Roof replacement, leak repair and hail & storm damage for homes in University City. In University City, the 2018 IRC is in force and the median home was built in 1949. It starts with a free inspection that photographs every slope.
University City runs to about 5.88 square miles and roughly 35,065 people. It sits about 6 miles west of downtown St. Louis. The community dates back to 1906.
No completed roof in University City is logged in our job records yet.
The city's population peaked at 51,249 in 1960 and declined afterward. Its southern half keeps early-20th-century streetcar-suburb architecture along Delmar Boulevard, while post-WWII development dominates the northern sections.
That includes Delmar Loop. Housing age and construction shift across University City, sometimes by decades within a few streets, which is why we look at the roof before we quote rather than after.
University City was incorporated in 1906 by Edward Gardner Lewis. The Delmar Loop–Parkview Gardens Historic District, listed on the National Register in 1984, covers 84 acres and 289 contributing buildings. Construction there began in 1911 in Bungalow/Craftsman, Tudor Revival and Georgian Revival styles.
On houses this old in University City the deck is usually solid boards, not plywood, and boards shift: gaps open, nails work loose, and a shingle nailed over a gap holds on to nothing. Chimneys and wall joints often still carry their original step and counter-flashing, which is where many leaks really start while the shingles look fine. Two or three roofs piled on one another are common on streets like these; every extra layer hides the deck, adds weight and voids most manufacturer warranties. Any original slate or tile on the house calls for a different plan from an asphalt tear-off.
By the Census Bureau's estimate there are 17,841 homes in University City, with a median year built of 1949. 6,797 of them (38%) went up before 1940 — the 3rd-highest pre-1940 share of the 48 places on this site — and 1,052 (6%) in 2000 or later. More of today's homes date from before 1940 than from any decade since. That is above St. Louis County's 10%.
About 25 years is the usual working life of a roof, by the figure Missouri's insurance department publishes. On that yardstick the 16,789 homes in University City built before 2000 (94%) have outlived at least one roof, and the 14,185 built before 1970 (80%) are usually on a third covering or later. First replacements are arriving on the 405 homes built in the 2000s, while the 647 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.
Detached single-family houses make up 61% (10,843); attached houses and townhouses 3% (482). 4,459 homes (25%) sit in two- to nine-unit buildings and 2,024 (11%) in buildings of ten units or more, where the roof is usually a landlord's or an association's decision. 8,869 of 15,782 occupied homes (56%) are lived in by their owners. On a housing mix like this, the likely work is full tear-offs on houses past two roof lives, deck and flashing checks on pre-war board sheathing and flat and low-slope sections, which turn up more on attached and multi-unit buildings.
| Built | Homes | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before 1940 | 6,797 | 38% | |
| 1940s | 2,259 | 13% | |
| 1950s | 3,794 | 21% | |
| 1960s | 1,335 | 7% | |
| 1970s | 962 | 5% | |
| 1980s | 798 | 4% | |
| 1990s | 844 | 5% | |
| 2000s | 405 | 2% | |
| 2010s | 539 | 3% | |
| 2020 or later | 108 | 1% |
Census ACS 2020–2024, tables B25034, B25035, B25024 and B25003: 17,841 homes, 15,782 occupied. Survey estimates.
From 2016 through 2025, NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center recorded 31 reports of hail of 1 inch or more within 5 miles of University City’s center, spread over 11 storm days. 6 of them were 1.75 inches or larger. The largest, 2.5 inches, came on May 16, 2025, about 3.1 miles north of the center. The most recent was 1.25 inches on May 19, 2025. A report needs someone to see the hail and send it in, so the count is a floor, not a full tally.
| Latest reports | Size | From center |
|---|---|---|
| May 19, 2025 | 1.25 inches | 4.8 mi S |
| May 19, 2025 | 2 inches | 4.1 mi S |
| May 16, 2025 | 1.5 inches | 1.1 mi S |
| May 16, 2025 | 1 inch | 1 mi N |
| May 16, 2025 | 2 inches | 0.3 mi N |
A bruised shingle can look fine for a season or two, which is why a storm inspection after a date like these is worth having.
Nothing University City publishes says whether a like-for-like re-roof needs a permit. We call the department before the job and pull whatever is required.
University City enforces the 2018 IRC. City Code Section 500.030 adopts the 2018 International Residential Code, including Appendices E, F, H, J, K, M, N, O, Q, R, S and T. The section cites Ordinance No. 6933 (10-28-2013) and Ordinance No. 7139 (01-25-2021).
We could not find a published number for the building department, so this page does not print one. University 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.
What goes into a new roof: all eight layers, explainedThe design figures are metro-wide rather than local: 115 mph ultimate design wind and a 20 psf ground snow load. What they do to a roof is in the roofing code guide.
University City borders St. Louis City, Olivette, Ladue and Northmoor. Our pages for them:
Also in St. Louis County:
| City | Re-roof permit | Code | Median built |
|---|---|---|---|
| University City | Not published | 2018 IRC | 1949 |
| St. Louis City | Conditional | 2018 IRC | 1939 or earlier |
| Affton | Conditional | 2015 IRC | 1958 |
| Ballwin | Yes | 2015 I-Codes (2024 I-Codes proposed for 2026) | 1976 |
| Brentwood | Not published | 2024 IRC | 1956 |
| Chesterfield | Not published | 2015 IBC / 2015 IRC | 1982 |
| Clayton | Not published | 2021 IRC | 1954 |
All 21 St. Louis County cities side by side →
Nothing published settles it for University City, so the department gets the question before work starts and any permit it wants is pulled by us.
University City enforces the 2018 IRC. City Code Section 500.030 adopts the 2018 International Residential Code, including Appendices E, F, H, J, K, M, N, O, Q, R, S and T. The section cites Ordinance No. 6933 (10-28-2013) and Ordinance No. 7139 (01-25-2021).
The Census Bureau's 2020–2024 estimates put the median year built at 1949: 38% of University City's 17,841 homes predate 1940 and 6% were built in 2000 or later. At the usual 25-year roof life, 94% have needed at least one new roof already.
Yes. The most recent report of hail 1 inch or larger within 5 miles of University City's center was 1.25 inches on May 19, 2025, one of 31 such reports from 2016 through 2025.
It can. University City has Delmar Loop–Parkview Gardens Historic District. Inside a designated district, changing a visible roof material or color can need preservation review before the permit is issued. Like-for-like replacement usually raises fewer questions, but we check before quoting.
Not yet: no completed roof in University 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: ecode360.com · ecode360.com · www.ucitymo.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · www.city-data.com · data.census.gov · www.spc.noaa.gov. Rules and staff change; check with the jurisdiction.
