Roof replacement in Des Moines

Which kind of roof is yours

The worn-out city roof. A bungalow off Beaver Avenue or a ranch near Merle Hay Mall, built 1915–1960, bald on the south slope and curled at the edges everywhere, often with two layers showing at the drip line. Underneath: plank decking with gaps, an unlined brick chimney, an attic with no soffit ventilation. These are purchases, not storm losses, and they involve more carpentry than the suburbs.

The storm-tired suburban roof. A production-built two-story in Briarwood, Prairie Trail, Waukee or Grimes from 2000–2012. Four nails a shingle, no membrane in the valleys, open ground to the west. The August 2020 derecho broke the seal strips across whole streets and hail since then has bruised the mats. These usually come off on a claim, and the replacement is a chance to build them properly. Roof replacement in Des Moines, IA splits roughly along those two lines.

If you're not sure which you have, the guide on signs your Des Moines roof is near the end covers granule loss, curling, bruising and layers. If only one spot is leaking on an otherwise sound roof, start with roof repair in Des Moines, IA instead.

What a good crew does on the day

1. 7 a.m. Tarps over the landscaping, trailer in the driveway, tear-off to bare wood starting on the slope opposite the forecast wind. No roof-overs: Iowa code caps a roof at two layers, and a second layer hides the rot the tear-off is there to find.
2. Mid-morning. Every sheet of decking is walked and probed. Soft plywood or split planks come out at $90–$150 a sheet; a pre-war deck with wide gaps may get sheeted over entirely. You get a photo of every sheet replaced.
3. Before lunch. Ice-and-water membrane from the eave edge to at least 24 inches inside the exterior wall line — two full courses on a low pitch with a deep overhang — plus every valley and penetration. Synthetic underlayment over the rest. From here the house is dry whatever the sky does.
4. Afternoon. Adhesive starter strip along eaves and rakes, architectural shingles with six nails each, new drip edge, new boots, new step and counter-flashing at every wall and chimney, ridge vent cut in.
5. End of day. Ridge caps, a walk of the roof, a magnet sweep of the lawn. A single-story is done in a day; a large or cut-up two-story takes two.

The materials, and why these ones

Residential roofing in Des Moines has to hold through 70 mph gusts, golf-ball hail and ice at the eaves every winter. Look for a named architectural shingle line from a major manufacturer such as GAF, Owens Corning or CertainTeed, rated ASTM D7158 Class H or D3161 Class F for wind. Anywhere with open ground to the west — most of the northern and western metro — Class 4 impact-rated shingles are worth pricing: $30–$80 more per square, and many insurers offer a premium discount for them; ask your agent.

Roof ventilation in Des Moines is the item most often skipped. A 1930s attic with no soffit intake bakes the shingles in July and builds ice dams in January. While the roof is open, ask for a ridge vent, opened soffits and baffles. A few hundred dollars, and a decade added to the shingles.

What it costs on a Des Moines house

Architectural shingle replacement runs $450–$750 per square installed, all of the above included. A 1,200 sq ft east-side ranch with a plain gable is $9,000–$12,000; an 1,800 sq ft Ankeny two-story with 22–28 squares is $11,000–$20,000; a steep Beaverdale bungalow with a dormer and two layers to strip sits mid-range on a smaller house. The pricing page has a table by house type, and what a roof replacement costs in Des Moines explains why two quotes can differ by $4,000.

Roof financing in Des Moines is often available on replacements through manufacturer-backed programs; ask the contractor to show you the terms in writing and compare them with your own bank. If the roof is coming off because of hail or wind, the storm damage page explains how the claim pays for it.

Metal roofing in Des Moines

Toward Norwalk, Cumming, Bondurant and Carlisle, standing-seam steel is the normal acreage roof. It costs $1,100–$1,800 per square — two to three times shingles — and it's the one roof in central Iowa that doesn't go back to the adjuster after every hail storm. Exposed-fastener panels at $700–$1,200 per square suit outbuildings and simple gables. In town, steel makes sense if you're staying fifteen years and the HOA allows it.

Getting the house ready for tear-off day

A replacement is loud and dusty, and a little preparation saves arguments:

• Move cars out of the driveway and garage the night before, and take patio furniture and grills away from the walls.
• Take pictures and mirrors off the walls on the top floor. The hammering shakes them loose.
• Cover anything stored in the attic with old sheets. Dust and shingle grit fall through the gaps in older plank decks.
• Tell the neighbors, especially on tight city lots where the trailer or the debris chute sits near the property line.
• Keep kids and pets inside or away. Nails and shingle pieces come off the edge all day.

After the crew leaves

Walk the yard with the contractor before final payment. Look for loose nails in the driveway, damaged plants, and dents in the gutters. Ask for the shingle warranty registration and the permit sign-off, and keep both with your house papers along with the photos of any decking that was replaced. The first heavy rain is a good test: go up in the attic afterward with a flashlight and look for anything wet. New shingles can look a little uneven for a few weeks until the sun warms the seal strips flat.

Permits and HOAs

The City of Des Moines requires a permit for a tear-off, and West Des Moines, Ankeny, Urbandale and Johnston each run their own building departments; check that the quote includes the permit. Post-1995 subdivisions usually have shingle color covenants, so get a sample approved by the HOA before anything is ordered. See roofing permits in Des Moines for the rules by city.