Repairing postwar roofs and adding ADU roofs in Milwaukie, OR 97222

Many Milwaukie homes have plain gable or hip roofs, a low pitch, and narrow eaves with wood fascia behind half-round or K-style gutters. Those simple roofs are cheap to maintain while the edges stay healthy, and the edges are where trouble starts. Gutters that overflowed for years soak the fascia and the bottom row of roof boards, and once the wood softens, gutter spikes pull loose and the drip edge sags. Fixing that means replacing the rotted fascia and a strip of decking, then hanging new seamless gutters on solid wood. Many houses also carry an old brick chimney that no longer serves a furnace and now only leaks.

Taking an unused chimney down below the roofline and decking over the hole removes a leak source for good. It is a common request in Milwaukie, especially before a reroof or a sale. Buyers and their inspectors look closely at roofs on houses this age, so owners getting ready to list often ask us for an inspection and a written condition report first, which gives them time to fix what matters.

Milwaukie gets the long, soaking rain season of the Willamette Valley, with gray months where roofs barely dry. Mature street trees and backyard maples and firs drop leaves and needles into gutters and onto low-pitch roofs, where debris holds water against the shingles. Winter brings the occasional ice storm or snow, and big old trees in these neighborhoods drop limbs onto roofs and power lines. East winds out of the Gorge arrive here weaker than in Troutdale, but gusts still lift tired shingles on exposed ridges. Most damage here is slow, steady water at the edges, not dramatic failure.

For repairs, we go straight to the trouble spot, check the attic and edges, and price the fix on its own, with any other concerns listed separately. For backyard cottages and garage conversions, we look at the roof design with you, often a shed or low-slope roof, and plan drainage away from neighbors and the main house. We check with the City of Milwaukie or Clackamas County on permit rules for your project and pull permits where they are required.