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 full reconstruction when damage runs deeper. We work Dallas out of our office at 2100 N Greenville Ave, Ste 106 in Richardson.
Dallas is an old housing market, and that shapes every roofing conversation here. The median Dallas home was built in 1981, and roughly 48% of the city’s 590,237 housing units — 283,779 of them — went up before 1980 (ACS 2020–2024, B25035; B25034). Most Dallas roofs are not on their first covering.
When hail or wind hits a 1960s or 1970s roof, the argument with a carrier is rarely about whether the storm happened — it is about how much of the damage is storm and how much is age. Separating the two in writing, with dated photographs tied to a recorded event, is the whole job.
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Roofing and Storm Restoration Services in Dallas
- 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 reconstruction
- Exterior reconstruction
- Construction estimates and documentation
- General contracting and project supervision
Dallas’s storm record, by date
These are events the National Centers for Environmental Information recorded in and around the city of Dallas, each linked to its entry in NOAA’s Storm Events Database.
- June 9, 2019 — a windstorm, not a tornado. NOAA recorded 60 kt (69 mph) thunderstorm wind in the city: “Thunderstorm winds caused a crane collapse onto an apartment complex in the city of Dallas, TX, killing one person and injuring 6 others” (NOAA 833747; CNN). No June 2019 tornado occurred inside Dallas — the nearest was an EF-0 at Farmers Branch on June 16 (NOAA 834129).
- October 20, 2019 — EF-3 tornado through Dallas, $1.55 billion. It formed near SH 348 and Luna Road, with extensive damage near Harry Hines Blvd. and Walnut Hill Lane (NOAA 856409); an EF-2 hit Garland the same evening, $400 million (NOAA 856477). Peak damage was near 140 mph (NWS Fort Worth; NBC 5 DFW).
- June 12–13, 2023 — two hail days. Hen-egg 2.00 in. hail along Great Trinity Forest Way, then 1.75 in. hail on I-45 (NOAA 1105886, NOAA 1106375).
- May 27–28, 2024 — hail, then a 75 mph windstorm. 1.75 in. hail at Eagle Ford (NOAA 1186352), then a 65 kt gust at Love Field (NOAA 1186842). A building on Harry Hines Boulevard lost part of its roof, with damage also in Lake Highlands and Richardson (FOX 4).
- March 4, 2025 — an EF-1 tornado at Sowers in Irving and a 78 mph Love Field gust minutes apart (NOAA 1248200, NOAA 1244700).
- April 25, 2026 — hail estimated up to 3.00 in. in southwest Dallas, around Dallas Baptist University (NOAA 1326034).
Two patterns stand out: Dallas takes damaging wind at least as often as hail, and hail lands by quadrant, so a neighbor two ZIP codes away may have no claim while your roof does. NOAA’s damage figures are database estimates, not verified insured losses (NOAA detail files).
Why roofing in Dallas is different
Of 590,237 units, 56,870 were built before 1950, 70,459 in the 1950s, 70,377 in the 1960s, 86,073 in the 1970s and 95,614 in the 1980s — the largest single decade — while only 10,731 have gone up since 2020 (ACS B25034). Just 41.3% of units are single-family detached (B25024) and the median owner value is $320,700 (B25077), across a city of 1,307,930 people (B01003).
Age and hail are in play on the same roof. With about half the city built before 1980, replacement here is driven by age plus hail rather than first-time replacement — the harder claim to document, because a carrier can point at the calendar.
The pre-1950 core is a different building. Those 56,870 pre-1950 units are where original wood-shingle, slate and tile assemblies, historic-district material rules and decking problems concentrate.
Roof form varies block to block. Low-slope sections, valley metal, parapet and chimney flashing and vent boots are where wind events like May 2024 do their work, and an inspection that stops at field shingles misses them.
Roofing permits and inspections in Dallas
Dallas administers roofing permits under Chapter 52 of the City Code.
- A permit is required before new covering goes on, with no dollar threshold. Sec. 301.4.6.3: “New roof coverings must not be applied without first obtaining a permit.” The one exemption, Sec. 301(b)(7), is “Reroofing if the work does not exceed the equivalent of two roofing squares or less” — a roofing square is 100 square feet, so a whole-house reroof always needs a permit (Chapter 52).
- The fee is genuinely ambiguous, and we will not quote one. The current schedule — DSD Fees, effective July 1, 2025, Ordinance No. 33080 — has no “roof” line item, and two of its tables can each be read to cover a reroof: a flat single-family alterations-or-repairs base fee of $181 per dwelling unit, or a valuation-based alterations-and-repairs fee with a $175 minimum (DSD Fees, Ord. 33080; fees page). Neither is a price for your job; confirm which applies at application.
- Roof contractors must register with the city, at $120 a year. Subchapter 11 makes “roof contractor” a registration category, sets the fee at $120.00 (§1104.1) and expires registration one year after issuance (§1105.1). Homeowners on their own property are exempt (Chapter 52 Subchapter 11). No insurance minimum for that registration appears in Chapter 52, so verify coverage directly rather than infer it.
- Dallas publishes a final inspection only. Sec. 301.4.6.3.1 leaves special inspections to the building official’s discretion and the required-inspection list at Sec. 304.5 names no roofing stage, so there is no mid-roof, decking or nailing inspection.
- Debris-disposal proof is unique to Dallas. The application must list disposal sites, and “No final inspection may be performed or approval of work given until proof of the disposal of the reroofing debris at a city of Dallas landfill or transfer station is submitted” (Chapter 52 §301.4.6.3). A crew that keeps no disposal receipt leaves you a permit the city will not close.
- The 2021 International Residential Code applies, adopted as Chapter 57 with Dallas amendments effective May 12, 2023 under Ordinance 33099 (Know the Code).
- Historic districts add a step. In a Landmark District “A Certificate of Appropriateness must be obtained before any work can begin,” and no building permit issues until the signed Certificate is presented to Building Inspection staff (Landmark Districts; Preservation FAQ).
Reroof permits can be pulled at a Building Inspection district office as well as the main permit center (Building Inspection FAQs); inspections are scheduled at 214-670-5313. Fees and requirements above were reviewed in September 2026; confirm current amounts with the city before relying on them, and read the $181 and $175 figures as two competing readings of the schedule, not as a quoted price.
Neighborhoods we cover in Dallas
We work the whole city, and the address matters, because Dallas regulates roofing material by district in some neighborhoods and not at all in others.
Landmark (historic) districts — approval comes first. The city’s official list includes Swiss Avenue (H/1), South Boulevard / Park Row (H/4), Munger Place (H/11), Winnetka Heights (H/15), State Thomas (H/25), Edison / La Vista Court (H/47), Tenth Street (H/60), Peak’s Suburban Addition (H/72), Lake Cliff (H/84), Wheatley Place (H/100) and Junius Heights (H/128) (Landmark Districts). Their ordinances reach roofing directly: Swiss Avenue §51P-63.116(1)(N) bars flat and Mansard designs and requires materials and colors to complement the building (Ord. 18563, 1985) (Swiss Avenue ordinance), and Junius Heights Section 6 allows wood shingles, composition shingles, slate, clay, concrete or terra-cotta tile (Ord. 26331, 2006) (Junius Heights ordinance). The city’s lists give ordinance dates, not build eras, so we do not claim an era we cannot source.
Conservation districts — material and roof form can be restricted outright. The Development Code lets a conservation district control roof form, pitch and roofing materials (§51A-4.505). In M Streets East (CD-11), Ordinance No. 32107 of January 12, 2022, “Corrugated plastic, standing-seam metal, rolled, or tar-and-gravel roofing is not allowed” (M Streets East CD ordinance). In Lakewood CD-2, Tract IV, Ordinance No. 33026 of February 26, 2025, “The only roofing materials allowed are: wood shingles, material that looks like wood shingles, tile, slate, materials that look like slate, or composition shingles”; the ordinance references garages built before January 7, 1961, indicating pre-1961 housing (Lakewood CD-2 Tract IV). Kings Highway (CD-1), Ordinance No. 27945 of 2010, has no roof-material provision at all (Kings Highway ordinance), so the rules must be checked per address. We also cover M-Streets (CD-9), Greenway Parks (CD-10), Kessler Park (CD-13), Vickery Place (CD-15) and Stevens Park (CD-20) (CD list).
A Neighborhood Stabilization Overlay is not a roofing restriction. NSOs, established by Ordinance No. 26161 in 2005, regulate only yard setbacks, garage location and height (NSO page). Adopted NSO neighborhoods we cover include Northaven Estates, Greenland Hills, Casa Linda Estates, Cochran Heights and La Bajada.
One Richardson-Based Contractor for the Whole Recovery
Old houses deserve documentation that matches how they were actually built. On Dallas homes we scope the roofing system, the decking under it, exterior finishes, and interior damage in detail, so the reconstruction restores the house to the standard it was built to.
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 Richardson, Garland, Mesquite, Addison.
Frequently Asked Questions
My roof is 40 years old. Can it still be a storm claim in Dallas?
Yes, and in Dallas that is the common case: the median home here was built in 1981 and about 48% of units predate 1980. The question is whether a recorded event damaged it: NOAA logged a 75 mph gust at Love Field in May 2024 and hail up to 3.00 in. in southwest Dallas in April 2026.
Do you provide fire and water reconstruction in Dallas?
Yes. APGC provides complete interior and exterior reconstruction after the required mitigation or remediation work has been completed.
Can you help document the construction scope?
Yes. We provide photographs, measurements, construction estimates, repair scopes, material specifications, and technical explanations related to the reconstruction work. We do not act as a public insurance adjuster.
What roofing materials hold up best in Dallas?
Dallas sees both large hail and damaging straight-line wind, so impact resistance and correct edge, ridge and flashing detailing both matter. We can review impact-resistant shingle classes and the discounts some carriers attach to them. Dallas adds a step: in a conservation or landmark district the ordinance may limit which materials and roof forms are allowed, so we confirm that before ordering material.
Do you perform mitigation and remediation in Dallas?
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 I need a permit to replace my roof in Dallas, and what does it cost?
Yes. Chapter 52 Sec. 301.4.6.3 says new roof coverings must not be applied without first obtaining a permit, with no dollar threshold, and the only exemption is reroofing not exceeding two roofing squares, or 200 square feet. Roof contractors must be registered with the city at $120 a year under Sec. 1104.1. On cost, Dallas publishes no reroof line item: the current DSD Fees schedule, effective July 1, 2025 under Ordinance No. 33080, holds both a flat $181-per-dwelling-unit alteration or repair base fee and a valuation-based fee with a $175 minimum, so confirm which applies with the department. Neither figure is a quoted price.
What inspection does Dallas require after a reroof, and what is the debris rule?
A final only. Sec. 304.5 names no roofing stage, so there is no mid-roof, decking or nailing inspection. The Dallas-specific catch is disposal: the application must list debris disposal sites, and no final inspection or approval may be given until proof of disposal at a City of Dallas landfill or transfer station is submitted. Inspections are scheduled at 214-670-5313.
Do I need historic or conservation district approval before reroofing in Dallas?
In a Landmark District, yes: a Certificate of Appropriateness must be obtained before any work begins, and no building permit issues until the signed Certificate is presented to Building Inspection staff. Conservation districts are separate and can restrict material and roof form directly — M Streets East (CD-11) prohibits corrugated plastic, standing-seam metal, rolled and tar-and-gravel roofing, and Lakewood CD-2 Tract IV allows only wood shingles or look-alikes, tile, slate or slate look-alikes, and composition shingles — while Kings Highway (CD-1) has no roof-material provision. The answer depends on your address.