What it actually takes to re-roof a house in Richmond Heights — 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.
Richmond Heights runs to about 2.29 square miles and roughly 9,096 people. It sits about 7 miles west of downtown St. Louis. There are around 4,612 housing units here, and every one of them has a roof with a clock on it. The community dates back to 1913. We cover ZIP code 63117.
We have not logged a completed roof in Richmond Heights yet. We would rather say so than put a number on this page that is not real.
Residential development began in the 1890s-1910s: developer Frederick Neisen acquired land in 1892, and John Rankin Dyer developed 120 acres after the 1904 World's Fair; the city incorporated in 1913.
That includes Hadley Township. Housing age and construction shift across Richmond Heights, sometimes by decades within a few streets, which is why we look at the roof before we quote rather than after.
Hadley Township was a Black neighborhood established in 1907 as workers' housing for the Evens & Howard Fire Brick Co.; annexed by Richmond Heights in 1918, it survived multiple redevelopment threats but was demolished in 2014 under a blight/eminent-domain study to make way for a Menards, with a historical marker placed in 2019.
Houses of this age in Richmond Heights were sheathed with solid board decking rather than plywood, and boards move. Plank gaps open up, nails back out, and a shingle fastened into a gap has nothing holding it. We also expect original step and counter-flashing at chimneys and walls — often the real leak while the shingles look fine — and more than one house on a street like this has two or three roofs stacked on it because someone went over rather than tore off. That matters: layers hide the decking, add weight, and void most manufacturer warranties. If there is original slate or tile anywhere on the property, it wants a different conversation than an asphalt tear-off.
Richmond Heights does not publish a clear answer either way on whether a like-for-like roof covering replacement needs a permit. We confirm it with the department before we start, every time, and we pull whatever is needed as part of the job. We would rather write that here than guess on your behalf.
Richmond Heights has not published the edition it currently enforces anywhere we could verify, so this page does not name one. Editions across the metro run from the 2006 IRC to the 2024 IRC, which is a genuinely wide spread — worth asking your contractor which one they are building to.
The published number is 314-646-7658. The building official on record is James Benedick, Building/Zoning Administrator (jbenedick@richmondheights.org). 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.
Richmond Heights borders St. Louis City. 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 |
| Brentwood | Not published | 2024 IRC | 314-963-8602 |
| 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 |
| 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.
Richmond Heights does not publish a clear answer either way. We confirm it with the building department before starting and pull whatever is required.
Not yet. We have no completed roof logged in Richmond Heights, 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 Richmond Heights 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.richmondheights.org · www.richmondheights.org · ecode360.com · ecode360.com · en.wikipedia.org · censusreporter.org · www.richmondheights.org · en.wikipedia.org · www.city-data.com. Municipal staffing, phone numbers and adopted code editions change — confirm with the jurisdiction before relying on anything here.