Licensed roofers in Malibu, CA
Roofing Malibu
repairs and Class A re-roofs
Roofing Malibu homes is fire-zone work from start to finish. The State Fire Marshal maps the entire city as a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, and near the shoreline a second force goes to work on every roof: salt. We repair what still has years in it, replace what does not, file every City permit ourselves and put a written 20-year workmanship warranty behind the work.
CSLB license #1100046
Bonded, insured, family run
20-year workmanship warranty
Roofing Malibu at a glance
01 / Malibu roofing by setting
Where Malibu roofing wears out first, and why
Three very different settings share one city: the sand, the open bluffs and the brush-lined canyons. Salt, wind and embers reach all of them, but not in the same measure, which is why two Malibu roofing jobs on houses of the same age can look nothing alike. Salt, wind or embers: whichever leads at your address sets the list of things to fix first.
01 / Beachfront
Fasteners rust
Look for rust streaks running down from a vent cap, pitting along the gutter line or screw heads ringed in orange: those are the first signs that salt has found the metal. Before choosing a metal roof near the water, read the warranty terms closely, because one maker does not cover its painted coating within 1,500 feet of breaking surf. On a beachfront house, the screws and the laps usually tell the story long before the panels do.
02 / Bluff tops
Edges lift
Malibu roofing on a bluff meets the sun and the wind head-on. After a windy night, walk the yard: pieces of shingle, a ridge cap on the lawn or granules blown onto the patio show where the edges are starting to go. Catching one lifted course early keeps the wind from peeling back the rows behind it.
03 / Canyons
Embers enter
On a canyon lot, the weak points are the openings rather than the covering: attic and eave vents, the gaps under the edges of curved tile and any valley packed with leaves. Fine metal mesh on the vents, a cap sheet or fire-stopping under profiled tile and a clean valley close those openings, and that is what lets a Class A roof in Malibu do its job when wind carries embers ahead of a fire.
02 / Between re-roofs
Roof repair Malibu, CA: leaks, lifted edges and rust
A Malibu roofing repair often starts with a stain on a ceiling. If you are unsure who to call for a roof leak in Malibu, start with a licensed roofer rather than a handyman: California requires a licensed contractor on any job that needs a building permit, and every Malibu re-roof does. For roof repair, Malibu owners can reach us any day from 7 AM to 10 PM, and a good repair begins by finding the cause, not by painting over the stain.
01
Leaks traced to source
Water seldom enters where it shows: the stain usually sits downhill from the real opening at a flashing, a cracked tile or an open seam. A leak repair is proven only when water runs over that spot and the ceiling stays dry. The full method is on our roof leak repair page.
02
Flashings and vents
Near the water, the roof repair Malibu homes need tends to start at the metal: salt-worn flashings, rusted vent caps and split pipe boots let in more water than the covering does. Replacement metal should be made for salt air, and a canyon vent should keep embers out.
03
Lifted tile or shingle
A hard wind can lift a few shingles or slip a row of tile, and rain then reaches the underlayment. Each piece is reset, or replaced with matching Class A material where it is still made, so the repair blends in and the rating holds.
04
Valleys and gutters
Valleys and gutters collect the dry leaves embers look for. Clearing them is upkeep, but corroded valley metal is a real repair, and on new work the 2026 county fire hazard notes call for noncombustible gutters with debris guards.
03 / Five materials
What the City allows on each roof material
Class A materials carrying a Cool Roof Rating Council rating, a permit from the City before any tear-off and two or more City inspections: whatever the material, every re-roof here needs all three, no exceptions. Under the county green building code the City enforces, that rating is what qualifies a cool roof in Malibu.
The City route, roof by roof
One overlay, then off
Asphalt shingle roofs
Count the layers at the eave first. One overlay of new asphalt shingles is allowed, and only on top of an existing asphalt shingle roof, so a roof that already shows two layers goes back to the deck before anything new goes on.
Weight sets the route
Clay and concrete tile
Start with the weight on the tile spec sheet. At six pounds a square foot or under, plan check may not be needed, though every old layer still comes off first and the tile goes onto bare decking. Anything heavier, and any tile laid on top of old tile, calls for calculations stamped and wet-signed by a California registered engineer or licensed architect, and tile over tile also clears plan review before the permit is issued.
Banned, so replaced
Wood shake and shingle
Owners of a shake roof have one decision left to make: which Class A material takes its place, since the City prohibits wood shakes and shingles within city limits.
Off unless approved
Built-up flat roofs
Laying a new membrane over old built-up layers is the shortcut the policy rules out: removal is the default, and any other method needs City approval before work starts. The membrane systems that follow a tear-off are described on our flat roofing page.
Down to the sheathing
Metal panel roofs
Ask for the panel listing before the job starts, because the policy wants it on site for the inspector. The panels themselves go only onto the original sheathing, after every old layer is gone.
Two more rule sets frame the City policy for anyone roofing Malibu homes. Since January 1, 2026, the state wildfire rules for roofs live in the new California Wildland-Urban Interface Code. And because Malibu sits in the coastal zone, roof work can raise a Malibu coastal development permit question, which the City planners decide.
04 / Repair or replace
Roofing Malibu homes: partial rebuild or full tear-off
Two mistakes are easy to make in roofing Malibu homes as they age: tearing off a roof that one rebuilt section would have saved, and patching a roof that has run out of life. The signs below help tell them apart. A roof replacement in Malibu is the right call when the tear-off signs describe your roof, and our full roof replacement page follows that job from the first tear-off to the final inspection.
Tile reset on new felt
Signs a section rebuild works
01
One stain, one room
The leak shows in one room while every other ceiling stays dry through a full rainy season, which points to a single failed spot rather than a worn-out roof.
02
Dry, flexible layers
Where the deck is dry and the felt beside the damage still bends without cracking, new felt can be lapped into the old, upslope over downslope.
03
Is the tile still made?
When the exact tile or shingle is no longer made, a rebuilt section can stand out for years, and that alone can favor a full re-roof.
Standing seam going on
Signs a full tear-off is due
01
The City requires it
A second asphalt overlay or a switch to metal panels means a full tear-off under the City policy, and a shake roof cannot take new shake at all.
02
Age shows everywhere
Granules in the gutters, curling at every edge and felt that snaps when it bends mean the whole roof has aged out, and no single repair brings that age back.
03
One chance for the assembly
A full replacement is the one chance in Malibu roofing to rebuild the whole assembly at once, deck and felt up to the flashings.
05 / Roofing Malibu, permit to final
Six stages of roofing Malibu houses, visit to sign-off
Start with the question every re-roof raises: do I need a permit to replace my roof in Malibu? Yes, every time, and the City inspects the work at least twice. Permits for roof replacement in Malibu also fix the order of the job: six stages, two of them handled by the City inspector.
01 / Our part
Walk and photograph
Ask any roofer what the City inspector checks first. The answer should be water accumulation, drainage, flashing and the soundness of the deck, since those are the items the policy lists, and a first visit that photographs them heads off a failed inspection later.
02 / Our part
Scope in writing
A Malibu roofing scope that just says re-roof leaves the important choices open. Ours names each layer of the new roof in order, with the product listing that proves its rating, and you sign only once every line reads right to you.
03 / Our part
Permit filed
The permit is pulled in our company name, never yours, so the license on file answers for the work. If the address sits outside the City limits, the county building office is the one that issues it.
04 / City part
Inspection, round one
Round one belongs to the City inspector, and the new roofing waits for that written approval. On an overlay roof the inspector sees the existing shingles, on a tear-off the bare deck.
05 / Our part
New roof installed
Every product listing and manufacturer instruction stays on site for the inspector, and the crew works to them line by line. Any area still open at the end of the day is sealed before the crew goes home.
06 / City part
Final sign-off
The job ends when the City passes its final inspection and you have done the final walk with us. A magnet sweep clears stray nails first, and the written 20-year workmanship warranty comes last.
Flashing logged on camera
06 / Malibu ZIP codes
Roofing Malibu across its two ZIP codes
Two ZIP codes with Malibu as their postal city cover its homes and buildings. 90265 is by far the larger: it takes in the city and the canyon land around it, about 111 square miles against roughly 20 for the city itself, so a 90265 address can sit inside or outside the City limits, and the permit office changes with it. 90263 covers the university campus in the hills. Each row gives the area, what its roofs face and the Malibu roofing work that usually follows.
ZIP code
Area
Exposure
Typical work
90265
The city and its canyons
Salt air, open wind, embers
Class A re-roofs, tile repair
90263
The university campus
Hillside wind and wildfire
Ember vents, wind repairs
07 / Malibu roofing questions
Roofing Malibu questions, answered plainly
Straight answers to the Malibu roofing questions owners raise, from permits and fire ratings to salt air, tile and the fire rebuild.
How long does a tile roof last in Malibu?
Longer than the felt beneath it. Clay and concrete tile can outlast several layers of underlayment, and in salt air the metal flashings often give out before either. So the real question is how much life the underlayment and the flashings have left, and only a look under the tile answers it. In roofing Malibu tile homes, a roofer can often reset sound tile over new felt rather than replace it.
What is the best roof for a beach house?
One that passes the salt test and the fire test together. The best roof for a beach house in Malibu pairs a Class A covering with flashings, fasteners and vents made for salt air, because near the water the metal parts fail first. Tile and standing seam metal both work when their metal parts suit the coast and the manufacturer warranty covers a home that close to the surf.
Is a Class A roof required in Malibu?
Yes, on every roof in the city. The whole city lies in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, and the City policy accepts only roofing rated Class A that also carries a Cool Roof Rating Council rating. A repair has to keep that standard, so Malibu roofing never drops below Class A, even for one section.
Does roof work need a coastal permit?
Sometimes. Malibu sits in the coastal zone, so roof work can call for a coastal development permit, but ordinary repair and maintenance can qualify for the exemption the City grants. The exemption does not apply where the work could affect public access, sensitive habitat, wetlands or ocean views. City planners decide whether it applies to a given Malibu roofing job.
Who issues roof permits in Malibu?
It depends on the address. Inside the City limits, Malibu building permits come from the Building Safety division of the City, and every re-roof needs one plus at least two inspections. Some 90265 addresses sit outside the City limits, and there the county building office issues the permit instead. We check the address before filing any Malibu roofing permit.
Can a handyman repair a roof leak?
A small one, sometimes. Water rarely enters where the stain shows, though, and a repair can grow into replacing part of the roof, which can need a building permit. California requires a licensed contractor for any job that needs one, so a licensed roofer is the safer first call. Ask for the license number and check it with the state license board before work starts.
What makes a roof assembly Class A?
Its fire test. A Class A rating comes from the standard roof fire tests, ASTM E108 or UL 790, and it belongs to the whole assembly, so a covering earns it together with the layers listed beneath it. Under the 2026 county fire hazard notes, Malibu roofing with profiled tile also needs a cap sheet or fire-stopping beneath it. That is why each product listing matters as much as the product itself.
How can I fire-harden my roof in Malibu?
Start with the openings embers exploit. Fire-resistant roofing in Malibu means a Class A covering, vents listed to keep embers out or screened with fine metal mesh, metal valley flashing over a cap sheet and noncombustible gutters with guards. The City also offers a Home Ignition Zone assessment by a Fire Safety Liaison, who looks at the roof and everything around it.
What does a roof need in a fire rebuild?
A permit, City inspections and a Class A assembly built complete from the first day. The City counted 720 structures in Malibu impacted by the January 2025 wildfire, and a home in the Malibu fire rebuild starts from a bare frame, the one moment when every ember detail can be built in rather than added later.
How often should my roof be checked?
Once a year, and again after any hard wind or heavy rain. A yearly roof inspection in Malibu catches salt-worn flashings, lifted edges and leaf-filled valleys while they are still small repairs. Keep the photos from each visit, since they show how the roof is changing over time.
08 / Roofing contractor, Malibu
Book a licensed roofer in Malibu for a first look
Send a few lines about the roof and the house, and we book a Malibu roofing visit from there. A first visit should end with three answers: what the roof needs now, what can wait, and which City route applies. We are a roofing company Malibu owners can look up before they call: California Green Roofing, family run, licensed as CSLB #1100046, bonded and insured.
Roofing Malibu, book a visit
Phone
Serving
Malibu, California
License
CSLB #1100046, bonded and insured
Open daily
7:00 AM to 10:00 PM