Roofing in South Windsor, CT

What is different about roofing a barn or tobacco shed in South Windsor?

A barn roof is big, often simple in shape and high off the ground. There are few chimneys or dormers, but the surface is large, so a small flaw repeated over the whole roof can add up. A leak above stored hay, equipment or a workshop can cost more than the roof does.

Metal roofing is the question that comes up most on these buildings. Metal sheds snow readily and its seams and fasteners need to be right. No local price is sourced for it, so none is given here. Our metal roofing page describes the types and the questions to ask a contractor.

Tell the roofer what the building is used for, how tall it is and whether anything stored inside is sensitive to a leak. A roofer will want to know about access, since a tall barn roof is not a job for a ladder and a homeowner.

What do old tobacco sheds ask of a roofer?

Tobacco sheds were built for a crop, not a family, and the town's farm history is still visible in them. Whether a given shed gets a new roof, a repair or nothing is the owner's call. What a roofer can tell you is what shape the roof deck is in and whether the structure under it will hold new material.

If you own one, tell the roofer how it is used now, whether the walls and frame are sound and whether you plan to keep the shed's appearance. Ask for the scope in writing. A roofer who has only worked on houses may or may not be the right fit, and it is fair to ask what agricultural or outbuilding roofs they have done.

Be careful with any advice that skips a look at the building. Sheds can look sound from the road and have rotted boards at the eaves, or look rough and be fine. A roofer on site can tell you which, and a documented inspection can help you decide. Read our roof inspection page for what one covers.

What about the houses in the Windsor Farms Historic District?

The Windsor Farms Historic District covers the historic center and surrounding farmland. For a house inside it, ask the town building office whether any review applies before you choose materials, and tell the roofer you are in the district. Our page on roofing for historic homes lists the questions.

A full re-roof requires a building permit under the 2022 Connecticut State Building Code. Minor repairs typically do not. Permit rules differ by town, so confirm with the South Windsor building office. Connecticut limits asphalt shingles to two layers (IRC R908.3).

How do suburban South Windsor houses age?

Beyond the old center, the housing is mostly later suburban, so asphalt shingle is the common covering. Those roofs age in the usual ways: granules wash into the gutters, edges curl, flashing at chimneys and walls loosens and the eaves collect ice.

Hartford-area weather averages about 49 inches of snow a year, with January lows near 22 F. When low-20s temperatures hold for several days with several inches of snow on the roof, heat from the attic melts the snow and the water refreezes at the eaves. The standard defense is attic insulation of R-49 to R-60 and sealing the attic air leaks. See asphalt shingle roofing for how a replacement is done.

How do farm and suburban calls differ on the phone?

A suburban caller usually describes a stain on a ceiling. A farm caller more often describes a roof they can see from the yard: a sheet that has lifted, a gap, daylight in a hayloft. Either way, the useful details are the same. Say what the building is, where you are in ZIP 06074 and what you can see from the ground.

The line connects you with an independent local roofing contractor who serves your part of Hartford County. The contractor sets the price and does the work, and a roofer comes when one is free. Nobody can promise an arrival time. Connecticut requires a written contract for jobs over $200, and registered Home Improvement Contractors can be checked in the CT eLicense database.