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Historic Home Roofing in Staunton, VA

Roof work on houses inside Staunton's downtown historic districts, where exterior changes are reviewed before work begins.

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  • Repairs and full replacements
  • Ice at the eaves, wind and hail damage
  • Historic-district, metal and slate roofs

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Historic Home Roofing

Historic Home Roofing: what it covers

Quick answer

Historic home roofing is roof work on houses inside Staunton's downtown historic districts, where the city's Historic Preservation Commission reviews exterior work. The six districts are Beverley, Wharf, Stuart Addition, Gospel Hill, Newtown and The Villages. Staunton Roofing connects callers with a local technician, and the price and the review timing are confirmed on site.

Historic Home Roofing illustration for Staunton, VA

A roof on a historic house in Staunton is part of its street face. Beverley's roughly 150 buildings mostly date from the 1870s to the 1920s, in styles that include Italianate, Romanesque Revival, Federal and Beaux-Arts, and each style carries its own roof form and trim. Changing a roof on one of those houses changes what the street looks like from the sidewalk.

Gospel Hill was listed on the National Register on 14 February 1985 and covers about 68 acres with about 180 contributing buildings, mostly residential. Newtown counts 414 contributing buildings, primarily residential. Those numbers describe the character of the districts, and a roof on any one of those buildings is part of what makes the district count.

Exterior work in the districts goes to the Historic Preservation Commission for review. This page explains which roof details usually matter in that review, how to start the conversation before a crew is booked, and what a homeowner can check. It does not set out the commission's rules or its certificate steps, which were not confirmed for this page.

Service area
Staunton & Staunton city
Availability
Phones answered 24/7
Warning signs

Signs you need historic home roofing

An older roof in a district is steep and often fragile. Do not walk a slate, wood or aged metal roof, and keep off trim that is loose or decayed. A crew with fall protection and the right ladder should handle any work at the eave or on the ridge.

  • Original slate or wood shingle that is splitting, slipping or delaminating at the nail line
  • Decorative metal cresting, brackets or gutters that have bent or pulled away from the cornice
  • A chimney with a cracked crown or loose flashing where the stack meets the roof
  • Rot in the trim at a gable or dormer where water has run behind the flashing
  • Later patches of roofing that do not follow the original line of the roof
  • A ridge or valley line that sags where the historic framing is working
Options

Types and options for historic home roofing

Repair of an original roof

A targeted repair to an older covering and its flashing, keeping the original roof line and the character of the trim.

Re-covering in a compatible material

A replacement that keeps the roof's form and suits the district's review. The material is chosen once the commission's view of the address is known.

Porch and secondary roofs

Porch roofs and rear additions are exterior work as well, and their pitch and visible edges are reviewed in the same way as the main roof.

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Who reviews a roof change in a Staunton historic district?

The city's Historic Preservation Commission reviews exterior work in the downtown historic districts, and a roof change on an exterior is part of that review. Confirm with the city before you order materials or book a crew, because the review decides which materials and details are acceptable at that address.

The commission's review was described in one recent meeting record, where the decision for that case was an approval. A decision for one roof is not a rule for another, so each address is confirmed separately.

Bring photographs, a note of the roof's current condition and the proposed materials to the review. Clear pictures of the existing trim and roof line make the discussion easier to follow for everyone.

Which roof details matter most on a historic house in Staunton?

The roof line, the pitch, the gables and dormers, the chimneys and the visible trim are what a review looks at most. Those features give a district street its character, so a change to any of them needs a clear reason. Repair keeps the line, while replacement can change it.

Because the district styles differ, a roof that suits one house can look wrong on another. The house's own style is the starting point for any decision about its roof.

The scale of the districts is why one roof still matters. Gospel Hill, listed on 14 February 1985, has about 180 contributing buildings, and Newtown counts 414. A single change repeated across a street changes the whole street.

Can an older roof in a district be repaired rather than replaced?

Often, yes. Repair keeps the original roof line and trim, and a targeted fix to flashing, a section of covering or a chimney is usually simpler to explain at review than a full change. Whether repair is enough depends on the condition of the roof and the commission's view of the address.

A repair that keeps the existing material and profile is the simplest case to describe. A repair that changes the visible line, such as a different ridge or a new dormer edge, will need to be shown at review.

Keep a record of every repair with its date and photographs. Those records help the next owner, and the commission, see how the roof has changed over time.

Our process

How our historic home roofing visit works

  1. Confirm the district and the address

    The first step is to confirm whether the address sits inside one of the six downtown districts. The commission's review applies there, so that check comes before any material is chosen.

  2. Document the existing roof and its details

    Photographs of the roof, its trim, the cresting and the flashing are kept, because the review and the crew both work from what is there now.

  3. Agree the materials with the review in view

    Materials, profiles and visible metal are chosen with the review decision in hand. A roof that changes the historic line of the house is harder to approve than one that keeps it.

  4. Keep the original trim and record the repair

    Historic trim, cresting and brackets are repaired where they can be saved, and any piece that is replaced is recorded with photographs so the work can be checked later.

Staunton city

Why historic home roofing is different in Shenandoah Valley

The six downtown districts named in the local record are Beverley, Wharf, Stuart Addition, Gospel Hill, Newtown and The Villages. Each sits under the same exterior review, although the buildings and dates in each differ.

Gospel Hill and Newtown are described as mostly residential, so many roofs in those districts sit on family houses. The homeowner starts the review, which makes the first call a call to the city.

Where we work

Historic Home Roofing across Staunton city

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Related

Roof Replacement

A new roof on an older Staunton house, from the deck check through the ice barrier to the finished ridge.

Metal Roofing

Standing seam and panel metal roofs for Staunton houses, including the review steps that apply in the historic districts.

Slate Roof Repair

Single-slate replacement and nail and flashing repair on natural slate roofs in Staunton, with the review step checked first.

Shingle Roof Replacement

A new asphalt shingle roof on a Staunton house, with the underlayment, the eave barrier and the nail pattern specified up front.

Guides

Read before you book

FAQ

Historic Home Roofing FAQs

Do I need approval to replace the roof on a house in a historic district?

Possibly. Exterior work in the downtown districts is reviewed by the city's Historic Preservation Commission, and a roof change is part of that work. Confirm with the city before you order materials.

Can I use a modern material on a historic roof?

That is a question for the review. The commission decides what it can approve at a given address, so the material is chosen after the review view is known rather than before.

What if my house is just outside a district?

The commission's review may not apply there, and the city or county building office is the place to check the address. Ask the office directly rather than assuming from a neighbour's experience.

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