Roofing Contractor in Fontana, CA

Fontana homes from ranch streets to 1980s and 1990s tracts

Fontana stayed rural, with citrus orchards, vineyards and chicken ranches, until Kaiser's wartime steel mill brought in workers. Foothill Boulevard, once Route 66, ran through that early town. Much of the housing came later, and the median home dates to 1989.

That makes shingle roofs about 30 years old common. Fontana sits on a gently sloping alluvial fan, so lots are fairly flat and gutters have little fall to work with. Sun-faded ridge caps and curled tabs show up first.

Santa Ana winds through the Cajon Pass

Fontana lies in the path of hot, dry winds that blow out of the Cajon Pass. They arrive mostly in autumn and winter, and they carry palm fronds, dust and leaves onto roofs. The first things to go are edges, ridge caps and flashing.

After a wind day, look at your roofline from the street. If you see lifted pieces, ask for a roof repair before the rain does the rest.

Warehouse and low-slope roofs in a trucking-hub city

Interstates 10 and 15 and the 210 cross Fontana, and the city is now a trucking hub, so low-slope roofs are everywhere. Water pools around clogged drains, and heat shrinks seams. A commercial roof check starts with drains, seams and curbs, then moves to what should be patched and what needs a larger plan.

From 840 to 2,600 feet, plus the Cucamonga Fault

Fontana's city limits stretch from about 840 feet in the south to about 2,600 feet toward the San Gabriel foothills, and City Hall sits at 1,237 feet. The city covers 43 square miles, with the Jurupa Mountains to the south and the San Gabriels to the north. Hillside lots at the northern edge differ from the flat alluvial fan in the middle, and access and wind exposure change with them.

The Cucamonga Fault Zone runs through the northern part of the city. For a roof, that is a reason to look for cracked mortar at chimneys and shifted tile after any shaking, since flashing often moves with the masonry. Fontana averages 14.77 inches of rain a year, mostly in winter, and the record high is 117°F.

Foothill Boulevard, the old steel site and five water companies

Foothill Boulevard is the old Route 66, which ran through the early town. The Kaiser Steel mill, built just outside city limits during the war, left a site that now holds the Auto Club Speedway and a working steel mill. The 2020 Census counted 55,632 housing units, nearly all occupied.

Water comes from five companies with separate service areas, Fontana Water among them, and the Inland Empire Utilities Agency handles sewage.

Planning a Fontana visit and city permits

The trip is long, so we schedule Fontana visits ahead. The city's own building department issues re-roof permits, not San Bernardino County. State code forbids adding a roof where two layers are already down. Bloomington next door is unincorporated, so it answers to the county instead.