Roofers in West Des Moines: repair and replacement

Roofing in West Des Moines

The city splits into a few roofing worlds. Valley Junction and the streets north of Railroad Avenue are 1890s–1920s: small steep-gabled houses and foursquares, old brick chimneys, plank decking, often two layers of shingles, and attics you can barely crawl into. The Ashworth Road and Grand Avenue corridor east of 63rd is 1950s–70s ranches and split-levels on big wooded lots — silver maples and oaks overhanging the roof, low pitches, and valleys full of leaves. Glen Oaks, Woodland Hills and the neighborhoods around the Country Club carry the largest homes: steep hips, multiple dormers, cedar shake on some of the 1990s houses, 40–60 squares of roof. And west of Jordan Creek Parkway is 2000s–2010s subdivision stock on open ground, where hail and straight-line wind arrive with nothing in the way.

Roofers West Des Moines homeowners hire should know that the city sits across four counties — Polk, Dallas, Warren and Madison — and that the West Des Moines building department, not Polk County, handles roofing permits within city limits.

What goes wrong most often here

• Hail bruising on the west-facing slopes of the Jordan Creek subdivisions after spring storms. A 2008 roof out here has taken a dozen hail events; the seal strips let go in the derecho and the mats are tired.
• Leaking valleys and dormer flashing on the cut-up hip roofs in Glen Oaks and Woodland Hills. A valley re-lay with membrane is $500–$1,200; a dormer re-flash is $450–$1,100.
• Ice dams on the Ashworth Road ranches — low pitches, wide overhangs, tiny attics. See ice dam repair.
• Chimney flashing and two-layer tear-offs in Valley Junction. Plank decking under the shingles often needs sheeting over before new shingles go on, which adds $1,500–$3,000 to a replacement.
• Limb damage from the mature trees along Grand and Ashworth after every wind event.

Typical jobs and prices here

• Roof repair — leaks, flashing, boots, wind-lifted shingles; most jobs $300–$1,500
• Roof replacement — architectural shingles, $450–$750 per square; a typical Jordan Creek-area two-story runs $12,000–$20,000, a Glen Oaks hip roof with dormers $20,000–$35,000
• Storm damage repair — tarping and claim documentation after hail and wind
• Roof inspection — written reports for one of the fastest-moving housing markets in Iowa
• Steel roofing for the acreages south along Highway 5 toward Cumming and Norwalk

Comparing quotes on a big, cut-up roof

On a 40-square hip roof with six dormers, two quotes can easily be thousands apart, and the gap usually sits in the details. Put the quotes side by side and check:

• Squares and waste. Hips and valleys mean more cut shingles. A quote with very little waste on a complex roof will run short of material or charge for it later.
• Flashing by location. Each dormer wall, each valley and the chimney should be listed, and the quote should say new metal, not reused.
• Ridge and hip cap. Hip roofs carry a lot of it. It should be the matching cap product, not cut-up three-tab.
• Ventilation. Big hip roofs have less ridge to vent from. Ask how the attic will be vented and how much intake the soffits will give.
• Staging and access. Steep slopes and landscaped yards add time. A quote that ignores both is guessing.

The Valley Junction house, step by step

The older homes north of Railroad Avenue need a slightly different job:

1. Tear off both layers to the planks.
2. Check the planks for rot and wide gaps, and sheet over with plywood where needed.
3. Rebuild the chimney flashing with step and counter-flashing cut into the mortar, or ask whether an unused chimney should be taken down below the roofline.
4. Add membrane at the eaves and valleys, then underlayment and shingles.
5. Open up intake at the soffits where the overhang allows, and add a ridge vent.

Ask whether the price assumes sheeting the whole deck or only part of it. That one line can move the total by a few thousand dollars. It is also fair to ask for photos of the planks once the old shingles are off, so you can see what the allowance paid for.

HOAs

Most West Des Moines subdivisions built after 1995 have covenants covering shingle color and sometimes material. Ask the contractor to send the manufacturer's spec sheet and a color sample to the HOA for approval before anything is ordered, and to confirm whether a Class 4 impact shingle comes in the color your HOA wants.

Roofing in Clive, IA

Roofing in Clive, IA looks a lot like the Ashworth Road side of West Des Moines: 1970s–90s ranches and two-stories along the Greenbelt trail, mature trees over the roofs, and valleys and gutters that fill with leaves every fall. The common calls are limb damage after wind, worn valleys, pipe boots on the 1990s houses, and ice dams on the low-pitched ranches. Clive runs its own building department, so ask whether the quote includes the city permit.

Adel and Dallas County

West of Waukee along Highway 6 and I-80, Adel and the rest of Dallas County have a mix of older homes in town and newer subdivisions on open ground. If you're looking for a roofing contractor in Adel, Iowa, the checks are the same as anywhere in the metro: Iowa Division of Labor registration, liability and workers' compensation certificates, a local address, and a written, itemized scope. Ask up front whether Adel is inside the contractor's regular service area, and whether the price changes for the drive. The best roofer in Adel, Iowa for your house is the one who looks in the attic before quoting and is still answering the phone a year later; any roofing company in Adel, IA should be fine with you checking all of that.

Nearby

Waukee, Urbandale and Windsor Heights are covered by this guide too. Roof repair Waukee homeowners call about is mostly 2010s subdivision stock north of Hickman Road. Pricing across the western suburbs tends to match Des Moines; see the cost page.