Delano, Minnesota
Dependable Maintenance Plans in Delano, MN
The oldest roofs on our route sit downtown in Delano, behind 1880s brick storefront parapets, on decks that have been repaired by four or five different hands. The South Fork Crow River runs through town, and the low streets near it carry damp that higher ground never sees. Twice a year on those buildings is not fussy, it is the difference between a patch and a deck.
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The river sets the fall schedule downtown
Downtown roofs here are low slope behind a brick parapet, drained to an interior leader that runs down inside the building. That pipe is the whole game. River bottom trees along the South Fork Crow drop enough leaf and seed to plug a strainer in two weeks, and when a leader backs up the water rises against a wall rather than pouring off an edge where somebody would notice. Our fall visits are timed to that: strainers pulled and cleared, parapet caps checked, flashing looked at where a steep older roof ties into a flat one. Freeze and thaw does the rest, opening seams over a deck that may be original board. When a probe comes back soft over a wide area, a commercial certified roof assessment maps the wet before anyone tears anything open, which matters on a building this old.
Maintenance Plans in Delano
What an 1880s downtown roof needs
Interior drains and leader lines
A downtown roof that drains through the building hides its own trouble. We pull and clear the strainers each fall and watch for the slow backup that shows as a stain on an inside wall.
Old board decks probed, not guessed
Roofs on pre 1940 buildings often sit on plank decking with a century of patches over it. We probe for soft spots on each visit so a repair is sized to what is actually rotten.
Snow sliding onto the flat roof
Snow that slid off a steep older roof piles on the flat one behind it. In March that pile melts into the one part of the roof with no fall to it, so we look there first.
Damp from below, not just above
On the low streets near the river a roof assembly dries slower and the air inside sits wetter. We watch insulation there rather than assuming every wet spot came from the top.
Downspouts that dump at the wall
Shallow eaves on the older blocks throw water close to the building, and near the river that ground is already damp. We check extensions and the leaders that carry water away from the wall.
A small building gets a small plan
Downtown here is a block of small buildings, not a warehouse district. A plan on a storefront roof is one thorough visit, a drain clearing and a short list, and that is all it needs to be.
How we work on old downtown buildings
We check the ordinance first
The floodplain rules changed in June 2024 and they reach buildings never mapped as flood prone. Before a repair turns into an improvement, we find out which rules apply.
Access planned before we arrive
Most of these roofs are reached off an alley or through the building. We work that out ahead of the visit rather than moving trucks around downtown at nine in the morning.
Family run and faith based
On buildings this old that mostly means telling you what we would do if the roof were ours, including doing nothing this year and looking again in the spring.
Quotes before anything gets fixed
Routine work is in the plan. Anything past it gets quoted and approved before we touch it, so nothing turns up after the fact that you did not agree to.
We come out during the melt
March is when these roofs tell the truth. We will make an extra trip during the thaw if a building has a history, because that is when you can see where the water goes.
What people near Delano say
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 Fantastic guys to work with, did an excellent job of fixing our siding. You can tell it’s a high integrity company. Definitely recommend.
Carolyn MillerSiding repair The crew arrived early and spread tarps all around the house to capture every bit of debris. By 3:00 PM, my entire roof was completely finished.
Hazel JamesRoof replacement, Minneapolis, MN
Downtown Delano roof questions
What people in Delano ask us about this work. If yours is not covered, call and ask.
Does the new Delano floodplain map affect roof work downtown?
It can. The FEMA maps that took effect June 20, 2024 and the ordinance the city adopted two days earlier pull in buildings that were never mapped as flood prone. Routine maintenance is not the issue. Where a repair turns into a substantial improvement, the ordinance has something to say, and it is better to know before the tear off starts.
How often do the drains on an old downtown building need clearing?
Twice a year at minimum, and in Delano the fall visit is the one that counts. River bottom trees drop leaf and seed heavily through October, and an interior leader can plug in a couple of weeks. If a building sits under heavy canopy, a third clearing in late November is honest advice rather than an upsell.
Our building is small. Is a plan worth it?
Downtown Delano is small buildings, not a warehouse park, so the plan is small too: one or two visits, drains cleared, a look at the parapet and the tie ins, and a written list. On an 1880s building with an old deck that is usually enough to keep a repair from turning into structural work.
Get the drains cleared before October
Call us or send the address and we will walk the roof, pull the strainers and write down what the parapet and the tie ins look like. Free, and 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
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