Roofing for Webster Groves homes: replacement, leaks and storm damage. In Webster Groves, the 2015 IBC family is in force and 35% of the 9,921 homes went up before 1940. Any permit the job needs is ours to pull.
Webster Groves runs to about 5.91 square miles and roughly 24,010 people. It sits about 10 miles southwest of downtown St. Louis. The community dates back to 1896. We cover ZIP code 63119.
No completed roof in Webster Groves is logged in our job records yet.
Developers marketed the original Webster Park subdivision in 1892 as the 'Queen of the Suburbs,' and homes here are predominantly prewar and immediate-postwar single-family houses on tree-lined streets.
We work across Webster Groves rather than one corner of it — Webster Park, Tuxedo Park, Old Orchard, Selma and North Webster included. Age and construction change between them, which is why we look before we quote.
Webster Groves formed in 1896 from the merger of five communities: Webster, Old Orchard, Webster Park, Tuxedo Park and Selma. North Webster was a historic Black community within the city.
Postwar houses in Webster Groves are plain to roof, which is exactly why so many get roofed carelessly. Expect 1x6 board decking or early plywood: usually sound, but it should be walked, not assumed. The weak spots are the shallow pitches — a porch roof, the join to a carport, the flat section over an addition — where shingles went on below their rated slope and have leaked slowly for years. Attics from this era rarely have the ventilation today's shingle warranties ask for, and a hot, under-vented attic ages a roof from below, so intake and exhaust get measured before the quote.
By the Census Bureau's estimate there are 9,921 homes in Webster Groves, with a median year built of 1952. 3,479 of them (35%) went up before 1940 — the 4th-highest pre-1940 share of the 48 places on this site — and 537 (5%) in 2000 or later. More of today's homes date from before 1940 than from any decade since. Across St. Louis County the pre-1940 share is 10%, so Webster Groves 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 9,384 homes in Webster Groves built before 2000 (95%) have outlived at least one roof; 7,457 of them (75%) predate 1970, old enough for two replacements already. The 219 homes from the 2000s are where first replacements come up now, while the 318 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 79% (7,876); attached houses and townhouses 1% (67). 305 homes (3%) sit in two- to nine-unit buildings and 1,673 (17%) in buildings of ten units or more, where the roof is usually a landlord's or an association's decision. 76% of occupied homes are owner-occupied, 24% 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 | 3,479 | 35% | |
| 1940s | 1,126 | 11% | |
| 1950s | 2,154 | 22% | |
| 1960s | 698 | 7% | |
| 1970s | 528 | 5% | |
| 1980s | 680 | 7% | |
| 1990s | 719 | 7% | |
| 2000s | 219 | 2% | |
| 2010s | 212 | 2% | |
| 2020 or later | 106 | 1% |
Census ACS 2020–2024, tables B25034, B25035, B25024 and B25003: 9,921 homes, 9,446 occupied. Survey estimates.
NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center logged 38 reports of hail 1 inch or larger within 5 miles of Webster Groves’ center from 2016 through 2025, on 14 different days. 5 of them were 1.75 inches or larger. The largest, 2 inches, came on May 19, 2025, about 1.6 miles north of the center. Counts follow people as much as storms, since every report is a spotter’s or a resident’s.
| Latest reports | Size | From center |
|---|---|---|
| May 19, 2025 | 1.25 inches | 1 mi N |
| May 19, 2025 | 1.75 inches | 3.6 mi W |
| May 19, 2025 | 1 inch | 4.7 mi NW |
| May 19, 2025 | 2 inches | 1.6 mi N |
| May 16, 2025 | 1.5 inches | 4.6 mi N |
If one of those storms crossed your street and nobody has been on the roof since, a storm inspection photographs what it did.
Webster Groves publishes no rule either way on a like-for-like re-roof, so we ask the building department (314-963-5300) before we start and pull whatever it wants.
Webster Groves enforces the 2015 IBC family. The city has adopted the 2015 International Building Code and related 2015 I-Codes, plus the 2014 National Electrical Code. Its permits page does not list the residential code (IRC) edition separately.
The published number is 314-963-5300. Webster Groves 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.
Webster Groves borders Shrewsbury, Maplewood, Brentwood, Rock Hill, Glendale and Oakland. Our pages for them:
Also in St. Louis County:
| City | Re-roof permit | Code | Median built |
|---|---|---|---|
| Webster Groves | Not published | 2015 IBC family | 1952 |
| Brentwood | Not published | 2024 IRC | 1956 |
| Affton | Conditional | 2015 IRC | 1958 |
| Ballwin | Yes | 2015 I-Codes (2024 I-Codes proposed for 2026) | 1976 |
| Chesterfield | Not published | 2015 IBC / 2015 IRC | 1982 |
| Clayton | Not published | 2021 IRC | 1954 |
| Creve Coeur | Not published | 2009 IRC | 1980 |
All 21 St. Louis County cities side by side →
Nothing published settles it for Webster Groves, so the department gets the question before work starts and any permit it wants is pulled by us.
Webster Groves enforces the 2015 IBC family. The city has adopted the 2015 International Building Code and related 2015 I-Codes, plus the 2014 National Electrical Code. Its permits page does not list the residential code (IRC) edition separately.
Older than most people guess: the Census puts 95% of Webster Groves' homes before 2000 and 75% before 1970, with a median year built of 1952 (2020–2024 estimates). A roof usually lasts about 25 years, so the deck and the layers get checked before any quote.
38 reports of 1-inch-plus hail fell within 5 miles of Webster Groves between 2016 and 2025, the biggest 2 inches on May 19, 2025 (NOAA Storm Prediction Center).
It can. Webster Groves has Old Webster 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 Webster Groves 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.webstergrovesmo.gov · www.webstergrovesmo.gov · www.webstergrovesmo.gov · www.webstergrovesmo.gov · en.wikipedia.org · www.city-data.com · data.census.gov · www.spc.noaa.gov. Rules and staff change; check with the jurisdiction.
