Roof replacement in Medina, Ohio's 1990s and 2000s subdivisions

When were Medina's subdivisions built?

Look at the census and you can see the roofs going on. Medina counted 15,307 residents in 1980, 19,231 in 1990 and 25,139 in 2000. The 1990s added nearly 6,000 people, more than any decade before or since. Growth slowed after that, with about 1,500 more by 2010. Those newcomers moved into new streets at the edges of the old town.

City records show the pattern. Medina's council accepted the plat for Montville Farms, Phase I, in 1990, and further phases followed. Similar neighborhoods filled in on every side of town through the next fifteen years. A house finished in 1995 has a roof that is now past thirty years old if it was never replaced, or a second roof that is in its first decade.

What is the typical subdivision roof?

The Medina colonial of that period has a main gable running side to side, one or two smaller gables facing the street, and a garage wing whose roof ties into the house. Roof sizes commonly fall between 22 and 30 squares. The pitch is steep enough to look good from the curb and, on many, too steep to walk in comfort.

Three details on these houses deserve a close look.

The garage valley

Where the garage roof meets the main roof, a long valley carries water from both. In winter, snow slides into it and sits. This is the first place we look for worn shingles and the first place ice and water shield earns its keep.

The wall above the garage

The second-story wall that rises from the garage roof needs step flashing behind the siding at every course. Builders in a hurry sometimes ran the siding tight to the shingles, which traps water and hides the flashing. A replacement is the chance to set that joint right.

Vents and boots

Many houses of this age were vented with a few square box vents near the ridge. A continuous ridge vent moves more air and has fewer holes to flash. The plumbing boots on a thirty-year-old roof are almost always cracked, whatever the shingles look like.

Why are these roofs wearing out now?

Builders of the 1990s commonly used 3-tab shingles, the flat single-layer kind, because they cost less per square. In the Midwest a 3-tab roof typically lasts 15 to 20 years. Some Medina houses have been through that cycle once and were replaced in the 2010s. Others got a heavier shingle from the start and are reaching the end only now. From the street you cannot always tell which you have. From the roof you can.

The trees are part of it too. Street trees planted when these neighborhoods were new are now tall enough to shade the roof and fill the valleys. Medina's Forestry Department and its nine-member Shade Tree Commission plan pruning and planting every year, so that canopy will keep growing.

Who issues the roof permit in these neighborhoods?

If the subdivision is inside the corporation limit, the City of Medina Building Department does. Roof is one of the residential permit types on the city's online portal. The department's published roof guidelines ask for a few specific things:

• Ice protection from the edge of the eave to at least 24 inches past the exterior wall line.
• Underlayment and attic ventilation that meet code.
• Step flashing at vertical sidewalls.
• A call 24 hours ahead for the final inspection, and for an ice protection inspection if one is required.

Some newer neighborhoods with a Medina address sit just outside the city, in a township. Fox Meadow, for one, is in Montville Township and answers to the county. See the Montville Township page and the Medina Township page if that could be you.

What about the homeowners association?

Many subdivisions from this period have one, and some have rules about roof color or shingle style. Read the covenants or ask the board before you choose. Your quote names the exact shingle line and color, which is usually all an association needs to see. Samples and the choices are covered on the Medina shingle page.

Do the builder gutters go when the roof does?

Often, yes. The spike-hung 5-inch gutters that builders put on these colonials are the same age as the shingles, and the valley above the garage overloads the corner below it. Doing both in one week lets the drip edge and gutter be fitted to each other. Details are on the roof and gutter page.

Where do you start?

With a free roof inspection. The owner drives up from North Canton, photographs the roof and rates it Good, Watch or Replace Soon the same day. If it is time, you get one flat written quote for a roof replacement in Medina, good for a year.