My name is Kory Peters, and I spend my days on rooftops across the Fraser Valley. When you tear off an old roof in Agassiz or Harrison, you sometimes find layers of history underneath -- cedar shakes from the 1940s buried under asphalt from the 1970s, with another layer of asphalt from the 2000s on top. Every strip-off tells a story about how people in this valley have tried to keep the rain out.

That got me thinking about the bigger picture. Humans have been building roofs for at least 10,000 years, and the fundamental problem has never changed: water falls from the sky, and we need to stay dry. The solutions, though, have changed dramatically. Here in the Fraser Valley, our roofing story starts long before European settlers arrived.

Before the Settlers: Sto:lo Cedar Longhouses

The Sto:lo Nation has called the Fraser Valley home for thousands of years. Their longhouses were sophisticated structures built from Western red cedar -- the same wood that early European settlers would later adopt for their own roofs. These weren't primitive shelters. Sto:lo longhouses used heavy cedar planks laid over a post-and-beam framework, with steeply pitched roofs designed to shed the relentless Fraser Valley rain.

Cedar was the perfect roofing material for this climate. Its natural oils resist rot and insects. It sheds water without absorbing it. And it was everywhere -- old-growth forests blanketed the valley from Hope to the coast. The Sto:lo understood something that modern roofers still know: use what the land gives you, and respect what the weather demands.

When Johnny and I are up on a roof near the Fraser River, sometimes we talk about the fact that people have been solving this exact problem in this exact spot for millennia. The materials have changed, but the challenge -- 1,500 to 2,000 millimetres of rain a year -- has not.

The Ancient World: Thatch, Clay, and Stone

Thatched Roofs (10,000 BCE Onward)

The earliest roofs worldwide were thatched from grass, straw, reeds, or palm fronds. A well-built thatch roof could be twelve inches thick, waterproof, and surprisingly good insulation. The drawback was obvious: fire. Entire villages could burn from a single spark. Thatch also harbored rodents and insects, and needed replacing every ten to twenty years.

Clay Tiles and the Roman System (3,000 BCE)

The Greeks and Romans changed roofing permanently with fired clay tiles around 3,000 BCE. Roman engineers developed the tegulae-and-imbrices system -- flat tiles overlapped by curved tiles -- that shed water so efficiently it is still used in Mediterranean architecture today. Some Roman tiles are still functional after 2,000 years. That kind of longevity makes a roofer's heart sing.

Clay tiles solved the fire problem and lasted far longer than thatch, but they were expensive and heavy. Only wealthy households, temples, and government buildings could afford them. For everyone else, thatch continued.

Welsh Slate (1,000 CE)

Slate roofing emerged in Wales around 1,000 CE and spread across Europe for prestigious buildings. A good slate roof can last 200 years. It does not burn, rot, or decay. The catch is cost: quarrying, splitting, and transporting stone is labor-intensive, and slate roofs require heavy structural support. Slate remains the gold standard for longevity, but it was always a luxury material.

Wood Shakes: How the Forests Shaped North American Roofing

In British Columbia, the abundance of old-growth cedar forests made wood the natural roofing choice for centuries. Pioneer settlers arriving in the Fraser Valley in the mid-1800s adopted the same material the Sto:lo had used for generations.

Hand-split cedar shakes became the default roof for everything from homesteads along the Cariboo Road to logging camps near Harrison Lake. The cedar mills that sprang up along the Fraser River in the late 1800s turned BC into one of the world's largest producers of roofing shakes and shingles.

The difference between shakes and shingles matters to roofers:

• Shakes are hand-split, leaving a rough texture. They are thicker (three-quarters to one inch) and have a rustic look.
• Shingles are sawn smooth. They are thinner (a quarter to half inch) and lay flatter.

We still install cedar roofs occasionally in the Fraser Valley. They look beautiful, especially on heritage homes in Hope and older properties around Rosedale. But cedar requires more maintenance in our wet climate -- moss loves it -- and fire codes have pushed most homeowners toward asphalt or metal.

Metal Roofing: From Copper Churches to Standing Seam

Metal roofing started as a luxury material in the 1700s, with copper reserved for churches and government buildings. By the 1800s, tin-plated steel brought metal within reach of ordinary homeowners. "Tin roofs" became common in rural areas across North America -- including on the barns and farmhouses of the Fraser Valley.

The modern metal roofing revolution began in the 1970s, when the oil crisis made people think about longevity and energy efficiency. Standing seam metal -- with concealed fasteners and interlocking panels -- offered a 50-plus-year lifespan with minimal maintenance. Stone-coated steel gave homeowners the look of tile with the durability of metal. Kynar 500 paint systems brought 30-year color warranties.

Johnny and I install a lot of metal roofs, particularly on agricultural buildings and rural properties between Agassiz and Hope. The appeal is simple: install it once, and your grandchildren might not need to replace it. In a region where heavy rain, moss, and occasional snow loads punish lesser materials, metal earns its keep.

The Asphalt Shingle Revolution (1903)

In 1903, Henry M. Reynolds invented the asphalt shingle, and North American roofing would never be the same. The original design was straightforward: organic felt soaked in asphalt, coated with more asphalt, and covered with ceramic granules for UV protection. Cut into strips, these three-tab shingles were a fraction of the cost of slate, tile, or even cedar.

Asphalt won the market for four reasons:

• Affordability -- roughly one-tenth the cost of slate
• Fire resistance -- met the fire codes that followed devastating urban fires
• Easy installation -- faster than laying slate or splitting shakes
• Lightweight -- existing structures could support them without reinforcement

The post-WWII housing boom cemented asphalt's dominance. Millions of homes needed roofs fast and cheap. In the Fraser Valley, the expansion of towns like Chilliwack, Abbotsford, and Agassiz in the 1950s and 1960s meant rows of new homes, nearly all topped with asphalt shingles.

The Architectural Shingle Era (1980s to Present)

The 1980s brought architectural shingles -- thicker, multi-layered, and designed to mimic the dimensional look of wood shakes or slate. These are what we install on most Fraser Valley homes today. They last 30 to 50 years compared to the 15 to 20 of old three-tab shingles, handle wind better, and look substantially more attractive.

Architectural shingles now account for over 80 percent of asphalt shingle sales in Canada. Three-tab is mostly reserved for budget projects and rental properties. The quality gap between premium architectural shingles and basic three-tab is enormous -- both in lifespan and weather performance.

Current Canadian roofing market breakdown:

• Asphalt shingles: 75 percent (architectural styles dominate)
• Metal roofing: 15 percent (growing steadily, especially rural)
• Other: 10 percent (tile, slate, synthetic, flat-roof membranes)

Roofing in the Fraser Valley: What the Climate Demands

Every region has its own roofing challenge. In the prairies, it is hail. In the Maritimes, it is salt air. Here in the Fraser Valley, the challenge is water -- and lots of it.

Our climate demands specific things from a roof:

• Heavy rain handling: Proper underlayment and flashing are non-negotiable when you get 1,500-plus millimetres of rain a year.
• Moss and algae resistance: Our damp, mild winters create perfect growing conditions. Copper-infused shingles and zinc strips help.
• Snow loads near the mountains: Properties closer to Hope, Harrison, and Yale need to handle occasional heavy snow.
• Wind resistance: Valley winds can be fierce, especially through the Fraser Canyon.
• Ventilation: Our humidity makes attic ventilation critical to prevent condensation and mould.

When people ask me what roofing material is "best," I always say it depends on where in the valley your home sits, what your roof pitch is, and what your budget allows. A home in downtown Chilliwack has different needs than a farmhouse outside Agassiz or a cabin near Yale.

What Comes Next

Roofing is still evolving. Solar-integrated shingles are turning roofs into power plants. Smart sensors can detect leaks before they cause damage. Recycled rubber and plastic are being used to create synthetic slate and shake that weigh a fraction of the originals. Cool-roof coatings reflect heat and reduce energy costs.

Climate change is accelerating this evolution. Heavier rainstorms, more extreme winds, and shifting weather patterns mean that the materials and techniques that worked twenty years ago may not be enough going forward. The roofers who stay current with these changes are the ones who will build roofs that actually last.

Ten Thousand Years, One Lesson

From Sto:lo cedar longhouses to Roman clay tiles to the architectural shingles we nail down every week in Agassiz, the lesson of roofing history is consistent: build for your climate, use the best materials you can afford, and install them properly. The materials keep getting better, but cutting corners has never worked -- whether you were thatching a hut in 8,000 BCE or nailing shingles in 2026.

At Dads Roofing, we have completed over 500 roofs across the Fraser Valley since 2021. Kory and Johnny Peters bring Red Seal Journeyman trades backgrounds to every project -- the kind of precision that comes from years in heavy industry. We install asphalt, metal, and cedar roofs, and we choose materials that match the specific demands of your location in the valley.

Frequently Asked Questions

Need a roof built for Fraser Valley weather? Call (778) 539-6917 or email info@dadsroofrepair.com for a free estimate.