Santa Clara County · Silicon Valley
Commercial Roofing in Santa Clara County: Silicon Valley R&D, Industrial and HOA Roofs
Commercial and HOA roofs across Santa Clara County: San Jose · Santa Clara · Sunnyvale · Milpitas · Mountain View.
- Free roof condition report
- Good, better and best bid options
- Certificate of insurance within 24 hours of request
The county's building stock at a glance
The California Department of Finance counts 214,929 housing units in buildings of five or more units and 73,204 single-attached units in Santa Clara County, population 1,932,468 (January 1, 2026). That's the largest 5+ unit total of the six counties we serve, narrowly ahead of San Francisco's 212,514, but spread across 15 cities instead of one.
Concrete tilt-ups from the 1960s through the 1980s, with low-slope roofs, are typical of the valley's industrial and R&D areas.
Illustrative image, not a completed project.
R&D space by submarket
Kidder Mathews, Silicon Valley R&D, Q3 2026. Submarkets inside Santa Clara County:
| Submarket | R&D square feet |
|---|---|
| San Jose | 38.3 million |
| Sunnyvale | 13.2 million |
| Santa Clara | 13.0 million |
| Milpitas | 8.0 million |
| Mountain View | 7.8 million |
| Palo Alto | 4.7 million |
Kidder's Silicon Valley total of about 109 million square feet also includes Fremont, which is in Alameda County, so it isn't a county figure. Most of this space sits under low-slope roofs carrying rooftop HVAC.
Permits differ by city. Here's what we've confirmed
Each city runs its own building department, and the thresholds aren't the same:
| Where | Who issues | What we've confirmed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| San José | City of San José | A permit once 25% or more of the roof is replaced or repaired; re-roof permits for commercial and industrial properties can be applied for online | Bulletin #201 (06/12/2025); SJPermits.org |
| Sunnyvale | City of Sunnyvale | A permit when more than 100 square feet of roof covering is installed, repaired or replaced; apply through E-OneStop | sunnyvale.ca.gov, Permits |
| Milpitas | City of Milpitas, Office of Building Safety | Any repair, replacement, alteration or recovering of roofing materials needs a permit, issued only to the owner or an authorized agent; pre-reroof, in-progress (with rigid insulation or new decking) and final inspections | Milpitas “Re-Roof (Commercial)” handout (01/01/2026) |
| Mountain View | City of Mountain View, Building Division | Roofing repairs under 100 square feet are exempt. The streamlined reroof permit is for single-family homes and duplexes, and ePermits doesn't take commercial applications, so a commercial re-roof needs a standard building permit | City of Mountain View FAQ; ePermits |
| Unincorporated areas | County of Santa Clara, Department of Planning and Development | Apply through the Public Permit Portal; reroof inspections are listed as RR02 Progress and RR03 Sheathing Nailing, with FI01 to close the permit | County Planning and Development, Schedule an Inspection |
The contrast is real: on a large roof, a 300-square-foot repair can need a permit in Sunnyvale but fall under San José's 25% threshold. Permit applicability is reviewed for your specific project during scoping rather than assumed.
Climate: drier and hotter than the bay shore
NOAA's 1991–2020 normals put the San Jose station at 13.48 inches of rain a year and Moffett Federal Airfield at 13.45, compared with 18.68 at Oakland's airport and 19.64 at SFO. The National Weather Service reports that about 82% of San Jose's rain falls from November through March.
The valley cities are mostly in Title 24 climate zone 4; San Jose is the California Energy Commission's reference city for the zone. Qualifying nonresidential low-slope re-roofs need a CRRC-rated cool roof and, over conditioned space, generally R-23 continuous insulation (BayREN). Confirm the zone for an address with the CEC's climate zone tool. Our Title 24 re-roof guide walks through the trigger, the cool roof values and the insulation rule.
Less rain means more sun: UV and heat age membranes and coatings, so reflectance and coating condition matter here as much as leak response. See restoration and coatings.
Cities we cover
San Jose
The largest R&D submarket in Silicon Valley (38.3 million square feet, Kidder Mathews) and 100,820 units in 5+ unit buildings (DOF).
Santa Clara
13.0 million square feet of R&D with about 687,000 under construction (Kidder Mathews), much of it tilt-up and flex with office, warehouse and process space under one roof.
Sunnyvale
About 1.0 million square feet of R&D under construction (Kidder Mathews), and the 100-square-foot permit threshold.
Milpitas
8.0 million square feet of R&D (Kidder Mathews), and a city handout that requires a permit for any roof repair.
Mountain View
21,133 units in 5+ unit buildings (DOF) and 7.8 million square feet of R&D (Kidder Mathews).
Services across the county
Repair & leak response
Leak tracing from the interior location back to the roof, with temporary and permanent repairs.
Replacement
Tear-off or recover, with each city's permit rule and the climate zone 4 Title 24 requirements in the scope.
Restoration & coatings
A reflective coating on a sound roof, based on a moisture survey and an adhesion test.
Inspections & condition reports
A free roof condition report with photos, findings and options.
Preventive maintenance
A fall visit before the rains and a spring visit to catch winter damage.
TPO roofing
The most common re-roof system on the valley's tilt-ups and R&D buildings.
Who we work with
Property managers
One roofer across a multi-city portfolio, with a COI within 24 hours of request.
HOA boards & community managers
Board-ready good, better and best options for associations across the county.
Owners & facility teams
A straight repair, coat or replace answer for R&D, office and industrial buildings.
Neighboring county
Alameda County: north across the county line, Fremont's R&D and industrial buildings look a lot like the South Bay, while Oakland's airport gets about 39% more rain. See commercial roofing in Alameda County.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Commercial Roofing Inc. repairs, inspects, coats and replaces commercial and HOA roofs across Santa Clara County, including San Jose, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Milpitas and Mountain View. Each city runs its own building department, so permit requirements are reviewed for each project. Call (408) 770-5992 or request a bid.
No. Each city sets its own. San José requires a permit once 25% or more of a roof is replaced or repaired, while Sunnyvale requires one when more than 100 square feet of roof covering is installed, repaired or replaced. Unincorporated properties go through the County's Department of Planning and Development.
The County of Santa Clara's Department of Planning and Development, through its Public Permit Portal. The county lists specific reroof inspections, a progress inspection and a sheathing nailing inspection, plus a final inspection to close the permit. Inspections can be requested online, through its virtual inspection platform or by phone.
Most valley cities, including San Jose, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, Milpitas and Mountain View, are in climate zone 4, where qualifying nonresidential low-slope re-roofs need a CRRC-rated cool roof and, over conditioned space, generally R-23 continuous insulation. Confirm by address with the California Energy Commission's climate zone tool.
Less than around the bay shore. NOAA's 1991–2020 normals put San Jose at 13.48 inches a year and Moffett Field at 13.45, compared with 18.68 at Oakland's airport. Most of it falls November through March, so fall inspections catch problems before the leak season.
Let's get started
Request a bid for a Santa Clara County building
Tell us the city, the building type and what you need. Bid invites and plans are welcome. For an active leak, call.
- (408) 770-5992Calling is fastest for an active leak