Roofing is our primary trade. American Prime General Construction is a veteran-led general contractor that self-performs roofing and carries storm jobs through to reconstruction. We work Trenton from Richardson.
On April 26, 2026 NOAA recorded 4.00-inch hail inside Trenton city limits with $200,000 in reported property damage (NOAA/NCEI event 1326088), softball size. Two reports the same day logged 2.75-inch hail behind Trenton High School and 1.75-inch hail elsewhere in town. In a city with 214 owner-occupied units (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020–2024, table B25003), a storm that size hit most of the town’s roofs at once.
Five months on, the roofs worth worrying about are the ones that looked fine from the ground: bruised mats, fractured coatings, split ridge caps that leak later.
Schedule a Free Roof Inspection Call 469-888-8326
Roofing and Storm Restoration Services in Trenton
- Roofing inspections, repair, and replacement
- Hail and wind damage restoration
- Tornado damage reconstruction
- Fire-damage build-back
- Water-damage build-back
- Mitigation and remediation partner coordination
- Interior and exterior reconstruction
- Construction estimates and documentation
- General contracting and project supervision
Trenton’s storm record, by date
Trenton’s confirmed record is short but heavy. These are events NOAA recorded with a report point inside the city limits, not county events borrowed from elsewhere.
| Date | Event | Recorded damage | NOAA record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 26, 2026 | 4.00 in. hail | $200,000 | 1326088 |
| Apr 26, 2026 | 2.75 in. hail, behind Trenton High School | $30,000 | 1326090 |
| Apr 26, 2026 | 1.75 in. hail | $7,000 | 1326086 |
| Mar 4, 2025 | 63 kt measured gust (72 mph) | $10,000 | 1244681 |
| May 23, 2024 | 1.50 in. hail | — | 1185740 |
| Nov 24, 2020 | Wind, 56 kt (64 mph) | $6,000; a mobile-home roof blown off | 928360 |
| May 29, 2019 | Wind, 87 kt (100 mph), NWS survey | $300,000; begin point at the eastern city edge, swath southeast of town | 828808 |
| Apr 25, 2011 | 1.00 in. hail | — | 297128 |
Magnitudes are NOAA knots, converted at the standard rate. The 2019 event is borderline in-city rather than certain.
Tornadoes. NOAA records no tornado with a track point inside the city limits between 2010 and 2026. Two December 13, 2022 EF2 tornadoes came close — Blue Ridge to Pike at about 3.0 kilometres (event 1065999) and Nobility to Bailey at about 2.7 kilometres (event 1066000) — and both get called Trenton storms locally. Neither entered the city. The precision cuts both ways, though: the 1.50-inch Leonard report of April 26, 2026 plots 0.4 kilometres outside the line (event 1326087), well within rounding.
Why Trenton roofs age the way they do
The median year built is 1970, and of 313 units 106 predate 1950, 90 built in 1939 or earlier (ACS table B25034, B25035). Only 31 units have been built since 2010. On stock that old the operative risks are not warranty age:
- Layers and decking. A second or third layer changes tear-off, disposal and fastener length, and pre-war houses here often have board decking with gaps modern shingle fastening was never designed for. You do not know what you have until the felt comes off, so price a tear-off with a written deck-replacement allowance, agreed before work starts.
- Joined rooflines. Farmhouses grow. Additions from the 1950s and the 1980s create valleys, dead pockets and flashing transitions that hail and wind find first.
Fannin County reports 2,108 farms averaging 198 acres (USDA NASS 2022 Census of Agriculture, Fannin County), consistent with what you see here: older houses ringed by barns, sheds and shops, each with its own roof. Metal is a normal sight on them, though we will not quote a percentage: roof covering is not an ACS variable and no appraisal district here publishes a roof-cover code list. Metal fails differently: hail dents panels and fractures coating rather than stripping granules, so damage reads as cosmetic while the coating failure shortens panel life, and on exposed-fastener systems the washers are the weak point. Outbuildings took the same storm and get forgotten.
Permits in Trenton: what the city actually publishes
Nobody has published whether a re-roof needs a permit
The city publishes no statement on whether replacing a roof requires a permit, and two of its documents point in different directions. The construction permit application lists New, Addition, Remodel, Finishout, Sign and the trades — no roofing checkbox — though it states that “All permits require final inspection” and that a permit is void after 180 days (City of Trenton permit application). The contractor registration application does list “Roofing” among its trades, the clearest sign that the city regulates roofing work, though registering a trade is not the same as requiring a permit (contractor registration application). Chapter 4 has no roof-area or repair-value exemption either (eCode360, Chapter 4). Call City Hall at 903-989-2237 and ask before work starts. Any contractor who states flatly that Trenton does or does not require a roof permit is asserting what the city has never published.
The fee schedule contradicts itself
Building fees sit in Appendix A, Article A2.000, plus a ten percent administrative fee (eCode360, Appendix A, Art. A2.000). The schedule states a minimum fee of $80.00 while the lowest valuation bracket, $1.00 to $10,000.00, where a re-roof would land, reads $76.92. Both cannot govern the same job. Sec. 4.02.002, from Ordinance 469 of April 17, 2013, also lets the city contract out permitting (eCode360, Sec. 4.02.002).
Registration and inspections
Contractor registration has its own form, requiring the driver’s and trade licenses and liability insurance of $500,000 with the City of Trenton named as certificate holder; no fee amount is published on the form or in Appendix A. Ask bidders for that certificate. The only published inspection requirement is that all permits require final inspection; no mid-roof or decking inspection appears anywhere, so the burden falls on documentation, because no third party sees the roof between tear-off and completion. City Hall is at 216 Hamilton St (City of Trenton, City Information).
The code Trenton adopted, and the one it did not
Trenton adopted the 2018 International Building Code by Ordinance 555 on May 19, 2022, with amendments in an Exhibit A (eCode360, building code division), and the 2017 National Electrical Code by Ordinance 556 the same day (electrical code division).
It adopted no International Residential Code at all. Chapter 4, Article 02 contains only general, building-code and electrical-code divisions. Most North Texas cities adopt the IRC for one- and two-family dwellings and the IBC for everything else; Trenton has only the IBC, so a house here is reviewed against a commercial code, not the residential one most roofers quote from habit. If a contractor cites an IRC section on your job, that is not what your city adopted, so ask what the adopted code requires. Exhibit A to Ordinance 555 is not published online; the code says it is kept on file at the city offices.
One thing Trenton makes simpler: no owners’ association is registered with the state here (Texas HOA registry), and Property Code requires associations to file. The city and the adopted code are the only approval layer for a re-roof.
Neighborhoods and new development in Trenton
The official statement for the city’s Anderson Crossing public improvement district bonds lists five subdivisions in the developer’s portfolio (Series 2023 Special Assessment Revenue Bonds, Preliminary Official Statement): Anderson Crossing, 113 lots near FM 4905 and US-69 inside the city limits; Trenton Creekside, 150; Blanton Creek Estates, 83; Fannin Ranch Estates, 72; and the completed Monroe Estates, 32. That is roughly 450 planned lots against an existing 313 units, in a district created by Resolution No. 522 on May 3, 2023 and run by the city council, not an association. For roofing it means a block of same-vintage roofs that will age together and, when the next April 2026-scale hail arrives, fail together.
One Richardson-Based Contractor for the Whole Recovery
Old farmhouse rooflines mean joined additions, plank decking and flashing from three decades. Our inspections cover the full system, including the outbuildings.
We inspect and scope the construction damage, coordinate qualified mitigation and remediation professionals when specialized services are required, and manage the reconstruction through completion. Learn more about our storm restoration services and complete build-back work, or contact us.
We also serve nearby communities including Van Alstyne, Anna, Melissa, McKinney.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a permit to replace my roof in Trenton?
The city does not publish an answer. Its permit application has no roofing checkbox, while its contractor registration application does list Roofing. Call City Hall at 903-989-2237 before work starts.
How much is a building permit in Trenton?
Appendix A, Article A2.000 contradicts itself: a stated minimum fee of $80.00 against $76.92 for the $1.00 to $10,000.00 bracket, where a re-roof would fall, plus a ten percent administrative fee. Confirm which applies with City Hall.
What building code does Trenton use for houses?
Trenton adopted the 2018 International Building Code by Ordinance 555 on May 19, 2022, and the 2017 National Electrical Code by Ordinance 556. Unusually, no International Residential Code is adopted at all, so houses are reviewed against the IBC. Local amendments are kept on file, not published.
How bad was the April 2026 hail in Trenton?
NOAA recorded 4.00-inch hail inside the city limits on April 26, 2026 with $200,000 in reported damage, plus a 2.75-inch report behind Trenton High School at $30,000. Four inches is softball size, so most of the town was struck at once.
Do you perform mitigation and remediation in Trenton?
Specialized mitigation and remediation work is performed by qualified service providers. APGC coordinates those services with the overall project and manages the repair and build-back portions of the work.
Do you provide fire and water reconstruction in Trenton?
Yes. APGC provides complete interior and exterior reconstruction after the required mitigation or remediation work has been completed.
What roofing materials hold up best in Trenton?
The dominant hazard is very large hail, confirmed at 4.00 inches in April 2026, with wind measured at 72 mph in March 2025 per NOAA. That argues for impact-resistant shingle classes and close attention to underlayment and decking on a 1970-median stock.
If you were in Trenton on April 26, 2026 and have not had the roof checked properly, make that call. Four-inch hail does not always leave a hole; it leaves bruises, fractured coatings and split boots. We walk the roof and the outbuildings, photograph what we find, and tell you whether you need a repair, a replacement, or nothing. Where water got inside, we coordinate licensed mitigation partners and self-perform the reconstruction and build-back. We are not a public insurance adjuster and we do not negotiate claims on your behalf; we provide a documented construction scope — see our restoration documentation, hail and wind damage work, and shingle options. Book a free roof inspection or review our service area.
American Prime General Construction, 2100 N Greenville Ave Ste 106, Richardson, TX 75082. (469) 888-8326.