In Washington, the 2021 IRC is in force and 17% of the 6,889 homes went up before 1940. We replace and repair roofs here and inspect after hail, starting with a free, photographed inspection.
Washington runs to about 9.66 square miles and roughly 15,075 people. It sits about 50 miles west of downtown St. Louis. The community dates back to 1827. We cover ZIP code 63090.
No completed roof in Washington is logged in our job records yet.
Washington also has an unusually large historic core: 445 buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Tibbe and Downtown Washington historic districts. Homes here span a large, preservation-sensitive pre-1940 core and a later 20th-century majority.
Washington was settled during Spanish colonial rule as St. John Meyer's Settlement, later Washington Landing (1814). It is the largest city in Franklin County and sits on the south bank of the Missouri River.
Housing from this stretch in Washington 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.
Washington has 6,889 homes in the Census Bureau's count and a median year built of 1978. 1,174 of them (17%) went up before 1940 — 11th of 48 places on this site for pre-1940 share — and 1,787 (26%) in 2000 or later. More of today's homes date from before 1940 than from any decade since. (Franklin County as a whole: 10% before 1940.)
Missouri's Department of Commerce and Insurance puts the useful life of a roof at usually about 25 years. By that measure, 74% of Washington's homes — the 5,102 built before 2000 — are past their first roof; 2,684 of them (39%) predate 1970, old enough for two replacements already. Homes from the 2000s (1,107 in Washington) are reaching their first replacement, while the 680 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.
73% of homes in Washington are single-family detached houses (5,036) and 8% attached ones such as townhouses (545). 1,024 homes (15%) sit in two- to nine-unit buildings and 201 (3%) in buildings of ten units or more, where a resident rarely gets to choose the roofer. The count also takes in 83 mobile homes, which are a different kind of roof job. 74% of occupied homes are owner-occupied, 26% rented. On a housing mix like this, the likely work is deck and flashing checks on pre-war board sheathing, first replacements on 2000s builder-grade shingles and flat and low-slope sections, which turn up more on attached and multi-unit buildings.
| Built | Homes | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before 1940 | 1,174 | 17% | |
| 1940s | 429 | 6% | |
| 1950s | 495 | 7% | |
| 1960s | 586 | 9% | |
| 1970s | 988 | 14% | |
| 1980s | 746 | 11% | |
| 1990s | 684 | 10% | |
| 2000s | 1,107 | 16% | |
| 2010s | 552 | 8% | |
| 2020 or later | 128 | 2% |
Census ACS 2020–2024, tables B25034, B25035, B25024 and B25003: 6,889 homes, 6,702 occupied. Survey estimates.
Between 2016 and 2025 there were 12 reports of 1-inch-plus hail within 5 miles of Washington’s center in the records of NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center, on 6 separate days. 3 of them were 1.75 inches or larger. The largest, 1.75 inches, came on May 16, 2025, about 3.4 miles north of the center. 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 16, 2025 | 1.75 inches | 0.3 mi SE |
| May 16, 2025 | 1 inch | 0.6 mi NE |
| May 16, 2025 | 1 inch | 0.3 mi SE |
| May 16, 2025 | 1.25 inches | 0.3 mi SE |
| May 16, 2025 | 1.75 inches | 4.2 mi N |
Hail damage rarely shows from the ground; a storm inspection photographs each slope so you know either way.
Nothing Washington publishes says whether a like-for-like re-roof needs a permit. We call the department (636-390-1000) before the job and pull whatever is required.
Washington enforces the 2021 IRC. City Code Section 500.010(A)(1) adopts the 2021 International Residential Code, and Section 500.010(A)(4) adopts the 2021 International Building Code. Both are adopted 'as amended' under Section 500.010(B), with the amendments in Exhibit A to Ordinance No. 23-13877.
The published number is 636-390-1000. Washington 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 Franklin County:
| City | Re-roof permit | Code | Median built |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | Not published | 2021 IRC | 1978 |
| Pacific | Not published | Not published | 1985 |
| Union | Not published | 2021 IRC | 1996 |
All 3 Franklin County cities side by side →
Nothing published settles it for Washington, so the department gets the question before work starts and any permit it wants is pulled by us.
Washington enforces the 2021 IRC. City Code Section 500.010(A)(1) adopts the 2021 International Residential Code, and Section 500.010(A)(4) adopts the 2021 International Building Code. Both are adopted 'as amended' under Section 500.010(B), with the amendments in Exhibit A to Ordinance No. 23-13877.
Median year built 1978, by the Census Bureau's 2020–2024 estimates. Of 6,889 homes, 5,102 were built before 2000 and 1,174 before 1940, so most roofs in Washington are not the first one the house has had.
Yes. The most recent report of hail 1 inch or larger within 5 miles of Washington's center was 1.75 inches on May 16, 2025, one of 12 such reports from 2016 through 2025.
It can. Washington has Tibbe Historic District and Downtown Washington 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 Washington 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 · www.washmo.gov · ci-washington-mo.smartgovcommunity.com · en.wikipedia.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.
