What it actually takes to re-roof a house in Union — 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.
Union runs to about 9.03 square miles and roughly 12,348 people. It sits about 50 miles southwest of downtown St. Louis. There are around 5,530 housing units here, and every one of them has a roof with a clock on it. The community dates back to 1826. We cover ZIP code 63084.
We have not logged a completed roof in Union yet. We would rather say so than put a number on this page that is not real.
The typical home in Union dates to around the late-1990s. Most of these homes are at or past the first replacement. If yours still has its original roof, it is living on borrowed time.
, consistent with the city's fastest population-growth period of 2000-2010 — housing skews toward 1990s-2000s suburban construction.
Union is the Franklin County seat (designated 1827), sited on the Bourbeuse River; population grew from 402 in 1880 to 12,348 by 2020.
Housing from this stretch in Union 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 city states building permits are required for 'all residential and commercial construction and remodeling projects within the City' but does not name re-roofing. Notably the application instructions ask for truss plans 'if roofing is involved,' which suggests roof work is within scope.
Union enforces the 2021 IRC. 2021 edition ICC codes: Building, Residential, Existing Building, Plumbing, Mechanical, Fuel Gas, Property Maintenance and Energy Conservation, plus NEC 2020 as amended. Page last updated February 2024. Details in Chapter 500 of the municipal code.
The published number is 636-583-1805. Union does not publish the building official's name, so this page does not name one. Plenty of sites will show you one anyway. 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.
Elsewhere in Franklin 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. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pacific | Not published | Not published | 636-271-0500 |
| Washington | Not published | 2021 IRC | 636-390-1000 |
Free inspection, a written scope, and photos you keep either way.
The city states building permits are required for 'all residential and commercial construction and remodeling projects within the City' but does not name re-roofing. Notably the application instructions ask for truss plans 'if roofing is involved,' which suggests roof work is within scope.
Union enforces the 2021 IRC. 2021 edition ICC codes: Building, Residential, Existing Building, Plumbing, Mechanical, Fuel Gas, Property Maintenance and Energy Conservation, plus NEC 2020 as amended. Page last updated February 2024. Details in Chapter 500 of the municipal code.
The typical home in Union dates to around the late-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 Union, 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 Union 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.unionmissouri.gov · www.unionmissouri.gov · ecode360.com · cms4files.revize.com · 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.