Roof Replacement in Louisville, Ohio's Newer Subdivisions
About three in ten homes in Louisville, Ohio, were built in 1980 or later. Their roofs are bigger and busier than a ranch roof, and on many streets the original shingles are all reaching the end together.
Quick facts
- Where
- The outer streets, including Horizon Drive, Cypress Avenue, Frana Clara Street, Sturbridge Drive, Liberty Drive and Orchard Park.
- Housing era
- 1980 to today. Census estimates count about 1,400 Louisville homes built since 1980.
- Typical roofs
- Two-story and large one-story roofs with hips, valleys, attached garages and plywood or OSB decking.
- Permit office
- City of Louisville Planning and Zoning, 215 South Mill Street, for addresses inside the city.
Where is the newer housing in Louisville?
On the edges, in every direction. Property data gives a feel for the timing. Horizon Drive on the south side has a median build year of 1989, and Cypress Avenue on the east side about 1990. Frana Clara Street on the north side has houses from the mid-1990s. Sturbridge Drive, to the northwest, centers on 2003, and Liberty Drive, to the southwest, on 2004. On the west edge of town, Orchard Park is still being built, on streets named for apples: Honeycrisp Drive, Gala Road, Fuji Road and McIntosh Drive.
The census counts 355 Louisville homes from the 1980s, 223 from the 1990s, 467 from the 2000s and about 360 since 2010.
What are the roofs on these homes like?
Builders after 1980 moved away from the plain gable. A typical house on these streets has a main roof with one or more hips, a front-facing gable or two for looks, an attached garage under its own lower roof and several valleys where all of those meet. Roof areas of 25 to 40 squares are normal. The deck is plywood or oriented strand board, there is usually a ridge vent already, and some houses have a skylight over a bath or a stairwell.
Which of these roofs are due now?
It comes down to simple arithmetic on the build year.
- Late 1980s to mid-1990s. The house is 30 to 37 years old. If it still has its first roof, that roof is past any typical service life. If it was reroofed around 2005 to 2010, the second roof is in its middle years and worth a look.
- Early 2000s. The house is in its early twenties. Builder-grade 3-tab shingles typically last 15 to 20 years in this climate, so original roofs on these streets are at or past the end. Because a builder roofed the whole street in one or two seasons, neighbors tend to need roofs in the same few years.
- 2010 and later, including Orchard Park. These roofs are young. They should need nothing but an occasional look at the pipe boots and the caulk lines. If one leaks, it is a detail, not the shingles.
The quickest way to know is a free roof inspection in Louisville, which ends with a Good, Watch or Replace Soon rating.
Where do newer roofs leak first?
- Pipe boots. The rubber collar around each plumbing vent cracks long before the shingles around it wear out. It is the most common leak on a roof in its teens.
- Valleys. More valleys mean more places for water to concentrate. Granules scour away there first, and leaves pile up where two valleys meet above a gutter.
- Roof-to-wall ends. Where a garage roof dies into the side of a two-story wall, a small diverter called a kick-out flashing should steer water into the gutter. When it is missing, water runs down behind the siding.
- Nail pops. Sheet decking moves with the seasons and can back a nail up through the shingle.
- Skylights. A unit installed with the house is the same age as the roof.
Any of these on an otherwise sound roof is a repair, not a replacement. See roof repair in Louisville and skylight and chimney flashing.
Height and a cut-up shape both show up in the price, as the roof replacement cost page explains.
What about trees and sun on newer lots?
Newer streets were often built on former farm fields, so the trees are young and the roofs sit in full sun and open wind. That is the reverse of the older blocks. South and west slopes lose granules fastest, and ridge caps take the weather. North slopes can still show dark algae streaks even with no shade at all.
Who handles roof permits for these subdivisions?
For addresses inside the city, Louisville Planning and Zoning at 215 South Mill Street. Reroofing is on the city's list of work that needs a building permit. Some edge streets sit close to the city line, so if you are not sure which side you are on, the parcel record at the Stark County Auditor shows the taxing district. Township addresses are covered on the Nimishillen Township roofing page.
If your subdivision has a homeowners association, read its rules on shingle color before you pick one. The shingles page covers the choices.
Questions about roofs in newer Louisville subdivisions
My house was built in 2003. Is the roof due?
Quite possibly. Many houses of that year were roofed with 3-tab shingles that typically last 15 to 20 years here, which puts an original roof past its expected life. An inspection will show whether yours has a few years left or not.
Do I need a new roof if only the pipe boots are cracked?
No. Cracked boots are a repair. Each one is swapped for a new boot and the shingles around it are relaid. If the shingles are also near the end, the report will say so and you can decide which way to go.
Does a brand new home in Orchard Park need a roof inspection?
Not as a routine. A roof that new should be watertight for many years. An inspection makes sense only if you see a stain, a lifted shingle or something else that looks wrong.
Whole street getting new roofs?
Find out where yours stands before you need it. One visit, photos the same day, no charge.