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Boral Flashing Replacement: The Pasadena Owner’s Guide
Boral flashing replacement in Pasadena typically costs $350 – $900 installed, depending on penetration count, roofline complexity, and whether the flashing is step, valley, or chimney-saddle style. We stock Boral-compatible flashing profiles on our trucks and can complete most single-flashing swaps the same day we inspect. The telltale sign that brings Pasadena homeowners to us is usually a water stain blooming on the ceiling after the first real rain of the season, or a rust-colored drip trail down a chimney chase. Flashing doesn’t fail loudly. It fails quietly, at a seam, and by the time you see the stain indoors, the flashing has been letting water behind the tile or shake for weeks.
We’re an independent Pasadena roofing contractor, not a Boral dealer. That matters because it means our recommendations are driven by what your roof actually needs, not what we’re incentivized to move off a shelf. When a Boral flashing detail fails, the fix is almost always a matter of matching the material gauge, profile, and sealant chemistry to what’s already up there. You’ll have the price in writing before we touch a single shingle.
Which Boral Models This Applies To
Boral’s flashing requirements vary across their product lines. Boral concrete tile (the most common installation we see across Pasadena’s post-1980s subdivisions) uses a different flashing profile than Boral steel roofing, and both differ from the Boral Versetta Stone siding line where flashing terminates at wall transitions. The short version: if your roof has Boral tile, you’re dealing with either step flashing at sidewalls, counterflashing at chimneys, or valley flashing at intersection planes. Each has a specific minimum gauge and a specific overlap spec that matters more than the brand stamped on the metal.
Here’s the compatibility gotcha. Boral tile’s profile height, roughly 2 inches of butt elevation on most series, means the step flashing legs have to rise higher than what a standard composition-shingle flashing provides. If a previous contractor swapped in generic flashing sized for asphalt shingle, the tile lip will out-height the flashing bend, and wind-driven rain will walk right over it. We see this on re-roofs around Pasadena where someone replaced tile with a cheaper system and left the original flashings in place. When we quote a Boral flashing replacement, we measure the existing tile profile before ordering anything, so the new flashing leg clears the tile crown by at least 1 inch.
Understanding Boral’s specific flashing requirements isn’t common knowledge even among well-meaning general contractors. Erik Lindgren has spent close to three decades working with tile profiles across Southern California, including a long stretch of older craftsman homes near Bungalow Heaven, where century-old decking and modern tile profiles meet in ways that demand careful flashing choices.
Styles & brands we work with






Signs Your Boral Flashing Replacement Is Failing
- Interior staining at wall-ceiling junctions. When step flashing fails under Boral tile, water tracks horizontally along the top plate and shows up as a discolored line where the wall meets the ceiling in upstairs rooms. The stain often appears several feet away from the actual leak point, which is why a flashlight inspection of the attic is worth doing before anyone starts pulling tile.
- Rust streaks below chimney saddles. In Pasadena’s smog-and-marine-layer mix, galvanized flashing at chimney bases corrodes faster than homeowners expect. A reddish-brown drip stain down the chimney face means the saddle flashing has lost its coating and is now wicking water into the masonry.
- Granule loss concentrated at valley lines. If you’re finding tile grit or roofing granules in your gutters and the heaviest accumulation runs directly under the valleys, the valley flashing has likely worn through or separated. Water is running under the tile instead of over the metal channel.
- Visible caulk cracking or peeling at pipe boots and vent collars. The rubber or synthetic boots around plumbing vents dry out in Pasadena’s UV, and once the caulk bead around them splits, the boot itself isn’t sealing. This is usually a flashing-collar replacement rather than a full flashing rework, but it’s the same failure family and just as capable of pouring water into an attic.
- Daylight visible through ridge or hip joints when viewed from the attic. If you can see a sliver of sky through a ridge flashing joint, the overlap has slipped. With tile, this often happens after the repeated thermal expansion-contraction cycles we get when cold winter mornings follow hot Santa Ana afternoons.
See the difference
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After
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AfterReplacement Cost & What’s Included
Most Boral flashing replacement jobs in Pasadena run between $350 and $900 for a single flashing detail. Step flashing along one sidewall typically lands in the $350 – $550 range. A chimney saddle or full counterflashing job usually runs $500 – $900 depending on saddle size and whether we need to cut a reglet into the masonry. Valley flashing replacement on a single valley spans $400 – $700. These are installed prices, including the flashing material, fasteners, sealant, and the labor to lift and re-set the surrounding tile.
| Flashing Type | Installed Price Range |
|---|---|
| Sidewall step flashing (one wall) | $350 – $550 |
| Chimney saddle / counterflashing | $500 – $900 |
| Valley flashing (one valley) | $400 – $700 |
| Vent pipe boot / collar replacement | $175 – $325 |
What drives the range: roof pitch, single-story vs two-story access, how many layers of tile need to be pulled back, and whether the underlying decking shows rot that requires a small repair before re-flashing. You’ll see your exact number in writing before we start. Every Boral flashing replacement we do is covered by our 365-Day Done Right Promise: if the flashing isn’t right, we make it right.
DIY or Call Us?
Flashing replacement on a Boral tile roof is not a ladder-and-caulk job. The tile itself is brittle; one wrong step cracks a section that can’t be patched invisibly. Lifting tile to access flashing requires knowing exactly how much lift the tile will tolerate before the nose or the interlock snaps. And the sealant chemistry matters: the wrong sealant under tile flashing will cure, shrink, and re-open within eighteen months. We use Boral-compatible sealants rated for the thermal movement of concrete tile in Southern California.
Here’s what you can safely do: check your attic on a dry day, look for the stains and daylight gaps described above, and take photos. Clear your gutters so the next rain tells you where water is actually traveling. Then call us. A flashing diagnosis visit costs you nothing, and the written quote tells you exactly what’s failing and what the repair entails. Our team will bring shoe covers, lay drop cloths through the hallway if we need attic access from inside, and will photograph the cleanup before we pull out of your driveway.
FAQs
Boral flashing, when properly installed with compatible sealant, lasts 20 – 40 years in Pasadena’s climate. The wildcard is the sealant joint, which typically degrades within 10 – 15 years due to UV exposure and thermal cycling, even when the metal itself is still sound.
Small sealant failures at the top edge of step flashing can sometimes be re-sealed instead of replaced, if the metal gauge is still intact and the overlap is correct. But once corrosion, buckling, or an improper profile height is found in Pasadena’s older tile installations, a full replacement is the only repair that holds. Call (626) 657-5397 and we’ll tell you which situation you’re in.
A single sidewall or vent-boot flashing replacement typically takes 2 – 4 hours including tile removal and re-setting. Chimney saddle work can take a full day, especially if a reglet needs to be cut into the masonry. Pasadena’s hillside homes with steep access sometimes add a half-day for setup alone.
We stock common Boral-compatible step flashing profiles, valley channels, and vent collars on our trucks, unlike competitors who order every piece after the inspection and make you wait a week. Call (626) 657-5397 for an exact quote, and estimates are free.
Written by Erik Lindgren, Owner, Birchbark Roofing Pasadena at Birchbark Roofing Pasadena, serving Pasadena and nearby areas.