Roof Installation in Tremé, New Orleans
One of the oldest African American neighborhoods in the United States, immediately behind the Quarter. Creole cottages and shotguns of real historic significance, and roofs that have to be treated accordingly.
- Historic district coverage
- Creole cottage and shotgun stock
- Louis Armstrong Park & St. Augustine
Tremé building stock, and what it means for a roof
Tremé — formally Tremé/Lafitte in the City Planning Commission’s districts — sits directly behind the Quarter across Rampart Street and is among the oldest African American neighborhoods in the country, with a building history running from the 1810s. St. Augustine Church, founded in 1841, anchors it. The housing is predominantly Creole cottages and shotguns, and a significant share of it is individually as well as district-designated.
That significance is the operative fact for roofing. Work on a designated building is a preservation act whether or not the owner thinks of it that way, and material choices that would pass without comment elsewhere are not appropriate here. Slate and tile get repaired and matched rather than swapped for something modern, and standing seam metal is generally not an accepted substitute in a local historic district.
Why Tremé roofs fail the way they do
Three things we see repeatedly on this stock — not a generic list, and not the same three as the next neighborhood over.
Soft historic mortar
Chimneys and parapets on early brick have soft lime mortar. Flashing fixed into failing mortar lets go, and the leak reads as a roof fault.
Two centuries of alteration
Buildings this old carry additions and changes. The junctions between original and later structure are where water gets in.
Deferred maintenance load
Long-deferred small repairs compound on historic stock until the deck rather than the covering becomes the question.
Tying new roof into old without causing a problem
Installation is not replacement. The roof has not failed — the building is changing. Different buyer, different risk, different sequence.
- Warranty continuity. Cutting new work into an existing membrane can void the warranty on the part you are keeping. That gets established before anything is opened up, not after.
- Elevation work. Raising a house above base flood elevation lifts it into faster wind. A specification that suited it at grade may not suit it eight feet up.
- Additions and pop-tops. New roof volume meeting an old roof creates junctions that did not exist before. Those tie-ins are where a new-build roof leaks first.
- Rooftop decks and galleries. Traffic-rated assemblies over occupied space are a different system from a roof nobody walks on, and the drainage has to be designed rather than assumed.
- Historic-district infill. New construction inside an HDLC or VCC district is reviewed on how it reads against its neighbors, roof included.
- GC sequencing. Dry-in timing drives everybody else on site. We schedule against the trades that follow us, not in isolation.
Replacement is a different job
If the roof you have has failed and you are replacing like for like, that is a replacement, and it runs differently — different survey, different cost drivers, different conversation about tear-off and decking. See roof replacement instead, and if you land on the wrong one, say so on the call and we will point you at the right one rather than quoting you for the wrong job.
A re-roofing permit is required in Orleans Parish — and three different commissions may review it
Residential re-roofing permits are applied for through the Department of Safety and Permits. Properties inside a historic district require additional review time before the permit is issued.
Four stages, no surprises
Inspection
Someone goes onto the roof. Not a drive-by, not a satellite image — the covering, the flashing, the valleys and the deck condition, looked at directly.
Diagnosis
What has failed and why, traced to the actual entry point rather than the spot where water shows up inside.
Written scope
What we found, what we propose, and what it costs, in writing with photographs. No number quoted cold over the phone.
The work
Carried out to the agreed scope, dried in each day, site cleared, and documented for your records and your insurer.
Working around Louis Armstrong Park, St. Augustine Church, Basìn Street and the surrounding streets. If your address is in Tremé, it is in the service area — there is no travel surcharge anywhere inside Orleans Parish.
Roof Installation near Tremé
Everything else we do in Tremé
Roof Installation in Tremé — straight answers
We are working with an architect and a GC — can you coordinate?
That is the normal arrangement on installation work. Dry-in timing drives the trades that follow us, so we schedule against the program rather than in isolation, and we talk to whoever is running the job.
Will new work void the warranty on the existing roof?
It can, which is why it gets established before anything is opened up. Cutting new work into an existing membrane without checking the warranty terms is a common and expensive mistake on additions and rooftop decks.
We are elevating the house — does that change the roof?
It can change the specification. Raising a building above base flood elevation also lifts it into faster wind, and an assembly that was adequate at grade may need enhanced fixing once it is up. This matters most in Lakeview, Gentilly and the Lower Ninth.
My house is historically significant — will you use matching materials?
Yes, and on a designated building in a local historic district it is not really optional. Slate gets matched on color, size and thickness; tile gets sourced to match rather than substituted; and where a modern material is genuinely permitted it has to match in material and color to pass review. We establish what your building’s designation actually requires before we specify anything.
Roof Installation in Tremé?
Call and we will get someone on the roof, then put what we find in writing.