St. Cloud, Minnesota
Detailed Asphalt Roofing in St. Cloud, MN
There is real pre-1940 housing stock in St. Cloud, roughly 261 buildings from the 1880s through the 1950s in the Southside district alone, plus the Craftsman bungalows Pan Motor built in Pantown in 1917 and 1918. Those roofs are steep in the field and nearly flat over the porches, and the shingle is the least interesting decision on the job.
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Ice dams start where the pitch changes
Pull three layers off a Southside roof and you are usually looking at one by six plank decking with gaps between the boards, some of it split around a century of nail holes. Shingles need something to bite. We sheet over the planks or replace boards where they are gone, and we say which before the tear-off, not after. The other thing these houses do is dam: a steep main pitch drops onto a nearly flat porch or dormer return, meltwater slows at the transition and backs up under the courses. Shingles do not belong on those low sections at all, and a membrane there is the fix. Five local historic districts cover much of this stock, so exterior work falls under the city's preservation rules. Owners weighing a longer lasting option ask about metal roofing for the porch roofs, and it is a fair thing to compare before you commit.
Asphalt Roofing in St. Cloud
What a century old roof here needs
Plank decking dealt with honestly
One by six boards with gaps and a century of nail holes will not hold a fastener everywhere. We either sheet over the planks or swap the bad boards, and you see the deck before it is covered.
Porch returns get a membrane
A nearly flat porch or dormer return is below the slope any shingle is rated for. Putting asphalt there is why it leaks again in a few years. Those sections get a flat roof membrane instead.
Ice and water at the transitions
Meltwater stalls where a steep main pitch meets a shallow return, and that is where the dam forms. Membrane runs through those transitions and well up the valleys, not just the first courses at the eave.
Intake added without changing the look
Bungalow eaves were not built with soffit vents, and a district street should not sprout them. Intake can go in at the roof edge instead, which leaves the elevation looking the way it did.
Profiles that suit the block
A Craftsman bungalow with a heavy shadow line reads wrong under a thin flat shingle. Dimensional profiles and darker blends sit better on these houses, and the difference is obvious from the sidewalk.
The chimney counted in the scope
Most of these houses still have brick through the roof, used or not. New counterflashing cut into the mortar beats another bead of tar, and a dead chimney can come down below the deck line.
How we handle old houses in St. Cloud
We work inside the district rules
Barden Park, Pantown, Southside, Southeast and the Commercial District all carry preservation rules for exterior work. We plan the job around them instead of finding out halfway through.
We warn you about the plaster
Tearing off and nailing into plank decking shakes an old house. Hairline cracks in original plaster ceilings can follow, and we would rather you hear that from us beforehand than notice it after.
The estimate allows for surprises
Nobody knows what is under a 1917 roof until it is open. The written estimate carries a decking line and a flashing line, so a discovery is a known item rather than a phone call.
We photograph what gets covered
Deck, membrane, flashing and the transitions all disappear under shingles. You get pictures of each stage, which is the only way to know the work under your roof was actually done.
Sometimes the roof is not the problem
Ice dams on these houses are often an attic that leaks heat, not a shingle that failed. If new shingles will not fix your dam, we will tell you and say what would.
What people near St. Cloud say
From sales to construction crew to upper management, they helped make an insurance battle a breeze. This is the best contractor interaction I have ever had.
Jim NormanRoof replacement Orange Exteriors did an excellent job with my new roofing install. Very professional, on time and hard working crew. Completed the job in one day.
Dick JohnsonRoof installation We live in Eden Prairie. Orange did an excellent job on our siding replacement and provided great customer service all the way through.
Thomas DeSutterSiding replacement, Eden Prairie, MN
Districts, decking and porch returns
What people in St. Cloud ask us about this work. If yours is not covered, call and ask.
Can I re-roof a house in a St. Cloud historic district?
Yes, with the city's preservation rules in the picture. Five districts are locally designated, Barden Park, Pantown, Southside, Southeast and the Commercial District, and exterior work inside them falls under those rules. In practice that shapes profile and color more than it stops the job. We plan the material around it before anything is ordered.
Why do ice dams form over my porch but not the main roof?
Because the porch is where the pitch runs out. Water coming off a steep main roof hits a nearly flat return, slows down, and refreezes at the transition instead of running to the gutter. That shallow section needs a membrane rather than shingles, and the transition needs ice and water shield carried well past it.
Do old St. Cloud houses need new decking under the shingles?
Often some of it. Houses from the 1880s to the 1950s were built with plank decking, and after three layers and a century of nails, parts of it are split or spongy. Sheeting over the planks with new sheathing is common on these roofs and gives the fasteners something solid. We price the decking as its own line so nothing is a surprise.
Ask about your St. Cloud roof
Send us the address and the age of the house. We will get on the roof, look at the porch returns and the decking, and write up what the district and the weather both require. No obligation.
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Tell us what is going on with your roof, siding, windows, or gutters. We will take a look and give you a straight answer, including when the answer is that you can wait.
- Phone(612) 600-8529
- Emailadmin@orange-exteriors.com
- Office6600 City West Pkwy Suite 375, Eden Prairie, MN 55344
- HoursOpen 24 hours, Sunday to Saturday
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