, 175 North Garfield Avenue. Inspections are booked through the City's online Inspection Portal.

Three Pasadena details are worth knowing before work starts:

- The City requires a Pasadena business license for every contractor, or contractor's agent, who pulls a permit.
- Any California permit application filed on or after January 1, 2026 falls under the 2025 Energy Code, which sets the roofing-product rules explained in the climate section below.
- If the house is a historic resource, a Certificate of Appropriateness may also be needed (next section).

## Re-roofing a house in a Pasadena landmark or historic district

Outside the Central District, Pasadena protects designated historic monuments and landmarks, contributing houses in landmark and historic districts, and properties found eligible in a historic resources survey. Work that may affect one of these needs a Certificate of Appropriateness, reviewed by Design and Historic Preservation staff or by the Historic Preservation Commission.

For roofs, the City's own definitions do much of the sorting. Re-roofing in a different material that replicates the existing or original roofing is listed as a minor project. If the house is in the Bungalow Heaven, Garfield Heights or Banbury Oaks Landmark District, that district's conservation plan decides which projects need a certificate.

The City's Design Guidelines for Historic Districts in Pasadena spell out what reviewers look for on a roof:

| What the guidelines say | What it means for your re-roof |
| --- | --- |
| Preserve the original roof form; keep the line and slope of the roof as seen from the street (7.17) | The roofline is not raised, flattened or reshaped as part of the job. |
| Preserve the original eave depth; do not cut back rafters or box in exposed rafter tails (7.18) | Craftsman overhangs and rafter tails stay. Rotted tails are repaired; the guidelines suggest a borate treatment or discreet metal caps (7.19). |
| Wood and composition shingles are appropriate for most roofs; tile is replaced with matching material whenever feasible | A Craftsman bungalow can usually take composition (asphalt) shingles. A Spanish Revival tile roof usually stays tile. |
| In general, metal roofs are inappropriate on a historic structure (6.9) | Expect a metal roof proposal on a historic house to meet resistance. |
| A certificate application includes roof plans and physical samples of new materials, roofing included | Plan for the shingle or tile sample and the product sheet to go in with the application. |

Not sure whether your house is listed? The City publishes a database of designated and surveyed properties and a map of its landmark and historic districts on its [historic preservation pages](https://www.cityofpasadena.net/planning/planning-division/design-and-historic-preservation/historic-preservation/). It is the first thing to check during an estimate, because it changes the paperwork and sometimes the material.

## Pasadena's older houses and what they mean for a roof

Census estimates (American Community Survey, 2020 to 2024) show that 28.6% of Pasadena's 63,203 housing units were built in 1939 or earlier, and 49.4% before 1960. Detached single-family houses make up 42.7% of units, and buildings with 20 or more units another 26.5%.

Style matters as much as age. The City's guidelines describe typical Pasadena roof shapes as gabled, cross-gabled and hipped, and list the main house styles with their roofs:

- **California Craftsman bungalows** (about 1900 to 1925): low to moderate front gables, extended eaves and exposed rafters. Most of Bungalow Heaven was built between 1906 and 1914.
- **Spanish Colonial Revival** (about 1920 to 1940): low-pitched gable roofs in Spanish tile with little or no eave, or flat roofs behind a parapet with tile coping.
- **Mission and Prairie houses**: hip or side-gable roofs, or flat roofs with parapets and tiled visor roofs.
- **English Arts and Crafts and Tudor Revival**: steep roofs with little overhang, sometimes with rolled edges that imitate thatch.

What that means on the roof itself:

- Asphalt shingles must be fastened to wood structural panels or solid lumber sheathing (California Residential Code R905.2.1). If the boards under an old wood-shingle roof are spaced, the deck needs solid sheathing first, and a good estimate says so up front.
- Low-pitched tile roofs sit close to the code minimum: clay and concrete tile needs a slope of at least 2.5 in 12, with double underlayment up to 4 in 12 (CRC R905.3.2).
- On the flat roofs the guidelines call hard to see, ponding water, cracked flashing at parapets and blocked drains are the usual leak sources. Guideline 7.20 asks owners to inspect for breaks, holes and open flashing seams, and that habit catches most problems early.

## Climate Zone 9 and fire hazard zones: the code side of a Pasadena roof

### Cool-roof rules in Climate Zone 9

Pasadena's ZIP codes 91101 and 91103 through 91107 are all in Building Climate Zone 9 on the California Energy Commission's ZIP-code list. Under the 2025 Energy Code, when more than half of a house's roof is replaced, Zone 9 carries roofing rules that the coastal Zone 6 does not:

| Roof type | Requirement when more than 50% is replaced | How it is commonly met or excused |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Steep-slope (shingle, tile) | Aged solar reflectance of at least 0.20 and thermal emittance of at least 0.75, or an SRI of at least 16 | Not required if the attic has at least R-38 ceiling insulation, a qualifying radiant barrier, no ducts in the attic (a Zone 9 option), R-2 or more continuous insulation at the deck, or a roof weighing at least 25 lb per sq ft |
| Low-slope (flat) | Aged solar reflectance of at least 0.63 and emittance of at least 0.75, or an SRI of at least 75, plus R-14 continuous insulation | Deck insulation can stand in for reflectance (R-24 removes the reflectance minimum in Zone 9). The added insulation is not required over existing R-10 continuous insulation, or over at least R-19 between the rafters in contact with the deck. |

Source: 2025 Building Energy Efficiency Standards, Section 150.2(b)1I for single-family homes. Apartment buildings follow Section 180.2, which applies once more than half the roof, or more than 2,000 square feet, is altered, whichever is less. An attic inspection during the estimate tells us which of these paths fits your house.

### Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones in Pasadena

The State Fire Marshal's Local Responsibility Area map for Pasadena (March 24, 2025) shows Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones across the hills on the city's west side and in pockets along its northern edge. In a very high zone, state law (Health and Safety Code 13132.7) calls for a Class A roof covering when more than half of the roof is replaced within one year, and for roofing used in repairs. The 2025 California Residential Code also sends roofing in fire hazard zones to the California Wildland-Urban Interface Code.

A Class A rating belongs to a tested roof assembly (ASTM E108 or UL 790), so the product sheet has to show it for the way the roof is built. The Fire Department posts the map on its [fire hazard severity zone page](https://www.cityofpasadena.net/fire/fire-hazard-severity-zones/).

## How a Pasadena re-roof runs, step by step

1. **Check the address.** Historic status, fire hazard zone and climate zone decide the paperwork and the products.
2. **Inspect and estimate.** Deck, flashing, drainage and attic insulation (which can exempt a steep roof from the cool-roof rule), then a free estimate.
3. **Historic review, if needed.** A Certificate of Appropriateness application with existing and proposed roof plans and material samples.
4. **Building permit.** Filed with Building and Safety by a contractor holding a Pasadena business license.
5. **Tear-off and installation.** Old layers come off down to the deck (CRC R908.3), damaged sheathing is replaced, then underlayment, flashing and the new covering go on.
6. **Inspections and final.** Booked through the City's Inspection Portal; the job is finished when the final inspection passes.

## A Pasadena roof replacement from our Google reviews

A homeowner wrote on Google in October 2026: "I had my roof replaced at my home in Pasadena, and Nick was great to work with. The whole experience was smooth, and I'm very happy with the new roof."

## How to check a Pasadena roofing company before you hire

- Look up the license on the Contractors State License Board site; roofing is classification C-39. Ours is CSLB #1147688 (C-39 Roofing and B General Building), with a contractor's bond and workers' compensation insurance on file with the board.
- Ask whether the contractor holds a Pasadena business license, since the City requires one to pull a permit.
- Make sure the permit is in the contractor's name, and that the quote says who prepares the historic review if the house needs one. We pull our own permits; one Google reviewer, in a review that does not name the city, credits Amit with taking care of their permit quickly.
- Ask how the new roof meets the Zone 9 cool-roof rule (a rated product or a documented exception) and, inside a fire zone, which Class A assembly is proposed.
- Read the warranty terms. Ours: "Workmanship warranties, if applicable, will be clearly defined in your written contract." Material warranties come from the manufacturer, on the manufacturer's terms.

## Get a free roof estimate in Pasadena

Email [aacaliforniaroofing@gmail.com](mailto:aacaliforniaroofing@gmail.com) or use our [contact page](https://aacaliforniaroofing.com/contact-us/) to book an estimate. Pasadena is part of the area we cover across Los Angeles County and nearby Ventura County cities, and our office is at 21243 Ventura Blvd #259, Woodland Hills, CA 91364.

See every city we work in on our [areas we serve](https://aacaliforniaroofing.com/areas-we-serve/) page, or start from the [AA California Roofing home page](https://aacaliforniaroofing.com/).