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Roof Repair in Santa Monica for Flat Roofs, Apartment Buildings, and Homes
Roof repair in Santa Monica has to fit a city of apartment buildings: 77.6% of its housing is multifamily, and 74.9% of all units were built before 1980. Overhead Roofing handles flat roof repair, tile and shingle repairs, and roof replacement in Santa Monica, and we track the rules that apply once a repair grows into a reroof.
Licensed, bonded and insured, CSLB #1119699
Santa Monica was incorporated in 1886 and is bordered entirely by the City of Los Angeles and the ocean. It fits 93,076 residents (2020 census) into 8.42 square miles of land, about 11,067 people per square mile. Renters occupy 71.4% of households, and 27,589 apartments were under rent control at the end of 2025, so most households here live under a roof that someone else maintains.
Flat roof repair on Santa Monica apartment buildings
The city’s apartments went up in waves: conversions along San Vicente Boulevard in the 1920s, the five-story Shoreham apartment hotel in 1924, and courtyard apartments built mostly from the 1930s to the 1950s, when jobs at Douglas Aircraft and later RAND brought workers to the city. Buildings with five or more units now hold 35,570 of the city’s 52,629 housing units, and the 1970s were the busiest decade for construction, at 19.6% of units (ACS 2014-2018).
Where an apartment building has a flat or low-slope roof, the repair looks different from a pitched house roof. These are the places we check first:
- Ponding water that stays on the roof long after rain
- Split seams, blisters, and bare spots in the cap sheet
- Flashing and coping at parapet walls
- Roof drains and scuppers that are clogged or pulling loose
- Flashing around vents, skylights, and rooftop equipment
Newer buildings bring rooftop solar into the job. Since 2016, Santa Monica has required solar on new construction: at least 1.5 watts per square foot of floor area on new single-family homes and 2.0 watts per square foot of building footprint on new multifamily, nonresidential, hotel, and motel buildings. On those roofs, a repair has to work around the panel racking and its roof attachments.
When a repair becomes a reroof in climate zone 6
Santa Monica is in California Energy Commission climate zone 6, and the 2025 California Energy Code treats pitched and low-slope roofs differently here. For multifamily and nonresidential buildings, the cool roof rule starts when the work alters more than half of the roof, or more than 2,000 square feet if that is the smaller figure. A patch or a small section repair stays below that line.
Pitched (steep-slope) residential reroof
No cool roof requirement
Low-slope reroof, single-family or multifamily
Aged solar reflectance 0.63 and emittance 0.75, or SRI 75
Trigger for multifamily and nonresidential
Over 50% of the roof or 2,000 sq ft, whichever is less
Exempt roofs
At least 25 lb/sq ft over the membrane
Source: Cool Roof Rating Council summary of the 2025 California Energy Code.
That split sets Santa Monica apart from Beverly Hills and Century City, which are in climate zone 9 and need cool roof products on pitched reroofs as well. A building with a pitched roof and a flat section can face two different requirements in the same project.
Salt air, morning fog, and metal near the surf
Santa Monica has a coastal Mediterranean climate. Morning fog is common from May through early August (the May Gray and June Gloom months), the beach runs 5 to 10 degrees F cooler than inland areas on summer days, and the city’s record high is 100 degrees F.
For metal roofing, salt air is the main concern. At least one major metal roofing maker, McElroy Metal, excludes Galvalume panels from its warranty in salt-water marine atmospheres, which it defines as within 1,500 feet of a coastline with breaking surf, 800 feet of a large bay, or 400 feet of a marsh. Blocks close to the beach in Santa Monica can fall inside that first distance.
Before we quote metal panels or metal flashing for a building near the water, we read the manufacturer’s warranty terms for marine exposure and choose the metal and fasteners to match. During repairs on low-slope roofs, we check coping, drip edge, and other exposed metal for corrosion.
Reroof permits on Main Street and approvals in historic districts
The City of Santa Monica issues reroof permits through Building and Safety at the Permit Services Center, 1685 Main Street (south entrance off Olympic Drive), which is open 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Thursday. The city lists reroofs among the minor projects that can be reviewed and approved in a single visit through Same-Day Review at the permit counter.
Landmarks and the five historic districts
Santa Monica adopted its Landmarks and Historic District Ordinance on March 24, 1976, and has designated 110 landmarks. As of 2019 it had five historic districts: Third Street Neighborhood (1990, the first), the Bay Street Craftsman cluster, San Vicente Boulevard Courtyard Apartments (2015), 11th Street Bungalow (2019), and Fourth Street Corner (2019, 14 structures from 1906 to 1936 in Ocean Park).
The Third Street Neighborhood Historic District in Ocean Park spells out its roof rules in the Municipal Code (SMMC 9.58.020). Its 38 contributing buildings include 27 original bungalows from 1903 to 1915 and Spanish Colonial Revival bungalow courts from the mid-1920s and early 1930s. On a contributing building, roofing work beyond general maintenance needs a certificate of administrative approval, and any change to the roof line needs a Certificate of Appropriateness.
What we repair and replace on Santa Monica roofs
Flat and low-slope roofs. We trace leaks, repair cap sheet and seams, rebuild flashing at parapets and coping, clear and reseal roof drains, and replace flat roofs with torch-down modified bitumen or a single-ply system, using a rated cool roof product where the zone 6 low-slope rule applies. Our past jobs include a torch-down low-slope reroof in Pomona and a commercial flat roof with a reflective cap sheet in Bell.
Bungalows and houses. We repair tile and shingle roofs, replace flashing where a roof meets a chimney or wall, and handle roof replacement in Santa Monica for pitched roofs. In the historic districts, we confirm which approval the work needs before any tile or shingle comes off.
Leaks that can’t wait. Emergency roof repair and temporary tarping are available 24/7, with fast response and same-day visits when crews are available.
Overhead Roofing works in Santa Monica as a licensed, bonded, and insured roofer (CSLB #1119699, C-39 Roofing), backed by the 25+ years of roofing experience our team brings. We give free estimates, and our repairs and replacements carry a workmanship warranty.
What Santa Monica owners ask before a roof repair
Do I need a cool roof when I replace my roof in Santa Monica?
It depends on the slope. Santa Monica is in climate zone 6, where the 2025 Energy Code sets no cool roof requirement for pitched residential reroofs. Low-slope reroofs on single-family and multifamily buildings must meet an aged solar reflectance of 0.63 and emittance of 0.75, or an SRI of 75. If your building has both a pitched roof and a flat section, the low-slope values apply to the flat part when it is reroofed.
Should we repair or replace the flat roof on our apartment building?
Start with how much of the roof is damaged. Ponding, open seams, and flashing failures in a few spots are repair work. If a reroof alters more than half of the roof, or more than 2,000 square feet when that is less, the 2025 Energy Code’s cool roof values apply to the new surface. Roofs carrying at least 25 pounds per square foot over the membrane are exempt from that rule.
Does a 90402 ZIP code mean the City of Santa Monica issues my roof permit?
Not always. Santa Monica Canyon is in the 90402 ZIP code but lies outside Santa Monica city limits, so its roof permits do not go through the 1685 Main Street counter. North of San Vicente, a subsection of the North of Montana neighborhood, is inside the city. Confirm the parcel’s jurisdiction before filing, because the permit has to come from the city the property is actually in.
Can we add rooftop solar to a bungalow in the Third Street Neighborhood Historic District?
It needs approval first. Under SMMC 9.58.020, rooftop solar in the district needs administrative approval, roofing work beyond general maintenance on a contributing building needs a certificate of administrative approval, and any change to the roof line needs a Certificate of Appropriateness. If a reroof and solar are planned together, we can schedule the roofing so the panels go onto the new roof.
Did the 2025 fire maps put more of Santa Monica in a Very High zone?
Yes. CAL FIRE’s March 24, 2025 maps increased the number of Santa Monica homes and businesses in Very High zones, with the hazard areas growing along the city’s northern limits; the prior maps dated from 2007 to 2011. For Very High properties, the city’s fire hazard zone page lists an annual inspection, clear roofs and gutters, a 0 to 5 foot ember-resistant Zone 0, and vents with 1/8-inch mesh.
Is Same-Day Review available for a reroof in Santa Monica?
Reroofs are on the city’s list of minor projects that can be reviewed and approved in one visit at the building permit counter. The process is paperless: you create the application in Citizen Access (epermit.smgov.net) and upload plans and documents to ProjectDox before going in, and virtual same-day review is also available. Historic district approvals, where they apply, are a separate step.
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