Roof replacement, leak repair and hail & storm damage for homes in Charleston. In Charleston, the 2021 IRC is in force and 10% of the 77,417 homes went up before 1940. It starts with a free inspection that photographs every slope.
Charleston runs to about 115.2 square miles and roughly 154,338 people. The community dates back to 1783. We cover ZIP codes 29401, 29403, 29405, 29407, 29412, 29414, 29455 and 29492.
On the peninsula the roof can need a second approval. The city's Board of Architectural Review covers exterior work visible from the street in the Old and Historic District, and any exterior change to a Landmark Overlay property. Its staff can usually approve a shingle-for-shingle or TPO-for-TPO replacement over the counter, but the board's roofing policy asks for historic roofs to be repaired rather than replaced and replaced in kind when they must go. Standing-seam metal needs traditional hand-crimped seams; snap-lock and commercial-grade metal roofs are not approved, and asphalt shingles and V-crimp metal are listed as inappropriate on historic buildings.
No completed roof in Charleston is logged in our job records yet.
The historic peninsula is known for 18th- and 19th-century houses of wood, brick and stucco, many of them Charleston single houses, while Hampton Park Terrace on the upper peninsula was built mostly between 1914 and 1922 in Prairie, Foursquare, Colonial Revival, Craftsman and bungalow styles.
We work across Charleston rather than one corner of it — Ansonborough, Harleston Village, French Quarter, Radcliffeborough, Cannonborough/Elliottborough, Wraggborough, East Side, Westside, Wagener Terrace and Hampton Park Terrace included. Age and construction change between them, which is why we look before we quote.
Founded in 1670 and incorporated as Charleston in 1783, the city's peninsula holds one of the country's richest collections of 18th- and 19th-century houses, including the Charleston single house, one room deep with its narrow end to the street. The Old and Historic District, created in 1931, was the first historic district in the United States protected by local law. Beyond the peninsula the city takes in West Ashley, much of James Island, part of Johns Island, Daniel Island and the Cainhoy peninsula.
From this stretch of building, houses in Charleston sit on plywood or OSB, were first roofed in three-tab shingles, and are mostly on their second roof now. Trouble tends to be at the penetrations rather than across the field: the rubber collar on a pipe boot splits years before the shingles give out, and it is the leak we trace most often. Ridge vents were hit and miss in these decades, and OSB that stays damp for a season softens in a way plywood does not, something you feel underfoot rather than see from the yard.
Charleston has 77,417 homes in the Census Bureau's count and a median year built of 1995. 7,753 of them (10%) went up before 1940 — the 4th-highest pre-1940 share of the 28 places on this site — and 34,892 (45%) in 2000 or later. The 2010s were the busiest decade, adding 17,224 of today's homes (22%). That is above Charleston County's 5%.
About 20 years is the usual service life of an asphalt shingle roof, by the figure in HUD's Residential Rehabilitation Inspection Guide. On that yardstick the 42,525 homes in Charleston built before 2000 (55%) have outlived at least one roof; 20,837 of them (27%) predate 1970, old enough for two replacements already. First replacements are arriving on the 14,513 homes built in the 2000s, while the 20,379 built since 2010 are mostly still on the roof they were built with. On houses that old, the question worth asking is how many layers are up there: a roof laid over an old one hides the deck.
48% of homes in Charleston are single-family detached houses (36,922) and 7% attached ones such as townhouses (5,354). 14,968 homes (19%) sit in two- to nine-unit buildings and 19,491 (25%) in buildings of ten units or more, where the roof is usually a landlord's or an association's decision. The count also takes in 643 mobile homes, which are a different kind of roof job. Owners live in 56% of the 68,027 occupied homes. With houses like these, the jobs we expect most are first replacements on 2000s builder-grade shingles, flat and low-slope sections, which turn up more on attached and multi-unit buildings and hail checks on newer roofs that look fine from the driveway.
| Built | Homes | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before 1940 | 7,753 | 10% | |
| 1940s | 2,465 | 3% | |
| 1950s | 4,473 | 6% | |
| 1960s | 6,146 | 8% | |
| 1970s | 5,797 | 7% | |
| 1980s | 8,395 | 11% | |
| 1990s | 7,496 | 10% | |
| 2000s | 14,513 | 19% | |
| 2010s | 17,224 | 22% | |
| 2020 or later | 3,155 | 4% |
Census ACS 2020–2024, tables B25034, B25035, B25024 and B25003: 77,417 homes, 68,027 occupied. Survey estimates.
From 2016 through 2025, NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center recorded 7 reports of hail of 1 inch or more within 5 miles of Charleston’s center, spread over 6 storm days. None was 1.75 inches or larger. The largest, 1.25 inches, came on April 5, 2017, about 2.9 miles southwest of the center. The most recent was 1 inch on July 14, 2024. These are reports, not a full record: they come from spotters and the public, so busier areas log more.
| Latest reports | Size | From center |
|---|---|---|
| July 14, 2024 | 1 inch | 4.4 mi N |
| May 17, 2023 | 1 inch | 4.1 mi SE |
| July 23, 2022 | 1 inch | 5 mi NE |
| June 15, 2021 | 1 inch | 3.3 mi S |
| April 5, 2017 | 1 inch | 3.4 mi SW |
If one of those storms crossed your street and nobody has been on the roof since, a storm inspection photographs what it did.
On a house, duplex or townhome, a roof replacement or repair is a 'Roofing - Single Family/Duplex Dwelling' alteration/repair permit, commonly called a re-roofing permit. The application covers a full re-roof, a roof repair or a roof re-coating, and asks for the existing and proposed roof materials and whether sheathing is included. A building final inspection is required. Homeowners may pull this permit themselves; an owner doing work worth more than $5,000 must also file with the County Register of Deeds.
Charleston enforces the 2021 IRC. The city's Building Inspections page lists the 2021 South Carolina Residential Code (the 2021 International Residential Code with South Carolina changes) with the other 2021 South Carolina codes, the 2020 National Electrical Code and the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code. It lists no local amendments.
The published number is 843-577-5550. The building official on record is Ken Granata, Chief Building Official. The department page is here.
The design wind speed a roof in Charleston is built to depends on where the house stands: across greater Charleston the published ultimate design wind speeds run 133–150 mph. The building department can confirm the figure, and the code guide explains what it governs.
Charleston borders North Charleston, Mount Pleasant, James Island, Johns Island, Goose Creek and Ashley River. Our pages for them:
Also in Charleston County:
| City | Re-roof permit | Code | Median built |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charleston | Yes | 2021 IRC | 1995 |
| North Charleston | Yes | 2021 IRC | 1996 |
| Mount Pleasant | Yes | 2021 IRC | 2000 |
| James Island | Not published | Not published | 1970 |
| Johns Island | Yes | 2021 IRC | — |
| Goose Creek | Yes | 2021 IRC | 2002 |
| Adams Run | Yes | 2021 IRC | 1984 |
All 22 Charleston County cities side by side →
On a house, duplex or townhome, a roof replacement or repair is a 'Roofing - Single Family/Duplex Dwelling' alteration/repair permit, commonly called a re-roofing permit. The application covers a full re-roof, a roof repair or a roof re-coating, and asks for the existing and proposed roof materials and whether sheathing is included. A building final inspection is required. Homeowners may pull this permit themselves; an owner doing work worth more than $5,000 must also file with the County Register of Deeds.
Charleston enforces the 2021 IRC. The city's Building Inspections page lists the 2021 South Carolina Residential Code (the 2021 International Residential Code with South Carolina changes) with the other 2021 South Carolina codes, the 2020 National Electrical Code and the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code. It lists no local amendments.
The Census Bureau's 2020–2024 estimates put the median year built at 1995: 10% of Charleston's 77,417 homes predate 1940 and 45% were built in 2000 or later. At the usual 20-year roof life, 55% have needed at least one new roof already.
Yes. The most recent report of hail 1 inch or larger within 5 miles of Charleston's center was 1 inch on July 14, 2024, one of 7 such reports from 2016 through 2025.
The building official on record is Ken Granata, Chief Building Official. The department's own number is on this page, beside its name.
It can. Charleston has Charleston Historic District, Old and Historic District, Old City District and Charleston's French Quarter 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 Charleston is in our job records, so this page shows no job count.
Researched 2026-10-24; housing, Census ACS 2020–2024; hail, NOAA SPC. Sources: charleston-sc.gov · www.charleston-sc.gov · www.charleston-sc.gov · charleston-sc.gov · charleston-sc.gov · www.charleston-sc.gov · www.charleston-sc.gov · www.charleston-sc.gov · www.charleston-sc.gov · www.charleston-sc.gov · www.charleston-sc.gov · www.charleston-sc.gov · www.charleston-sc.gov · www.charleston-sc.gov · www.charleston-sc.gov · www.charleston-sc.gov · www.charleston-sc.gov · en.wikipedia.org · www.scencyclopedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · www.nationalregister.sc.gov · www.nationalregister.sc.gov · www.nationalregister.sc.gov · www.nationalregister.sc.gov · www.nationalregister.sc.gov · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · charleston-sc.gov · www.charleston-sc.gov · gis.charleston-sc.gov · charleston-sc.gov · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · www2.census.gov · data.census.gov · www.spc.noaa.gov. Rules and staff change; check with the jurisdiction.
