Roofing in Dogtown, St. Louis

The neighborhood was built up by working families, and the houses show it: sturdy brick and frame bungalows, two-family flats and a few shotgun-style homes packed close together. Many have a front dormer, a chimney or two and a back porch roof tied into the main roof. That's a lot of flashing for a small house.

The problems we get called about most often are worn step flashing along dormer walls, chimney flashing that was patched with tar instead of replaced, and valleys where shingles have worn thin. On older roofs we also find two or three layers of shingles stacked on the original board decking. Those boards often have gaps and old nail holes, so when we tear off, we check every section and replace what won't hold a nail.

The streets near Forest Park and along Tamm Avenue have mature trees. Leaves and seed pods pile up in valleys and gutters, hold moisture against the shingles and send water back under the edge of the roof.

A lot of Dogtown roofs can be repaired. If the shingles still lie flat and hold their granules and the problem is one chimney or one valley, fixing that spot is the right call. We'd rather do that repair and be the company you call in ten years than sell you a roof you don't need yet.

Replacement starts to make sense when you see several of these together:

• Shingles curling, cracking or missing in more than one area
• Bare spots where granules have washed off
• Soft or sagging spots you can feel when walking the attic
• Leaks coming back after they've been repaired
• Two or more layers of shingles already on the house

If it's time, we tear the roof off down to the deck so we can see the boards, fix what needs fixing and install new underlayment, flashing and ventilation along with the shingles.