The Biggest Roofs We Have Ever Built

When we landed the North Island Hospitals Project, we knew we were dealing with something different. Bigger in square footage, yes, but also bigger in scope, complexity, and what was riding on every decision. As a hospital roofing contractor BC healthcare builders rely on, we work under standards that leave no room for shortcuts. This project is the clearest proof of that.

The two builds ran in parallel: Campbell River Hospital at 348,000 square feet and Comox Valley Hospital in Courtenay at 428,700 square feet. Combined, 776,700 square feet across two sites. That is the largest contract in company history. Two major healthcare facilities being roofed simultaneously, each with its own site managers, crews, logistics, and safety protocols.

Hospital Roofing Contractor BC: What the Work Actually Demands

A hospital roof carries obligations a warehouse or shopping centre does not. Multi-ply membrane roofs with extensive insulation throughout. Every curb, every flashing, every joint sealed against rain, wind, and contamination routes that could affect patient care. Infection-control standards shape how crews sequence work, how materials get staged, and how penetrations are detailed and sealed.

Both sites included heliport structures. The roofing around those zones has its own load requirements and safety considerations. The Campbell River and Comox Valley sites each had different phasing timelines and site constraints, but the standard was identical: work done correctly, on schedule, under conditions where any delay carries consequences for hospital operations and construction budgets.

Managing Two Major Sites at Once

The logistical load of running two large sites in parallel is real. We were coordinating materials for 776,700 square feet of roofing, scheduling crane lifts, managing mechanical penthouses, fabricating flashings and parapet caps, and keeping both crews on schedule without conflicts in supply or timeline.

Comox Valley Hospital came in at 428,700 square feet. Campbell River at 348,000 square feet. Both required architectural sheet metal beyond the membrane: flashings, parapet caps, and integration with mechanical systems. The scale of that work shows whether a contractor is built for it or is stretching beyond what the team can handle.

We have been a roofing and sheet metal contractor since 1980, serving Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast. RCABC-accredited. We completed the VIU Shellfish Research Centre, a 13,200-square-foot curved metal roof that earned the 2011 Metalmag Architectural Award in the Roofing Category. We finished the North Island College Student Housing Commons at 106,868 square feet across two mass-timber buildings in Courtenay. None of that fully prepares you for the scale of the North Island Hospitals Project, but it builds the systems and the team that can handle it.

Coastal Conditions, Healthcare Standards

Vancouver Island winters bring heavy rain and sustained wind. Salt spray corrodes details on coastal projects. A membrane system on a healthcare facility has to stay watertight under those conditions for decades, because moisture tracking into patient-care areas is unacceptable.

Maintenance access, mechanical curbs, and penetrations were all planned with the hospital's long-term operations in mind. When the maintenance team needs to access roof systems years from now, the details should be clean and the membrane still performing.

Getting materials to two active construction sites, coordinating deliveries around hospital construction phases, working with site managers who each had their own schedules: that is the operational backbone of a project this size. Our crews in Campbell River and Comox Valley knew the sites, knew the weather, and knew what a healthcare building envelope requires.

If you are planning a major healthcare or institutional build on Vancouver Island or the Sunshine Coast, call us at 250-336-8088. Estimates are free and include a detailed list of the work to be done and the materials used.