Reroofing a house near Medina Square: what to know before you start

Question one: is the house inside the district?

People say "the historic district" loosely, meaning anything old near downtown. The city means something exact. The Public Square Historic District is a mapped area of about nine blocks around Uptown Park, and separate from it the city has designated individual local landmarks. If your property is in the district or is a landmark, exterior changes need a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Historic Preservation Board before work starts. If it is neither, they do not, however old the house is.

Do not guess. The city's planning office, in the same building as the Building Department on North Elmwood Avenue, can tell you from the address. Ask that question before you ask anyone for a price, because the answer shapes the schedule for any roof replacement in Medina's oldest blocks.

Question two: what is on the roof now, and what is under it?

A house built in the 1880s or 1900s has had several roofs. The original may have been wood shingle or slate. Asphalt may have gone over it later, and a second layer of asphalt over that. From the ground all you see is the top one.

This matters because Medina's roof guidelines are specific:

• A tear-off is required with two or more layers of any type of roof covering.
• A tear-off is required if the existing covering is wood shake, slate, clay or cement tile.
• Asphalt shingles must be fastened to a solidly sheathed deck.

So an old roof near the Square is coming all the way off, and what it sits on has to be solid. Many of these houses were framed with board decking. Boards in good shape can stay. Boards with wide gaps, splits or rot are replaced or covered with sheathing so the nails have something to hold.

The layer count and the deck type can both be checked at the roof edge and from the attic. A roof inspection that includes those two photos saves a lot of surprise on tear-off day.

Question three: what will the board want to see?

If you do need a certificate, the city's residential design guidelines for roofs give the direction: keep the existing slope and form of the roof, keep historic details such as ridge caps, and when something must be replaced, match its material and profile as closely as possible.

For a house that already has asphalt shingles, replacing them with asphalt shingles keeps the material the same. Bring the shingle name and color. A written quote that names both gives you that in one page. For a house with slate, the board has heard requests to change to asphalt, and one 2023 staff report recorded a roofer's estimate that new slate would cost seven to eight times as much. That is a decision for the owner and the board. We install asphalt shingles only, so if slate must stay, a slate roofer is the right call.

Some timing facts from the city's own brochure and code:

• The board usually meets on the second Thursday of each month.
• Applications are due roughly three weeks ahead of the meeting.
• An approved certificate becomes void if work has not started within a year.

Question four: can the site handle a tear-off?

Old lots near the Square are narrow. Driveways are single width and often shared. Houses stand close to the property line, with a neighbor's porch a few feet from your eave. A roof replacement needs somewhere to put a dumpster and somewhere to land shingles.

Think through these before the day:

• Dumpster spot. The driveway is best. If the driveway cannot take it, ask the city what it requires before a container goes on the street.
• Neighbors. Tarps and plywood protect the house next door as well as your own beds. A word in advance helps.
• Parking. On-street spaces near downtown fill early. Trucks need a place that does not block anyone in.
• Porches and bays. Lower roofs catch what falls from upper ones. They get covered first and shingled last.

Question five: what about the chimney and the gutters?

Almost every older house here has at least one brick chimney. Reroofing without replacing its flashing is the most common shortcut on old houses and the most common cause of leaks a year later. Budget for new step and counter flashing, as the chimney flashing page describes. If the mortar is loose or bricks are spalling, see a mason first so the new flashing has something sound to seat in.

Gutters deserve a look too. Hung gutters can be replaced with the roof. Gutters built into the cornice are another trade, and their condition should be known before shingles are laid above them.

A sensible order of events

1. Confirm with the city whether the address is in the district or a landmark.
2. Get the roof inspected and photographed, including layers, deck and chimney.
3. Get a written quote that names the shingle and color.
4. If needed, apply for the certificate and attend the board meeting.
5. Have the roof permit in place through the Building Department.
6. Schedule the install.

Because our written price is good for a year, steps four and five do not put the price at risk. Everything that goes into a Medina roof replacement is listed on the main page, and the Public Square area page has more on the district itself.