Replacing a Roof in a Winston-Salem Historic District

Do you need approval to replace a roof in a Winston-Salem historic district?

In West End, Old Salem and the West End Historic Overlay District, yes. Roof replacements go through the Forsyth County Historic Resources Commission for a Certificate of Appropriateness. It is handled either by staff as minor work or on the commission's agenda. Get it before the roofer orders materials or starts work.

The approval is called a Certificate of Appropriateness, often shortened to COA. It is the commission's way of confirming that exterior work on a historic property fits the district, and a roof is exterior work. City records show roof replacements at West End Boulevard addresses and in Old Salem going through this process, so it is not a rare event.

The key point for a homeowner is timing. The review comes before the work, not after. A roofer who has a crew free next week cannot start until approval is in hand, and if materials are ordered first and then not approved, the cost is yours. Ask the roofer to wait for the approval, and ask the commission staff how long it usually takes. This site has no sourced review times, so we will not guess.

Winston-Salem Roofing is a call line that connects you with an independent local roofer. We do not apply for approvals and do not decide what is allowed. Use this guide to ask the right questions of the Historic Resources Commission and your contractor.

What is a Certificate of Appropriateness?

A Certificate of Appropriateness is written approval from the Forsyth County Historic Resources Commission for exterior work on a property in a covered historic district. Simple work may be approved by staff as minor work, while bigger changes go to the commission's agenda for a decision.

Think of it as a second permit, with a different purpose. The building permit says the work will be recorded and may be inspected. The Certificate of Appropriateness says the materials and appearance suit the district. You may need both.

There are two routes in the way the city describes it. Staff-level minor work is the quicker path for changes the staff can approve directly. Anything that needs more discussion goes onto a commission agenda. Which route your roof takes depends on what you propose, and commission staff are the ones to ask.

Applications are public record. The city posts redacted applications, which means you can see what a typical roof application contains. If your roofer has done work in the district before, ask them to show you the paperwork they used so you know what to expect.

Which parts of Winston-Salem are historic districts?

West End, Old Salem and the West End Historic Overlay District are named as places where roof replacements go through the commission. Ardmore, Buena Vista, Reynolda and Bethania are also historic areas, and each has its own character. Ask whether your exact address is covered before choosing materials.

West End has 508 contributing buildings and 7 contributing structures, built from about 1887 to 1930 in Classical Revival, Colonial Revival, Queen Anne and Bungalow or Craftsman styles. Houses like that have porches, gables, dormers and chimneys that make roofs complicated, and a historic review looks closely at them.

Old Salem is a Moravian settlement with more than 50 restored buildings. Ardmore is a 600-acre national historic district, described as the largest and newest of the city's historic districts. Buena Vista is known for Italian Renaissance and Tudor mansions designed by architect Charles Barton Keen. Reynolda Historic District covers 178 acres on Reynolda Road.

Outside the city, Bethania was founded on June 12, 1759 by the Moravian Brethren and became a National Historic Landmark in 2001. Its roughly 500 acres make it the largest historic district in Forsyth County. Re-roofing a house there can involve extra review of materials and appearance.

A district being historic does not by itself tell you which review applies to your roof. Ask the town and the county Historic Resources Commission about your specific address. This site does not state which of these areas carry the same requirement, since that is not something we have sourced.

How do the building permit and the historic review fit together?

They are separate. Re-roofing needs a building permit in Winston-Salem, and in the historic districts named above the Certificate of Appropriateness is needed on top of it. Get the historic approval first, because it settles the materials the permit application will describe.

Homeowners sometimes find out about the second approval halfway through a job. That is the expensive way to learn it. The order that works in practice is to decide the scope, ask the commission staff whether your roof is minor work, apply for the Certificate of Appropriateness, and then handle the permit with the materials approved.

The permit side is covered in our guide on whether you need a permit to replace a roof in Winston-Salem. It lists the Forsyth County Inspections Division contact and the published fee estimates. For the history side, the page for historic district roofing describes how a roofer works on older houses.

Ask your roofer to name who handles each approval. If the contractor says they take care of everything, ask for it in the quote, with the approval named as a condition of starting work.

What does a historic roof usually involve for materials and cost?

It involves matching the look of the building, which the commission reviews. This site has no sourced prices for historic work and no list of approved materials, so ask the staff what they approve and ask the roofer to price the approved option in writing. Complex rooflines usually take more labor.

Older houses in West End and Buena Vista have steep slopes, dormers, valleys and decorative details. A roof like that takes longer than a plain ranch roof of the same footprint, because every junction is hand-fitted. That is a general fact of complex rooflines, not a published price.

Many older houses also have masonry chimneys. Chimney flashing is a common leak point on them, and our page on chimney flashing and repair explains why. If a chimney or a skylight is part of the project, mention it in the application, because the commission is reviewing the whole roof's appearance.

For a general picture of what drives roof cost, including the published estimates for Winston-Salem, read the guide to what a roof replacement costs in Winston-Salem. Those estimates are for asphalt shingle roofs and do not reflect the added review or materials that a historic roof may call for.

How do you prepare for the commission review?

Photograph the existing roof from the ground, note its current material and condition, ask the staff whether your work counts as minor work, and have your roofer describe the proposed materials in writing. Bring all of it to the application so staff can decide quickly.

A good application is specific. It says what the roof is made of now, what the new covering will be, and what will change visually. The roofer is the person who knows the product details, and you are the person who knows the house.

Call the commission staff early. They can say whether your project is staff-level minor work or belongs on the agenda, and they can tell you what the application needs. We have no sourced fees or review times, so these are questions only the staff can answer.

Be patient with the process even when a leak is pushing you. If the roof is actively leaking, a temporary cover is a separate matter from replacement, and a roofer can talk through options. See our guide on emergency roof tarping for what that involves.

• Photos of each slope and the chimney, taken from the ground
• A note of the current covering and any known leaks or repairs
• The proposed material described by the roofer in writing
• A question for staff: is this minor work or an agenda item?
• Confirmation of how the building permit will be handled afterward
• A start date written as conditional on approval

What if your house is in the district but the roof is leaking right now?

A leaking roof needs protection first. A temporary cover is different from replacement, but ask commission staff before doing anything that changes the roof's appearance. Call a roofer to describe the leak, keep photos, and avoid permanent changes until you know which approval applies.

Water does not wait for paperwork. If a limb has come through or shingles have blown off, the priority is stopping water entry. A tarp is temporary, it can come off, and it does not change the look of the roof for long.

Where it gets complicated is replacing the covering. That is the point where the historic rules matter, and the cautious path is to call commission staff the same week and ask what they need. Your roofer can tell you what they can do as a stopgap and what they cannot do without approval.

Use (833) 751-2102 to describe what you see from the ground, and the call line will connect you with an independent roofer who serves your town. Say in the first minute that the house is in a historic district so they can plan for it.