Roof replacement in West Hartford, CT

West Hartford grew fast in the 1920s. Researchers at Trinity College point to that decade's sharp population growth as the reason the town adopted zoning when it did, and the houses from those years still define its streets: Colonial Revivals, Tudor Revivals and American Foursquares, many of them built with real slate and copper.

The West Hill example

The West Hill Historic District is a small, well-documented snapshot of the town's 1920s building. Its National Register nomination describes 25 architect-designed houses on about 11 acres, all but two built in the early to mid-1920s. Fourteen are Colonial Revival, nine are Tudor Revival and two mix both styles. Most are masonry, and 20 of the 25 have slate roofs.

That ratio says a lot about the rest of West Hartford's older neighborhoods. Houses from this period often were built with slate, and the ones that now have shingles usually had their slate removed at some point. Either way, the framing, chimneys and copper details were designed around a heavy, long-lived roof.

Questions to settle on an older West Hartford house

1. Is the slate actually done? Ask for photos. Worn nails and flashing can make good slate look like a failed roof.
2. What is under the shingles? Shingle roofs that replaced slate sometimes sit on the original plank decking, which may need new sheathing.
3. How will the chimneys be flashed? Brick chimneys on masonry houses need counter-flashing let into the mortar joints.
4. What happens to the copper? Copper valleys, gutters and built-in gutters may be reused, replaced, or swapped for aluminum. Decide before the proposal is written.
5. Does the house need commission approval? Inside a local historic district, a material change needs it first.

Newer West Hartford houses

Postwar Capes, ranches and later Colonials fill the northern and western parts of town. These are usually straightforward asphalt shingle replacements, where the decisions are about ventilation, eave membranes and shingle color.