Part H · the register

Before You Change a Visible Roof Detail, Check the Address

Some Kirkwood roofs receive local historic review, so confirm the property's status before choosing materials or changing visible details.

A roof replacement in Kirkwood can involve more than selecting a shingle and obtaining a building permit. If the house is a designated city landmark, an exterior alteration may require review by the Kirkwood Landmarks Commission. A house inside a local historic district may also be affected when the project includes demolition, new construction, or changes covered by the district guidelines. The useful first step is simple: check the exact address before the roofing scope is finalized.

This is an address-specific question. An older appearance does not prove that a house is legally designated, and a newer-looking house may sit inside a local historic district. The City of Kirkwood publishes landmark listings, district maps, and design guidelines on its Historic Preservation page. That city record is more useful than a real estate description, neighborhood name, or assumption based on the age of the house.

Town roofing

Kirkwood recognizes individual landmarks and local historic districts. The city currently identifies nine local districts: Barrett Brae, Central Place, Craig Woods, Jefferson-Argonne, Meramec Highlands, North Taylor, Savoy, Sugar Creek Ranch, and West Argonne. It also maintains a separate list of designated city landmarks.

Those local designations should not be confused with the National Register of Historic Places. Kirkwood states that its National Register designations are honorary. Local designation is the one connected to the city's review authority. A property can appear in a National Register district without being subject to the same local process, so the homeowner should identify which list and which map contain the address.

For a designated landmark, the city says exterior alterations are subject to Landmarks Commission review. The commission reviews demolition and new construction on landmark sites and within local historic districts. When review applies, the commission issues a Certificate of Appropriateness before the related building permit can be obtained. Applications go through the city's public portal, and complete packets are due two weeks before the relevant Wednesday meeting date. Confirm the current deadline with the city because meeting schedules can change.

A straightforward tear-off that returns the roof to the same form and appearance is different from a project that changes the house. The question becomes more important when the work alters any of these visible parts:

• The roof shape, pitch, overhang, or front-facing roofline
• A dormer, including its size, placement, cladding, or trim
• Decorative rafter tails, brackets, rake boards, or exposed framing
• A chimney that is shortened, removed, rebuilt, or covered
• The profile or placement of gutters and downspouts
• A visible change from one roofing material or pattern to another
• A new roof opening, skylight, vent, or mechanical feature visible from the street

Kirkwood's general design guidance favors keeping the original roof shape, pitch, overhangs, brackets, and ornamental woodwork. The Central Place guidelines, for example, recommend retaining original roof forms and significant features such as dormers and decorative rafter tails. They also identify composition asphalt shingles as common in the district. That does not mean every Kirkwood house must receive the same shingle. It means the proposed material, pattern, and visible details should be checked against the guidance for the actual property.

This matters during estimating because several decisions can be hidden inside the phrase "replace roof." A roofer may plan to wrap exposed trim in metal, close an open soffit, remove an unused chimney above the roofline, replace half-round gutters with a different profile, or simplify a difficult flashing detail. Each change may be practical from a construction standpoint, but the city's review can turn on how it affects the building's exterior character.

Tell each bidder that the property may be designated before asking for a final number. The roofing proposal should separate ordinary roofing work from possible carpentry, masonry, gutter, and architectural-detail work. It should also state which items remain unchanged. That gives the homeowner a scope that can be compared with the applicable city guidance.

What it costs

Historic status does not create one standard roofing surcharge. The cost depends on what the roof requires. A tear-off and replacement with an accepted asphalt shingle may differ little from comparable work elsewhere in Kirkwood. The price changes when the project requires custom metal, repair of shaped trim, rebuilding of a dormer, reproduction of a gutter profile, chimney masonry, or careful removal around details that must remain.

The largest pricing mistake is allowing an uncertain detail to disappear inside a single total. Ask for separate prices or written unit rates where the condition cannot be confirmed before tear-off. Examples include replacement of deteriorated fascia behind an old gutter, repair of exposed rafter tails, damaged boards around a chimney, and roof decking that is not visible during the initial inspection.

Older Kirkwood roofs may have plank decking rather than modern sheet decking. The freeze thaw cycle can also expose weak masonry joints and aging flashing around chimneys. Ice damming at an eave may have damaged the lower deck even when the shingles above look serviceable. None of those conditions is created by historic review, but preserving an existing roof form can make the repair more deliberate and labor intensive.

Material selection also belongs in the written price. Keys Roofing installs Atlas and Malarkey shingles. The proposal should name the manufacturer, product line, color, underlayment, ice and water membrane locations, ventilation work, flashing work, and gutter work rather than describing the roof only as an architectural shingle system. If the commission or city staff needs a product sheet or color information, a named product makes that review easier.

Do not order materials solely to hold a color until the address has been checked and any required review is understood. A return charge, restocking charge, or delayed crew date can cost more than spending a few minutes confirming the property's status before the order is released.

What to ask

Start with the city, not with a guess from the contractor. Give Kirkwood staff the complete street address and describe the actual work. "Replacing shingles" may not be enough if the plan also changes gutters, dormer trim, a chimney, or a roof opening. Ask these questions:

1. Is this property a designated city landmark?
2. Is it inside a local historic district, a National Register district, or both?
3. Does this exact scope require a Certificate of Appropriateness?
4. Which design guidelines apply to this address?
5. What drawings, photographs, samples, or product sheets must accompany the application?
6. May ordinary weatherproofing work proceed while a visible design change is under review?
7. What is the next submission deadline and meeting date?

Then ask the roofer to mark the visible changes on photographs. A useful photo set shows every roof plane from the ground, the front elevation, both side elevations, dormers, chimneys, valleys, gutters, downspouts, and decorative eave details. Close photographs should show the condition of wood, masonry, flashing, and penetrations. Measurements should identify roof area, pitch, eave length, ridge length, and gutter length.

The written scope should answer whether existing roof details stay, get repaired, or get replaced. Words such as "as needed" are not enough for a conspicuous historic feature. Ask what material will be used, what profile it will have, who performs the work, and how a price change will be approved if concealed deterioration appears after tear-off.

Also ask who is responsible for submitting information to the city. The homeowner may remain the applicant even when the contractor supplies measurements, product sheets, and photographs. Keep copies of the application, approved drawings, product information, written decision, permit, inspection record, and final invoice together. If a color or detail changes after approval, ask the city whether the revision needs review before installation.

Weather still controls the immediate roofing decision. An active opening should be made watertight. Hail season can expose damage that was not visible from the ground, and winter ice can push water beneath vulnerable eave materials. Emergency protection is not permission to redesign a visible roof feature, however. Stabilize the opening, photograph the condition, and separate temporary protection from the permanent scope.

For a Kirkwood roof assessment, Keys Roofing can document existing conditions and prepare a written scope with photographs and measurements. Call (314) 220-2333. Before materials are ordered, provide the exact address and any city guidance already received so the proposed roof reflects both the building and the local review that applies to it.