Two kinds of Troy
Troy is two cities in one. Most of it is subdivisions. Across it runs Big Beaver Road, one of the busiest commercial corridors in Oakland County. J&M Roofing works on both: houses, and the offices and retail buildings that line Troy’s main roads. Estimates are free.
The subdivisions
Troy became a city in December 1955, partly to stop its neighbors from annexing more of the township. In the 1960s and 1970s the farms gave way to subdivisions and shopping centers, and it shows in the housing. Census-based estimates put the median home at about 1977, and the 1970s alone account for roughly a third of the city’s houses.
A house from that decade is almost always on its second roof, and many are on their third. That shapes the work:
- Tear-offs. Michigan’s residential code allows no more than two layers. If the current roof went on over the original, the next roof replacement starts by stripping both.
- The deck. With the old layers off, soft or delaminated sheathing gets replaced before anything new goes on. A roof that has been covered twice has had more years to hide damage.
- Ventilation and ice. Code requires an ice barrier at the eaves in our climate. Attic venting on many older houses was never right, and that is what feeds ice dams.
Not every old roof needs replacing. A slipped shingle, a lifted vent boot or tired chimney flashing is a roof repair, and on a sound roof that is the right call.
Big Beaver and the commercial side
The three miles of Big Beaver between Rochester Road and Coolidge Highway are Troy’s central business district: high-rise offices, restaurants and the Somerset Collection. The office buildings went up in waves, starting with towers like the 25-story Top of Troy in 1975, so the corridor holds roofs of many different ages. More commercial roofing sits along Maple Road near Crooks and the other main roads, and some older office buildings are now being turned into apartments.
These buildings mostly have low-slope roofs with membranes, drains and rooftop units. The problems there are ponding water, open seams and leaks around equipment curbs, and most of them are easier to deal with when caught early. That is what commercial roofing maintenance and roof inspections are for, and on a sound membrane a roof coating can be worth pricing against a replacement.
Permits in Troy
Building permits come from the City of Troy Building Department at 500 W. Big Beaver. The department is paperless. Roofing permits are filed online through the city’s BS&A system, and inspections are requested by phone or online. The city also recommends checking with your homeowners association before any alteration that might need its approval.
Where we work
Troy starts at South Boulevard, the southern edge of Rochester Hills, so it’s a short trip for our crew. We work across the city: Long Lake, Big Beaver, Maple and 14 Mile running east and west, and Rochester Road, Crooks, Livernois, Coolidge and John R running north and south. Dequindre is the east edge, with Sterling Heights on the other side.
To find out what your roof needs, request a free estimate.