Roofing the historic districts — Twickenham, Old Town, Five Points and Blossomwood

Antebellum mansions, Victorian cottages and 1920s bungalows with slate, standing-seam and steep shingle roofs — and a preservation commission that reviews what goes on them. We've done this work for years.

Brick colonial home in Huntsville, AL with a new charcoal architectural shingle roof after a storm clears

Downtown Huntsville holds the largest concentration of antebellum homes in Alabama. Twickenham's houses date from the 1810s to the 1860s, Old Town's Victorians and foursquares from the 1870s to the 1930s, and Five Points fills in with craftsman bungalows and cottages from the 1900s to the 1930s; Blossomwood and the Medical District add the 1950s ranches that climbed toward Monte Sano. The roofs are the hardest in the city: real slate and standing-seam terne on the oldest houses, 12/12 pitches with dormers, valleys and cross-gables, brick chimneys with century-old flashing, and board decking that has been re-nailed through three generations of shingles.

Twickenham, Old Town and Five Points are locally designated historic districts, which means exterior work — including a roof that changes material or color — goes to the Huntsville Historic Preservation Commission for a Certificate of Appropriateness before the city issues the permit. We prepare that application with the estimate, match the original material where the commission asks for it (slate repair, standing-seam metal, architectural shingles that read like slate), and price decking, flashing and chimney work by the piece so a 150-year-old roof doesn't come with a surprise. Steep-slope crews, roof jacks and a careful plan for the magnolias and the neighbor's fence.

What we do in Downtown & Historic Huntsville

Slate & standing-seam repair

Slate replacement by the piece, copper and terne flashing, resoldering and repainting standing-seam metal.

Steep architectural shingle roofs

Designer shingles on 10/12 and steeper pitches with proper starter, ice-and-water in the valleys and ridge ventilation.

Chimneys & flashing

New crowns, crickets and counter-flashing cut into the brick — the most common leak on a historic home.

Board-decking repair

Gapped or rotten 1x decking overlaid or replaced, priced per sheet before the tear-off.

Historic Preservation review

Certificate of Appropriateness applications prepared with the estimate for Twickenham, Old Town and Five Points.

Storm & limb damage

Tarps any hour and repairs that match the original, with the claim documented for the carrier.

Neighborhoods and areas we cover

Twickenham Historic District
Old Town Historic District
Five Points
Blossomwood
Medical District
Downtown Square & Courthouse
Big Spring Park area
Lowe Mill & the West Side
Maple Hill (Meridian Street)
East Clinton Avenue
Eustis & Randolph Avenues
Pratt Avenue
Monte Sano Boulevard (lower)
Dallas Mill area
Merrimack Mill Village
Terry Heights

Roofing services available in Downtown & Historic Huntsville

Questions from Downtown & Historic Huntsville homeowners

Do I need approval to replace a roof in Twickenham or Old Town?

Yes, for anything that changes the roof's material, color or profile — the Huntsville Historic Preservation Commission issues a Certificate of Appropriateness, and the city permit follows it. Like-for-like repairs are generally simpler. We prepare the application and have been through the process many times.

Can slate be repaired, or does it all have to come off?

A slate roof with a sound deck and a few broken pieces is repaired, not replaced — that's the whole point of slate. We replace individual slates with matching stock, redo the flashings, and tell you honestly when a roof has reached the point where the nails, not the slate, are failing.

What replaces an old standing-seam metal roof?

A new standing-seam metal roof — it's historically appropriate, and it's what the commission prefers on the oldest houses. Painted terne-coated stainless or Galvalume, formed on site to the original seam spacing.

Why is a historic-district roof more expensive?

Steep pitches, complex framing, board decking, chimney work and the material the district requires. We price every one of those as a line item so you can see where the money goes.

Do you work in Five Points bungalows too?

Constantly — the bungalows are simpler roofs than Twickenham's, but they have the same 1920s decking and chimney issues, and Five Points is also a designated district.

Nearby: South Huntsville & Jones Valley · North Huntsville · Northwest Huntsville · full service area