Roof Replacement in Hudson, Ohio off Darrow Road and Streetsboro Street
Most Hudson homes sit on side streets off its two state routes, in subdivisions built from the 1970s through the 1990s. Their roofs age together, one street at a time.
Quick facts
- Housing
- Colonials and contemporaries from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Census survey data puts about 66 percent of Hudson's housing in those three decades.
- Roofs
- Medium to large gable and hip roofs. Older ones started as 3-tab, newer ones as early architectural shingles.
- Permits
- No city zoning certificate is needed to reroof outside the Historic District. Building permit questions go to Summit County in Akron.
- How pricing works
- Your roof is measured by the owner, and the flat written figure that follows does not change for a year.
Which part of Hudson is this?
The broad middle. State Route 91 runs north and south through town, as Main Street at the center and Darrow Road below it. State Route 303 runs east and west as Streetsboro Street. The two cross at the Green. Nearly every subdivision in the old township hangs off one of them or off a road that meets them, such as Barlow Road to the south.
These streets filled in fast. The Hudson Heritage Association records that the combined population of the village and township went from 8,395 in 1970 to 17,128 in 1990, and that by January 1990 more than 25 subdivisions were under construction in the township at once. The village and township became one city in 1994.
The housing count tells the same story. In the Census Bureau's American Community Survey, about 21 percent of Hudson's homes date from the 1970s, 22 percent from the 1980s and 23 percent from the 1990s. The median home was built in 1981.
How old is the roof on a house from each decade?
Roofs do not keep the same calendar as houses, but the decade of the house is a strong hint.
| House built | Likely roof history | What to expect now |
|---|---|---|
| 1970s | Original 3-tab, then one or two reroofs | Depends on the last reroof date. Check for a second layer. |
| 1980s | Original 3-tab, reroofed around 2000 to 2010 | Second roof often at or past 20 years |
| 1990s | Original roof replaced, or about to be | First reroof may now be mid-life, or the original is overdue |
If you bought the house without paperwork on the roof, the attic and the shingle type usually give its age away. That is part of what a free roof inspection in Hudson tells you.
What wears out roofs on these streets?
Complex roof lines. Builders in the 1980s and 1990s sold houses on curb appeal: stacked front gables, a turned garage, dormers over the porch. Every one of those adds valleys and wall joints.
Trees that grew up. A sapling planted beside a new house in 1985 is a full shade tree now. Add the woods many subdivisions back up to and you get slopes that rarely dry out, where moss and dark algae streaks spread.
Vent boots and flashing. The rubber and metal details from a reroof done around 2005 are reaching the end even where the shingles look passable. Those are often a simple roof repair.
Thin attic ventilation. Many homes of this period were built with a few box vents and little else. A hot attic shortens shingle life, which is one reason every replacement here gets a ridge vent.
Do neighbors on the same street need roofs at once?
Often, yes. A street built by one builder over two or three summers got the same shingles within a few years of each other, and those roofs tend to fail within a few years of each other too. When two or three dumpsters show up on your street in one season, it is a fair sign your own roof deserves a look.
It is not a reason to rush. A neighbor's roof may have faced south with no shade while yours sat under oaks, or the other way around. The rating on your report is about your roof alone. Our guide on when a 1990s Hudson roof is due goes through the signs in order.
Do these subdivisions need a permit for a new roof?
For the city's part, no zoning certificate is required to reroof a house outside the Historic District, according to Hudson's Community Development department. Its office is at 1140 Terex Road. For building permits the city directs residents to the Summit County Building Department on East Tallmadge Avenue in Akron.
Many subdivisions also have deed covenants or an association. If yours does, look for any rule on roof color before you pick one. Options are described on the architectural shingles page, and what a full job includes is on the roof replacement in Hudson page.
Questions from Hudson's subdivisions
My Hudson house was built in the 1980s. Is the roof original?
Almost surely not. Builder shingles from that decade rarely made it past 25 years, so most 1980s homes have been reroofed once already. The question now is how old that second roof is.
Why do so many roofs on my street get replaced the same year?
Because the houses were built together. Streets that went up within a few summers of each other got similar shingles at a similar time, and those roofs reach the end of their life close together.
Is there moss on my roof because of the trees?
Most likely. Moss needs shade and moisture, and slopes under mature trees stay damp long after rain. It lifts shingle edges over time, so a mossy slope is worth having inspected.
Is your street's turn coming?
Find out before a leak tells you. The owner inspects, rates the roof and sends photos, all at no charge.