Roofing for Granite City homes: replacement, leaks and storm damage. In Granite City, the 2012 IRC is in force and 92% of the 12,854 homes were built before 2000. Any permit the job needs is ours to pull.
Granite City runs to about 20.58 square miles and roughly 27,549 people. It sits about 6 miles north of downtown St. Louis. The community dates back to 1896. We cover ZIP code 62040.
No completed roof in Granite City is logged in our job records yet.
Granite City's housing includes an early-1900s steel-industry layer in neighborhoods like Wilson Park, with turn-of-the-20th-century homes, and Lincoln Place, first settled around 1906 by immigrant steelworkers and once called 'Hungary Hollow.' It also has later 20th-century construction.
We work across Granite City rather than one corner of it — Downtown, East Granite, West Granite, North Granite, Nameoki Strip, Bellemore, Wilson Park, Lincoln Place and Granite Park included. Age and construction change between them, which is why we look before we quote.
A 'massive flood' in 1903 covered all of West Granite while the rest of the city stayed relatively dry. The city's levee system protected it from the 1993 Great Flood.
The postwar housing in Granite City is mostly simple 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.
Granite City has 12,854 homes in the Census Bureau's count and a median year built of 1957. 2,978 of them (23%) went up before 1940 — 8th of 48 places on this site for pre-1940 share — and 1,054 (8%) in 2000 or later. The 1950s were the busiest decade, adding 3,151 of today's homes (25%). Across Madison County the pre-1940 share is 15%, so Granite City sits above it.
The rule of thumb from Missouri's Department of Commerce and Insurance is a useful life of usually about 25 years for a roof. On that yardstick the 11,800 homes in Granite City built before 2000 (92%) have outlived at least one roof; 9,654 of them (75%) predate 1970, old enough for two replacements already. First replacements are arriving on the 751 homes built in the 2000s, while the 303 built since 2010 are mostly still on the roof they were built with. Older houses are where a second layer laid over the first turns up, and that layer is what hides soft decking.
81% of homes in Granite City are single-family detached houses (10,471) and 2% attached ones such as townhouses (234). 1,356 homes (11%) sit in two- to nine-unit buildings and 739 (6%) in buildings of ten units or more, where a resident rarely gets to choose the roofer. The count also takes in 54 mobile homes, which are a different kind of roof job. 73% of occupied homes are owner-occupied, 27% rented. On a housing mix like this, the likely work is full tear-offs on houses past two roof lives and deck and flashing checks on pre-war board sheathing.
| Built | Homes | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before 1940 | 2,978 | 23% | |
| 1940s | 1,099 | 9% | |
| 1950s | 3,151 | 25% | |
| 1960s | 2,426 | 19% | |
| 1970s | 1,175 | 9% | |
| 1980s | 494 | 4% | |
| 1990s | 477 | 4% | |
| 2000s | 751 | 6% | |
| 2010s | 278 | 2% | |
| 2020 or later | 25 | 0% |
Census ACS 2020–2024, tables B25034, B25035, B25024 and B25003: 12,854 homes, 11,562 occupied. Survey estimates.
Between 2016 and 2025 there were 14 reports of 1-inch-plus hail within 5 miles of Granite City’s center in the records of NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center, on 10 separate days. 5 of them were 1.75 inches or larger. The largest, 3.75 inches, came on March 14, 2024, about 4.6 miles southwest of the center. The most recent was 1 inch on May 16, 2025. These are reports, not a full record: they come from spotters and the public, so busier areas log more.
| Latest reports | Size | From center |
|---|---|---|
| May 16, 2025 | 1 inch | 2.8 mi NE |
| May 16, 2025 | 1 inch | 2.5 mi NE |
| May 16, 2025 | 1 inch | 1.4 mi E |
| May 26, 2024 | 1.75 inches | 4.3 mi E |
| March 14, 2024 | 1 inch | 2.3 mi SW |
If one of those storms crossed your street and nobody has been on the roof since, a storm inspection photographs what it did.
The city says 'anyone wishing to renovate, remodel or add onto their business or home will need to apply for a building permit when making significant changes to the structure,' but does not name roofing. We confirm the re-roof permit requirement with the city before work starts.
Granite City enforces the 2012 IRC. Per the city's Building & Zoning FAQ, the city enforces the 2018 International Building Code, the 2012 International Existing Building Code and Residential Code, the 2012 International Mechanical Code, the 2012 International Property Maintenance Code, the 2011 National Electrical Code, the 2006 International Fire Prevention Code, and the current Illinois State Plumbing Code and Illinois Accessibility Code. That pairs a 2018 building code with a 2012 residential code, and another city page says the IBC was 'adopted by the Granite City, City Council by ordinance in 2005,' so the city's published information does not fully agree. We confirm the code edition with the city before work starts.
The published number is 618-452-6218. Granite City 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.
Wind 115 mph (ultimate) and ground snow 20 psf, the same across the metro; see the roofing code guide for what they govern.
Also in Madison County:
| City | Re-roof permit | Code | Median built |
|---|---|---|---|
| Granite City | Not published | 2012 IRC | 1957 |
| Alton | Not published | 2021 IRC | 1953 |
| Collinsville | Yes | 2021 I-Codes | 1971 |
| Edwardsville | Not published | 2021 IRC | 1986 |
| Glen Carbon | Not published | Not published | 1990 |
All 5 Madison County cities side by side →
The city says 'anyone wishing to renovate, remodel or add onto their business or home will need to apply for a building permit when making significant changes to the structure,' but does not name roofing. We confirm the re-roof permit requirement with the city before work starts.
Granite City enforces the 2012 IRC. Per the city's Building & Zoning FAQ, the city enforces the 2018 International Building Code, the 2012 International Existing Building Code and Residential Code, the 2012 International Mechanical Code, the 2012 International Property Maintenance Code, the 2011 National Electrical Code, the 2006 International Fire Prevention Code, and the current Illinois State Plumbing Code and Illinois Accessibility Code. That pairs a 2018 building code with a 2012 residential code, and another city page says the IBC was 'adopted by the Granite City, City Council by ordinance in 2005,' so the city's published information does not fully agree. We confirm the code edition with the city before work starts.
Median year built 1957, by the Census Bureau's 2020–2024 estimates. Of 12,854 homes, 11,800 were built before 2000 and 2,978 before 1940, so most roofs in Granite City are not the first one the house has had.
14 reports of 1-inch-plus hail fell within 5 miles of Granite City between 2016 and 2025, the biggest 3.75 inches on March 14, 2024 (NOAA Storm Prediction Center).
Not yet: no completed roof in Granite City is in our job records, so this page shows no job count.
Researched 2026-09-09; housing, Census ACS 2020–2024; hail, NOAA SPC. Sources: www.granitecity.illinois.gov · www.granitecity.illinois.gov · www.granitecity.illinois.gov · library.municode.com · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · data.census.gov · www.spc.noaa.gov. Rules and staff change; check with the jurisdiction.
