Which Winston-Salem neighborhoods are historic districts?
The West End Historic District has 508 contributing buildings, built from about 1887 to 1930. Old Salem is a Moravian settlement with more than 50 restored buildings. Ardmore is a 600-acre district, Reynolda covers 178 acres on Reynolda Road, and Bethania, founded in 1759, has the largest historic district in Forsyth County.
The West End Historic District is the one most owners think of first. Its 508 contributing buildings went up from about 1887 to 1930 in Classical Revival, Colonial Revival, Queen Anne and Bungalow or Craftsman styles. Each style carries a different roof: a Queen Anne house brings turrets, tall chimneys and a busy roofline, while a Craftsman bungalow has a broad low porch roof under the main one.
Being in a national historic district and being subject to the commission's review are not always the same thing, and the sources do not say which streets in the newer districts are reviewed for roofs. So the safe move is the same everywhere outside the West End, Old Salem and the overlay district: ask the commission's staff about your exact address before you sign for materials.
What does a Certificate of Appropriateness cover on a roof?
A Certificate of Appropriateness is the Historic Resources Commission's approval for exterior work in a reviewed district. For a roof it can cover the material and appearance of the replacement. Staff decide some applications as minor work; others go to the commission's agenda. It is separate from the building permit.
Two tracks exist. Minor work can be approved at staff level, and larger or less clear cases are heard at a commission meeting. The sources do not say what the usual turnaround is for either track, so treat any promised date as unconfirmed until the commission's staff give you one.
The building permit is a different office and a different question. It asks whether the work meets the building code, and it is required for re-roofing in Winston-Salem. Patching or replacing a few shingles typically does not need it, but in a historic district the exterior-appearance question can still apply, so do not assume the small job is invisible to the commission.
What roofing problems are common on older district houses?
Houses built from about 1887 to 1930 carry complex rooflines: valleys, dormers, turrets, porch roofs and masonry chimneys. Leaks usually start at the joins, where flashing meets wall, chimney or another roof plane, long before the field of shingles fails. Repair choices on these roofs often have to be explained to the commission.
A modern ranch has one roof plane or two. A West End Queen Anne can have a dozen, and every place two planes meet is a valley that depends on metal flashing underneath. Many old leaks are a worn valley or a chimney joint rather than worn shingles. For those, the flashing repair and chimney flashing pages describe what a roofer checks.
Older houses also hide surprises under the covering. Decking on a house of that age may have soaked up decades of small leaks, and a tear-off is where that gets found. If a limb or a gust opens the roof while an approval is pending, the first job is a temporary cover; the emergency roof tarping page explains it.
