If you're wondering how roof rejuvenation works before you book it, here's the honest, plain-language version — the actual BGR process, step by step. Roof rejuvenation (you'll also see it called shingle preservation, restoration, or a roof maintenance treatment) puts lost oils back into aging asphalt shingles so they stay pliable and hold their granules longer. At Bright Green Roof Saskatoon, that means a plant-based Shingle Preservation Oil that soaks into the shingle, backed by ASTM testing and a clear 5-year-per-application guarantee. This post walks you through exactly what happens, from the first estimate to the day we pack up.
Step 1: The aerial estimate — we plan and price before we climb
The process starts without anyone setting foot on your property. We use an aerial view of your home to trace the outline around your roof and get its total square footage. That's it — square footage only. We're not mapping hips, valleys, or vents; we just need the total area so we can plan the job and put a real price to it.
We call this "we plan and price before we climb." You get a straight, upfront number without a pushy in-person sales visit, and the job is planned and priced before anyone ever shows up at your door.
Step 2: The drone inspection — verifying your roof is a candidate
Square footage tells us how to price the job. It doesn't tell us whether your roof should be treated at all. That's the next step, and it's where a lot of the honesty in this business lives.
Before we commit to treating a roof, we look at it closely — often with a drone — to check its real condition. Rejuvenation is preventative maintenance for a sound, aging roof: one that's watertight and structurally fine but starting to dry out, fade, and shed granules. If a roof is too far gone — widespread cracking, missing shingles, active leaks, rot in the decking — no amount of oil will bring it back, and we'll tell you that plainly. Saying "this one's past saving" is sometimes the right answer, and we'd rather give you that than sell you a treatment that won't deliver.
Borderline cases genuinely need an in-person look. You can't reliably diagnose a roof from a single photo, and we won't pretend otherwise. If you want to know the warning signs to watch for yourself first, we've broken those down in 7 signs your asphalt shingles need rejuvenation.
Step 3: Getting the roof ready (prep only — no repairs)
BGR does preparation and application, not roofing repairs. On treatment day, the first job is prep. Our local team clears loose debris from the roof surface — using a blower that lifts leaves and grit while preserving the shingle's own surface granules — and covers and pre-wets anything in the spray zone: windows, skylights, and nearby landscaping.
Here's the short homeowner checklist for treatment day. Most of it is simple, and — importantly — you don't need to be home for it:
- An outdoor water tap turned on and accessible
- An outdoor power outlet live and accessible
- Vehicles moved away from the edge of the house (park upwind)
- Outdoor belongings grouped together so we can cover or pre-wet them
- Pets indoors during the treatment
- Irrigation and sprinklers off for at least 12 hours beforehand — the roof needs to be dry
We cover skylights and windows in the spray area and remove those coverings once the oil has absorbed.
Step 4: The application — a penetrant that soaks in
This is the part people picture when they think "roof treatment," and it's worth being precise about what it is and isn't.
Our Shingle Preservation Oil is a penetrant, not a coating. A coating sits on top of the shingle like paint and can trap moisture or peel. Our oil does the opposite — it absorbs down into the shingle to replenish the natural oils that prairie UV and freeze-thaw cycles have driven out over the years. That's what restores pliability: the shingle goes back to behaving more like it did when it was newer, better able to bend and give with Saskatchewan's brutal temperature swings instead of cracking under them.
The application itself is straightforward. One of our team works from the roof with a handheld spray wand on a hose that runs down to a pump and tank on the ground or a work trailer in the driveway — nothing bulky sits on your roof. Start to finish, a typical treatment takes about 2–3 hours, not a whole day. We can work the timing around your schedule, and Saskatoon's long summer daylight gives us a generous window.
The product is 100% bio-based and non-toxic — a plant-based, USDA Certified Biobased oil that's biodegradable and safe around kids, pets, and plants once absorbed.
Step 5: Soak-in, drone verification, and your 5-year warranty
The oil starts absorbing immediately after we leave. The majority saturates within about 3–6 hours, and it keeps soaking in deeper over roughly the following week. You'll often see the shingles darken and even out in colour as they take the oil up.
Under the hood, this is the same behaviour Shingle Preservation Oil has shown in the manufacturer's ASTM testing. Absorption was measured using the ASTM D570 water-absorption method; treated shingles passed a pliability bend test (ASTM D3462), bending without cracking; and granule adhesion held up strongly under brushing (ASTM D4977). We'd rather point to that data than lean on adjectives — because "proven" should mean something you can point to.
When the job's done, you don't just get our word for it. A drone gives an independent, timestamped visual record of what was actually treated — a genuine trust tool, not a marketing flourish, so you can see the work rather than take it on faith.
Every application comes with a 5-year guarantee per application, and that warranty is transferable if you sell your home — a meaningful hand-off for a buyer, and a reason preservation is worth a look if you're preparing to list. A roof can be treated for up to three applications over its life — provided preservation is started while the roof is still in good shape — which is how the treatment keeps adding years. Each application carries its own five-year guarantee; we don't roll those together into one long guarantee.
Is roof rejuvenation right for your roof?
The whole point of the process is roof life extension: caring for a roof that's still in good shape so you get more years out of it, at a fraction of the cost of a full replacement — and keeping a roof's worth of asphalt shingles out of a Saskatchewan landfill in the process. It's preventative maintenance in the truest sense: protect it while it's in good shape, before the drying-out compounds.
If you're weighing your options, our guide on roof rejuvenation vs. replacement walks through when each one genuinely makes sense.
The only way to know for sure is to have someone look. If your asphalt-shingle roof is sound but aging, we'll tell you honestly whether it's a candidate — and if it isn't, we'll tell you that too. Visit https://bgrsask.com for a free, no-pressure assessment across Saskatoon and the surrounding area.