What it actually takes to re-roof a house in Swansea — 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.
Swansea runs to about 6.47 square miles and roughly 14,445 people. It sits about 12 miles east of downtown St. Louis. There are around 6,444 housing units here, and every one of them has a roof with a clock on it. The community dates back to 1886. We cover ZIP code 62226.
We have not logged a completed roof in Swansea yet. We would rather say so than put a number on this page that is not real.
The typical home in Swansea dates to around the early-1990s. A house of that vintage has usually been through two roofs, and the one on it now is often the second — which means it is old enough to be checked rather than assumed.
Despite incorporating in 1886, Swansea's housing stock is a later 20th-century Metro East bedroom-suburb build-out rather than a preserved 19th-century core.
Swansea (originally "New Swansea") incorporated on December 20, 1886 specifically so residents could avoid annexation by Belleville.
Housing from this stretch in Swansea sits on plywood or OSB decking and was largely first roofed with three-tab shingles. Most are on their second covering by now. The things worth checking are the penetrations rather than the field: pipe boots from this era are the single most common leak we trace, because the rubber collar splits long before the shingles wear out. Ridge venting was inconsistent through these years, and OSB that has been damp for a season goes soft in a way plywood does not — you find it with your feet, not from the ground.
The Village publishes a 'Permit By Fax Application for Plumbing, Electrical, and Reroofing' — reroofing is an explicitly named permit type with an expedited fax route.
Swansea enforces the 2006 IRC. Village Code Section 150.023 revises 'the International Residential Code, 2006' through addition, insertion or change, per Ordinance 1887 passed August 17, 2020.
The published number is 618-234-0044. The building official on record is Dan Thomas, Building & Zoning Director (618-722-2207; dthomas@swanseail.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.
Swansea borders Fairview Heights, Belleville, O'Fallon and Shiloh. These are the ones we also cover, each with its own permit rule and code edition:
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. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belleville | Not published | Not published | 618-233-6817 |
| Fairview Heights | Not published | Not published | 618-489-2060 |
| O'Fallon | Not published | Not published | 618-624-4500 |
Free inspection, a written scope, and photos you keep either way.
The Village publishes a 'Permit By Fax Application for Plumbing, Electrical, and Reroofing' — reroofing is an explicitly named permit type with an expedited fax route.
Swansea enforces the 2006 IRC. Village Code Section 150.023 revises 'the International Residential Code, 2006' through addition, insertion or change, per Ordinance 1887 passed August 17, 2020.
The typical home in Swansea dates to around the early-1990s, 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 Swansea, and we would rather say so than put a number on this page that is not real.
Illinois licenses roofing contractors statewide under 225 ILCS 335, so any roofer working here needs a current IDFPR roofing licence. Missouri, across the river, does not licence roofers at the state level at all.
Permit and code details for Swansea 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.swanseail.org · codelibrary.amlegal.com · www.swanseail.org · www.swanseail.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.