Old Town at a glance
Old Town is Airdrie’s original townsite. The community grew up around the railway: by the mid-1890s the station was the centre of town, and after early flooding on the west side of the tracks, the community moved east of the railway. Airdrie became a village in 1909. The Nose Creek Bridge, built in 1928 to reach the grain elevators, was named Airdrie’s first Municipal Historic Resource in 2019, and Main Street was extended north in 1966.
Unlike Airdrie’s subdivisions, Old Town wasn’t built in one boom. Homes went up over many decades, including during the 1970s, when Airdrie became an affordable option for buyers during Calgary’s building boom. Much of the housing around downtown today dates from the 1980s through the early 2000s — bungalows, bi-levels and early two-storeys built before the city’s big subdivision wave, and now on their second or third roof. The result is a mix you won’t find anywhere else in the city: older bungalows and character homes, modern infills replacing original houses, townhomes, small apartment buildings and some mobile homes — often on the same street, under mature trees.
That variety means there’s no typical Old Town roof. But there are problems we see here far more than anywhere else in Airdrie.
What we find on older Old Town roofs
Roofs past their life. Many Old Town homes are on roofs that are 20, 25 or 30-plus years old. At that age, granule loss, brittle shingles and failing flashing are the norm, and a repair buys time rather than solving anything.
A hidden second layer. It was once common to nail a new layer of shingles straight over the old one. Both have to come off at replacement.
Plank decking. Older homes may have board decks rather than plywood or OSB sheathing. Sound boards can stay, but split, rotten or badly gapped sections need replacing before a new roof goes on.
Three-tab shingles. Many older roofs here still have flat three-tab shingles, which are lighter and less wind-resistant than today’s architectural shingles.
Chimneys. Older homes are more likely to have masonry chimneys, and the flashing around them is a frequent leak point. Unused chimneys can be removed below the roof line.
Too little ventilation. Attics in older homes often have far less intake and exhaust venting than today’s standards call for. Trapped heat and moisture shorten a roof’s life and cause winter frost and ice dams.
Replacing an older roof properly
A replacement on an Old Town home is the chance to fix decades of small problems at once:
- Tear off every layer down to the deck.
- Check every board or sheet of decking and replace what’s damaged — or re-sheath the whole deck if it’s in poor shape.
- Install ice-and-water shield at the eaves and in valleys. Many older roofs never had it, which is why ice dams leak into walls here.
- Bring ventilation up to date with proper intake and ridge exhaust, and make sure bathroom fans vent outside.
- Replace all flashing, including around chimneys, and remove unused chimneys where it makes sense.
- Install modern architectural or Class 4 shingles to the high-wind specification.
For what this involves and what to look for in a quote, see roof replacement in Airdrie and the Airdrie roofing cost guide.
Mature trees and older roofs
Old Town’s mature trees are part of its charm, and they’re something most of Airdrie’s newer communities don’t have yet. For a roof, they bring a few specific issues:
- Branches rubbing shingles in the wind, wearing away granules
- Debris collecting in valleys and behind chimneys, holding moisture against the roof
- Shade keeping north-facing slopes damp longer after rain and snow
- Falling limbs in storms
Keeping branches trimmed back from the roof and valleys clear goes a long way toward helping an older roof reach its full life.
Garages, additions and small flat roofs
Old Town lots often have detached garages, rear additions and porches with low-slope roofs, and small apartment buildings with flat roofs. These are frequently older than the main roof and leak where they meet a wall. We repair and replace them with proper membranes — see flat roofing.
Buying an older home in Old Town
Old Town’s character homes and bungalows on mature lots attract a lot of buyers, and the roof is one of the biggest unknowns in an older house. A general home inspection often views the roof from the ground or a ladder. A roofer’s inspection before you firm up an offer tells you roughly how many years the roof has left, whether there’s a second layer, what the attic ventilation looks like and what a replacement would involve — information that can shape your offer.
Most requested roofing in Old Town
- Full replacements on older homes — see roof replacement
- Repairs to keep an older roof going for a few more seasons — see roof repair
- Metal for owners who want this to be the last roof they buy — see metal roofing
- Inspections before buying an older home — see roof inspection
What roofing costs in Old Town, by roof age
In Old Town, the age and history of the roof decide the price more than its size. An older roof usually carries costs that a 15-year-old subdivision roof never does.
| Older-roof job | Typical cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Two-layer tear-off with deck repairs | $6–$7.50 / sq ft | Per sq ft — older roofs sit in the upper half. |
| Masonry chimney reflash | $400–$800 | Or removal below the roof line if unused. |
| Attic ventilation brought up to date | $500–$1,200 | Intake, ridge exhaust, fan ducts. |
| Metal as the last roof | From $11 / sq ft | Per sq ft. |
Get an exact quote for your roof
Two layers, board decking and an old chimney all push a replacement into the upper half of the per-square-foot range — but the house underneath usually has a smaller, simpler roof than a new two-storey, which keeps the total reasonable. Chimney and flashing details are covered on our chimney flashing repair page; see the roof repair cost guide for repairs and the Airdrie roofing cost guide for full replacements.
A typical Old Town replacement
A composite of the Old Town job we see most, not one customer’s project:
A young family buys a bungalow from the 1980s a few blocks from Main Street. The roof is two layers of flat three-tab shingles over plank decking; the bathroom fan vents straight into the attic; an unused brick chimney has been caulked at the base more than once; and every winter an ice dam forms over the front entry.
The replacement takes both layers off, replaces the split boards and re-sheaths the deck, removes the chimney below the roof line, runs the bath fan outside and adds real intake and ridge exhaust — the roof ventilation fix that stops the ice dams. The new roof goes on in Class 4 impact-resistant shingles.
Not every older roof needs all of that. If the deck and structure are sound and only the details are failing, roof restoration — new flashing, vents and a partial re-shingle — can buy real years first.
Other Airdrie communities
We also work in King’s Heights, Cooper’s Crossing, Hillcrest and Reunion.