Roof replacement, leak repair and hail & storm damage for homes in Imperial. In Imperial, the 2015 IRC is in force and 65% of the 1,960 homes were built before 2000. It starts with a free inspection that photographs every slope.
Imperial runs to about 6.03 square miles and roughly 4,407 people. It sits about 20 miles south of downtown St. Louis. We cover ZIP code 63052.
No completed roof in Imperial is logged in our job records yet.
Imperial was originally known as West Kimmswick. Today it surrounds, but does not include, the separately incorporated city of Kimmswick. Its eastern edge is the Mississippi River and the Illinois state line.
Housing from this stretch in Imperial 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 Census Bureau counts 1,960 homes in Imperial, with a median year built of 1990. 83 of them (4%) went up before 1940 — 27th of 48 places on this site for pre-1940 share — and 688 (35%) in 2000 or later. The 2000s were the busiest decade, adding 389 of today's homes (20%). (Jefferson County as a whole: 3% before 1940.)
About 25 years is the usual working life of a roof, by the figure Missouri's insurance department publishes. That puts 1,272 homes in Imperial, the 65% built before 2000, past at least one full roof life, and 21% (410 homes) go back before 1970, two roof lives and more. The 389 homes from the 2000s are where first replacements come up now, while the 299 built since 2010 are mostly still on the roof they were built with.
86% of homes in Imperial are single-family detached houses (1,687) and 0% attached ones such as townhouses (0). 34 homes (2%) sit in two- to nine-unit buildings and 93 (5%) in buildings of ten units or more, whose roofs are normally an owner's or a board's call rather than a resident's. The count also takes in 146 mobile homes, which are a different kind of roof job. 93% of occupied homes are owner-occupied, 7% rented. With houses like these, the jobs we expect most are first replacements on 2000s builder-grade shingles and hail checks on newer roofs that look fine from the driveway.
| Built | Homes | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before 1940 | 83 | 4% | |
| 1940s | 11 | 1% | |
| 1950s | 143 | 7% | |
| 1960s | 173 | 9% | |
| 1970s | 174 | 9% | |
| 1980s | 387 | 20% | |
| 1990s | 301 | 15% | |
| 2000s | 389 | 20% | |
| 2010s | 109 | 6% | |
| 2020 or later | 190 | 10% |
Census ACS 2020–2024, tables B25034, B25035, B25024 and B25003: 1,960 homes, 1,835 occupied. Survey estimates.
Between 2016 and 2025 there were 10 reports of 1-inch-plus hail within 5 miles of Imperial’s center in the records of NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center, on 3 separate days. 2 of them were 1.75 inches or larger. The largest, 1.75 inches, came on March 14, 2025, about 2 miles north of the center. These are reports, not a full record: they come from spotters and the public, so busier areas log more.
| Latest reports | Size | From center |
|---|---|---|
| March 14, 2025 | 1.25 inches | 1.3 mi NE |
| March 14, 2025 | 1.5 inches | 2.9 mi S |
| March 14, 2025 | 1.75 inches | 1.3 mi N |
| March 14, 2025 | 1.25 inches | 4.1 mi SE |
| March 14, 2025 | 1 inch | 4.3 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.
Jefferson County's amendments to the 2015 IRC add this to the list of work exempt from permits (Section R105.2): 'Single family residential roof replacement, replacement roofing that involves the shingles, the underlayment and/or the sheathed decks.' A single-family re-roof in unincorporated Jefferson County, including Imperial, does not need a building permit, even when the sheathing is replaced.
Imperial enforces the 2015 IRC. Jefferson County Code Chapter 500, Article III, Section 500.400 adopts the 2015 International Residential Code, with amendments. The county's amendments include Ordinance No. 23-0465, effective 11-16-2023.
We could not find a published number for the building department, so this page does not print one. Imperial 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.
Imperial borders Arnold, Barnhart and Kimmswick. Our pages for them:
Also in Jefferson County:
| City | Re-roof permit | Code | Median built |
|---|---|---|---|
| Imperial | No | 2015 IRC | 1990 |
| Arnold | Not published | 2021 IRC | 1977 |
| Festus | Not published | Not published | 1983 |
All 3 Jefferson County cities side by side →
Jefferson County's amendments to the 2015 IRC add this to the list of work exempt from permits (Section R105.2): 'Single family residential roof replacement, replacement roofing that involves the shingles, the underlayment and/or the sheathed decks.' A single-family re-roof in unincorporated Jefferson County, including Imperial, does not need a building permit, even when the sheathing is replaced.
Imperial enforces the 2015 IRC. Jefferson County Code Chapter 500, Article III, Section 500.400 adopts the 2015 International Residential Code, with amendments. The county's amendments include Ordinance No. 23-0465, effective 11-16-2023.
Median year built 1990, by the Census Bureau's 2020–2024 estimates. Of 1,960 homes, 1,272 were built before 2000 and 83 before 1940, so most roofs in Imperial are not the first one the house has had.
Yes. The most recent report of hail 1 inch or larger within 5 miles of Imperial's center was 1.25 inches on March 14, 2025, one of 10 such reports from 2016 through 2025.
Not yet: no completed roof in Imperial 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: ecode360.com · ecode360.com · www.jeffcomo.gov · www.jeffcomo.gov · en.wikipedia.org · www.bestplaces.net · data.census.gov · www.spc.noaa.gov. Rules and staff change; check with the jurisdiction.
