From rhubarb fields to subdivisions
Sterling Heights was Sterling Township until 1968. The “Heights” was added because Michigan already had a village called Sterling, up in Arenac County. Until the 1950s this was farmland, much of it growing rhubarb and other crops sold in Detroit. Then the subdivisions came fast, and many of the people who moved into them worked in the area’s Chrysler and Ford plants. J&M Roofing does residential and commercial roofing here, and estimates are free.
Ranches and split-levels
The ranch and the split-level became the standard houses of that boom, and they are still what you see on many streets here. Census-based estimates put the median home at about 1977. The 1970s are the biggest single decade, followed by the 1960s. Many of the classic ranches are in the south end of the city, and the newest developments are on the northwest side.
Most of these houses are on their second roof and some are on their third. The two shapes have their own habits:
- Ranches have long, simple roofs, which makes a roof replacement straightforward. The trouble is usually underneath: a shallow attic with poor venting, which feeds ice dams at the eaves in a snowy winter. Code requires an ice barrier there, and fixing the venting is worth doing in the same job.
- Split-levels have a lower roof that runs into an upper wall. That joint depends on step flashing tucked behind the siding, and when it fails the leak shows up inside, often far from where the water got in. That’s usually a careful roof repair, not a new roof.
- Layers. Michigan’s residential code caps a roof at two layers. If the house has already been roofed over once, the next job is a full tear-off, and the deck gets checked and repaired once it’s bare.
Industry along Van Dyke and Mound
Sterling Heights is also an industrial city. Van Dyke and Mound Road run north through the middle of it, and the Sterling Heights Assembly Plant on Van Dyke covers about five million square feet. It started in 1953 as a missile plant and has built cars since 1980. The city also has smaller industrial buildings, offices and shopping centers along its main roads.
Roofs on buildings like these are usually low-slope membranes or metal. For them, the work is keeping water moving and seams closed: commercial roofing maintenance, repair of failed areas, and on sound metal or flat roofs, roof coatings as an alternative to tearing off.
Permits in Sterling Heights
Building permits are handled by the city’s Office of Building at 40555 Utica Road. Roofing permits can be completed and submitted online by homeowners and licensed contractors, and inspections are scheduled with the Building Division. Work that changes the structure goes through a plan review instead and can’t be pulled online.
Where we work
We work across the city: from Hall Road, M-59, on the north edge, where Shelby Township begins, down to 14 Mile at the Warren line. Dequindre is the west edge and the county line, with Troy on the other side. In between, our crew covers Van Dyke, Mound, Utica Road, Dodge Park, Metro Parkway, 18 Mile and the streets off them.
To find out what your roof needs, request a free estimate.