Date of Publication
November 30, 2025
Category
News
Featured
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We were onsite at North Island College watching a 217-bed student housing project come together. Two four-storey mass-timber buildings, 106,868 square feet, materials coming in by crane. Our scope there was the cladding and sheet metal: the architectural panels for the mechanical enclosures and the flashings we fabricated in our own shop. It is the kind of project that shows what one side of this business can do on a single contract.
We have been a roofing and sheet metal contractor since 1980, RCABC-accredited, based right here on Vancouver Island with offices in the Comox Valley, Campbell River, and Powell River. That means we know the coast - the winter rain, the wind that moves through here, the salt spray that eats softer materials, and the logistics of working on islands where materials come in by ferry or barge.
The largest contract in company history was the North Island Hospitals Project. We completed roofing and envelope systems on the Comox Valley Hospital (428,700 sq ft) and Campbell River Hospital (348,000 sq ft). That work included multi-ply membrane roofs, extensive insulation, mechanical penthouses, and heliport structures - all under healthcare safety and infection-control standards that do not forgive mistakes.
Other commercial roofs we have done live in plain view: the insulated membrane roof on Queens Park Arena in New Westminster, a 1930 heritage venue where we coordinated around scheduled games. We re-roofed an RBC branch in Nanaimo largely after hours so the bank stayed open. A pair of dealerships in Campbell River - roofing over showrooms and service bays at night when customers were not there. The Comox Valley Regional District water treatment facility, where roofing and sheet metal had to integrate properly with mechanical systems.
Commercial work is technical. We deal with flashings, curbs, parapet details, and phasing that keeps operations running. We are also comfortable with the quieter work: roofing at Berwick by the Sea, a 65,000 sq ft oceanfront seniors residence in Campbell River, where we worked with minimal disruption to residents.
Custom flashings, parapet caps, trim, and cladding come out of our fabrication shop. The VIU Shellfish Research Centre in Deep Bay is the project people ask about: 13,200 square feet of curved metal roofing (radius seam) and composite metal cladding, with panels curved on site over structural timber ribs. It took the 2011 Metalmag Architectural Award in the Roofing Category. The site itself was remote, which meant we had to handle logistics and precision on an island with limited access.
L'ecole Au-coeur-de-l'ile, a francophone school in Comox, sits on mass timber. We roofed it and clad it with custom flashings and parapets fabricated in our shop. The I-Hos Gallery in Comox is a big-house-style landmark of the K'omoks First Nation, and our sheet metal complemented the carved facade. A waterfront pavilion at Comox Marina Park got standing-seam metal roofing. Alert Bay church, on a small island, needed materials delivered by barge - new roof and custom sheet-metal cladding for a building that mattered to the community.
Homes on Vancouver Island face real weather. Standing-seam metal roofs hold up longer on the coast. We have roofed waterfront properties - the Bliss Landing Residence, a water-access site north of Powell River, and others where exposure and salt spray demand materials and flashing details that work. We also maintain what is already there: inspections, repairs, dealing with moss growth on shaded roofs, replacing worn sections before they become problems.
We do HVAC work alongside roofing because mechanical systems and roof curbs need to work together. A hospital roof is not separate from the penthouses that sit on it. Getting that integration right from the start saves money and headaches later.
Free estimates include a detailed list of the work and the materials we will use. Call us at 250-336-8088 or request a quote through our site - we cover the Comox Valley, Campbell River, Powell River, and the rest of the Island and Sunshine Coast.
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Our new website is live, bringing the full project portfolio, all eight service lines and our three service areas into one place.
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Island and water-access roofing requires planning materials, coordinating barge deliveries, and working within weather windows on the remote BC coast.
How Nelson Roofing replaced 50,175 sq ft of membrane on a heritage 1930 arena while keeping games and events on schedule.
Nelson Roofing completed 776,700 sq ft of roofing across two major hospital builds on Vancouver Island, the largest contract in company history.
How Nelson Roofing delivered the cladding and custom sheet-metal package on two mass timber buildings holding 217 beds in Courtenay.
Real press coverage of Nelson Roofing's major island projects and what RCABC accreditation means for building owners.
The VIU Shellfish Research Centre in Deep Bay won the 2011 Metalmag Architectural Award (Roofing Category) for its curved radius seam metal roof.
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Campbell River dealerships like Strathcona Toyota need roofs that protect inventory while staying quiet during business hours.
How Nelson Roofing re-roofed Wembley Liquor Store in Parksville before and after hours while the store stayed open for customers.
Nelson Roofing brings the same exacting standards to Powell River and the Sunshine Coast as we do on Vancouver Island -- logistics are different, but quality never wavers.
Nelson Roofing installed standing seam metal roofing on the Comox Marina Park pavilion, engineered for coastal salt spray and wind exposure.
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Nelson Roofing handles roofing, sheet metal fabrication, and HVAC across Vancouver Island - from student housing to hospitals and historic landmarks.
We were named Subcontractor of the Year at the 2026 VICA Awards for our cladding work on the North Island College student housing project.
We were named 2025 RCABC Guarantee Corp Top Supporter for completing the most roofing squares on Vancouver Island last year.
Nelson Roofing marked 45 years in 2025, from Russ and Sharon Nelson's first crews in 1980 to three branches on the coast today.
The RCABC magazine Roofing BC profiled the company in its Summer 2014 issue, covering our change of ownership and four recent projects.
Canadian Roofing Contractor and Design profiled our work on the Deep Bay shellfish research field station in its January/February 2012 issue.
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