What it actually takes to re-roof a house in Brentwood — whether the city wants a permit, which code edition applies, who to call at the building department, and how old the housing here really is. No sales copy dressed up as local knowledge.
Brentwood runs to about 2.0 square miles and roughly 8,144 people. It sits about 8 miles southwest of downtown St. Louis. There are around 4,442 housing units here, and every one of them has a roof with a clock on it. The community dates back to 1919. We cover ZIP code 63144.
We have not logged a completed roof in Brentwood yet. We would rather say so than put a number on this page that is not real.
The typical home in Brentwood dates to around the mid-1950s. A house of that vintage has usually been through two or three roofs. It is also old enough that what is under the shingles matters as much as the shingles: plank decking, older flashing details, and layers someone went over rather than tore off.
Predominantly built during the 1950s postwar boom (about 36% of homes).
Originally called Maddenville, the area incorporated as a village in 1919 -- largely to avoid annexation by Maplewood -- and became a city in 1929; it is one of the most densely populated inner-ring suburbs in St. Louis County, with a median housing construction year of 1956.
The postwar housing in Brentwood is mostly straightforward to roof, which is why it gets done badly so often. Decking is usually 1x6 boards or early plywood, still sound but worth walking rather than assuming. The recurring problems are the low-slope sections — porch roofs, carport tie-ins, the flat bit over an addition — where a shingle was installed below its rated pitch and has been failing quietly ever since. Attic ventilation on houses of this era is also routinely short of what current shingle warranties require, and under-venting cooks a roof from underneath. We measure intake against exhaust before we quote rather than just nailing on a ridge vent and calling it solved.
The city's Building & Occupancy Permits page says 'Exterior alterations to homes, except for decks, window replacements, fences and roof shingles, must be reviewed...' — that exemption is from architectural/design REVIEW, not necessarily from the permit itself.
Brentwood enforces the 2024 IRC. City Code Section 500.210(A) adopts the International Residential Code, 2024 Edition. The city follows the 2024 ICC family generally, per Building Code Ordinance 5204.
The published number is 314-963-8602. The building official on record is John Benisch, Chief Building Official (314-963-8607). The department page is here.
Permitting is on us, not on you.
Unlike some states, Missouri does not assign each municipality its own wind and snow numbers — these are metro-wide.
| Criterion | Figure | What it drives |
|---|---|---|
| Ultimate design wind (Vult) | 115 mph | Fastener schedule and the manufacturer wind rating we specify |
| Nominal design wind (Vasd) | 89 mph (derived, not published locally) | The allowable-stress figure older specs quote |
| Ground snow load | 20 psf | Structure, and how much the eaves hold in a freeze-thaw |
| Frost depth | 30 in | Footings, not roof covering |
| Seismic design category | C residential / D commercial | Lateral bracing and structural connections — not shingles |
What each of these actually does to a roof, why New Madrid does not change how shingles go on, and the difference between the code minimum and the manufacturer minimum on nails per shingle, are all in the St. Louis roofing code guide.
Brentwood borders Richmond Heights. These are the ones we also cover, each with its own permit rule and code edition:
Elsewhere in St. Louis County we also cover:
Missouri sets none of this at state level, so a specification that was right one municipality over is not automatically right here.
| City | Permit for a re-roof | Adopted code | Building dept. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Affton | Yes | Not published | 314-615-5184 |
| Ballwin | Yes | 2015 I-Codes (2024 I-Codes proposed for 2026) | 636-227-2129 |
| Chesterfield | Not published | 2015 IBC / 2015 IRC | 636-537-4000 |
| Clayton | Not published | 2021 IRC | 314-290-8463 |
| Creve Coeur | Not published | 2009 IRC | 314-872-2500 |
| Des Peres | Not published | 2018 I-Codes | 314-835-6100 |
| Ellisville | Not published | 2015 IRC | 636-227-9660 |
| Eureka | Not published | 2018 IRC | — |
| Florissant | Not published | 2021 IRC | 314-839-7648 |
| Kirkwood | Not published | 2021 IRC | 314-822-5823 |
| Manchester | Not published | Not published | 314-615-5184 |
| Maryland Heights | Yes | 2021 IRC | 314-291-6550 |
| Mehlville | Yes | Not published | 314-615-5184 |
| Oakville | Yes | Not published | 314-615-5184 |
| Richmond Heights | Not published | Not published | 314-646-7658 |
| Unincorporated St. Louis County | Yes | Not published | 314-615-5184 |
| Town and Country | Yes | 2018 I-Codes (2024 I-Codes pending) | 314-587-2820 |
| University City | Not published | 2018 IRC | — |
| Webster Groves | Not published | 2015 IBC family | 314-963-5300 |
| Wildwood | Not published | Not published | — |
Free inspection, a written scope, and photos you keep either way.
The city's Building & Occupancy Permits page says 'Exterior alterations to homes, except for decks, window replacements, fences and roof shingles, must be reviewed...' — that exemption is from architectural/design REVIEW, not necessarily from the permit itself.
Brentwood enforces the 2024 IRC. City Code Section 500.210(A) adopts the International Residential Code, 2024 Edition. The city follows the 2024 ICC family generally, per Building Code Ordinance 5204.
The typical home in Brentwood dates to around the mid-1950s, so most roofs here are on their second or third covering rather than their first. That figure is an ACS-derived median republished by housing-data services, not a survey of individual roofs.
Not yet. We have no completed roof logged in Brentwood, and we would rather say so than put a number on this page that is not real.
Missouri has no state-level roofing contractor licence. Licensing and registration are imposed municipally, and several St. Louis metro cities require it. Illinois does licence roofers statewide, so a contractor working the Metro East needs an IDFPR roofing licence.
Permit and code details for Brentwood come from the jurisdiction's own published pages and codified ordinances. Population, housing and neighbourhood detail come from census data and the sources below; housing-age figures are ACS-derived medians republished by housing-data services, so treat them as approximate. Sources: www.brentwoodmo.org · www.brentwoodmo.org · ecode360.com · ecode360.com · en.wikipedia.org · censusreporter.org · www.point2homes.com. Municipal staffing, phone numbers and adopted code editions change — confirm with the jurisdiction before relying on anything here.