Roofing for Swansea homes: replacement, leaks and storm damage. In Swansea, the 2006 IRC is in force and the median home was built in 1993. Any permit the job needs is ours to pull.
Swansea runs to about 6.47 square miles and roughly 14,445 people. It sits about 12 miles east of downtown St. Louis. The community dates back to 1886. We cover ZIP code 62226.
No completed roof in Swansea is logged in our job records yet.
Although Swansea incorporated in 1886, its housing is a later 20th-century Metro East bedroom-suburb build-out rather than a preserved 19th-century core.
Swansea, originally called 'New Swansea,' incorporated on December 20, 1886, specifically so residents could avoid annexation by Belleville.
From this stretch of building, houses in Swansea sit on plywood or OSB, were first roofed in three-tab shingles, and are mostly on their second roof now. Trouble tends to be at the penetrations rather than across the field: the rubber collar on a pipe boot splits years before the shingles give out, and it is the leak we trace most often. Ridge vents were hit and miss in these decades, and OSB that stays damp for a season softens in a way plywood does not, something you feel underfoot rather than see from the yard.
Swansea has 6,175 homes in the Census Bureau's count and a median year built of 1993. 313 of them (5%) went up before 1940 — 26th of 48 places on this site for pre-1940 share — and 2,268 (37%) in 2000 or later. The 2000s were the busiest decade, adding 1,378 of today's homes (22%). That is below St. Clair County's 13%.
About 25 years is the usual working life of a roof, by the figure Missouri's insurance department publishes. That puts 3,907 homes in Swansea, the 63% built before 2000, past at least one full roof life, and the 1,516 built before 1970 (25%) are usually on a third covering or later. The 1,378 homes from the 2000s are where first replacements come up now, while the 890 built since 2010 are mostly still on the roof they were built with. At that age it pays to know whether the last roof was torn off or laid over the one before it, because a second layer hides the deck.
70% of homes in Swansea are single-family detached houses (4,302) and 5% attached ones such as townhouses (296). 385 homes (6%) sit in two- to nine-unit buildings and 614 (10%) 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 578 mobile homes, which are a different kind of roof job. Owners live in 73% of the 5,777 occupied homes. Read together, those figures point toward first replacements on 2000s builder-grade shingles and hail checks on newer roofs that look fine from the driveway.
| Built | Homes | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before 1940 | 313 | 5% | |
| 1940s | 160 | 3% | |
| 1950s | 539 | 9% | |
| 1960s | 504 | 8% | |
| 1970s | 489 | 8% | |
| 1980s | 719 | 12% | |
| 1990s | 1,183 | 19% | |
| 2000s | 1,378 | 22% | |
| 2010s | 880 | 14% | |
| 2020 or later | 10 | 0% |
Census ACS 2020–2024, tables B25034, B25035, B25024 and B25003: 6,175 homes, 5,777 occupied. Survey estimates.
Between 2016 and 2025 there were 13 reports of 1-inch-plus hail within 5 miles of Swansea’s center in the records of NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center, on 8 separate days. 2 of them were 1.75 inches or larger. The largest, 1.75 inches, came on March 14, 2025, about 5 miles northeast of the center. The most recent was 1.25 inches on April 2, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| April 2, 2025 | 1.25 inches | 4 mi NW |
| March 30, 2025 | 1 inch | 3.2 mi SW |
| March 14, 2025 | 1 inch | 4.7 mi E |
| March 14, 2025 | 1 inch | 5 mi NE |
| March 14, 2025 | 1 inch | 4.4 mi E |
Hail damage rarely shows from the ground; a storm inspection photographs each slope so you know either way.
The village publishes a 'Permit By Fax Application for Plumbing, Electrical, and Reroofing,' so reroofing is a named permit type with a faster fax-in option.
Swansea enforces the 2006 IRC. Village Code Section 150.023 revises 'the International Residential Code, 2006' by addition, insertion or change, under 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.
Swansea shares the metro's figures: 115 mph design wind, 20 psf ground snow. The code guide explains both.
Swansea borders Fairview Heights, Belleville, O'Fallon and Shiloh. Our pages for them:
| City | Re-roof permit | Code | Median built |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swansea | Yes | 2006 IRC | 1993 |
| Fairview Heights | Not published | Not published | 1972 |
| Belleville | Not published | Not published | 1962 |
| O'Fallon | Not published | Not published | 1997 |
All 4 St. Clair County cities side by side →
The village publishes a 'Permit By Fax Application for Plumbing, Electrical, and Reroofing,' so reroofing is a named permit type with a faster fax-in option.
Swansea enforces the 2006 IRC. Village Code Section 150.023 revises 'the International Residential Code, 2006' by addition, insertion or change, under Ordinance 1887, passed August 17, 2020.
The Census Bureau's 2020–2024 estimates put the median year built at 1993: 5% of Swansea's 6,175 homes predate 1940 and 37% were built in 2000 or later. At the usual 25-year roof life, 63% have needed at least one new roof already.
Yes. The most recent report of hail 1 inch or larger within 5 miles of Swansea's center was 1.25 inches on April 2, 2025, one of 13 such reports from 2016 through 2025.
The building official on record is Dan Thomas, Building & Zoning Director. The department's own number is on this page, beside its name.
Not yet: no completed roof in Swansea 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.swanseail.org · codelibrary.amlegal.com · www.swanseail.org · www.swanseail.org · en.wikipedia.org · www.city-data.com · data.census.gov · www.spc.noaa.gov. Rules and staff change; check with the jurisdiction.
