Our work in Ashford
2 completed roofs in Ashford to date, counted from our own records. Ashford sits 73 miles from our Bethel base.
Ashford is a 38.8-square-mile municipality in Windham County.
Ashford takes in Lake Chaffee, Warrenville, West Ashford and Westford. Age and construction of the housing changes between them, which is why we look before quoting.
Design criteria for an Ashford roof
For Ashford, the governing figure is an ultimate design wind speed of 120 mph (93 mph nominal), straight out of Appendix AY of the 2022 state code. 148 of Connecticut's 169 municipalities are rated at or above that figure. As in every Connecticut town, a tear-off here triggers the sealed roof deck rule.
Ground snow load in Ashford is 35 psf. Above the state baseline, which matters most where snow collects — valleys, dormer sides, and anywhere a roof steps down.
Connecticut amendments that apply here
The state changes the model code in two places worth knowing about. R905.1.2 requires ice barrier everywhere in Connecticut, extending at least 24 inches inside the exterior wall line as measured up the slope. And R905.1.1, the sealed roof deck amendment, does not apply over narrow lumber sheathing — under 3 feet nominal — which is exactly what many pre-1950 houses in this state have.
Ashford is newer than most of Connecticut: only 53.2% of its homes predate 1980 and the median was built around 1978, so plywood or OSB decking is what we usually find, and the plank exception rarely comes up.
The six-nail question comes up constantly. Code minimum in Connecticut is four nails per shingle. Manufacturers require six to honor their wind warranty. We install six. Both facts are true at the same time, and anyone presenting six as a code requirement has it wrong.
The climate a roof in Ashford has to take
The nearest weather station with a thirty-year record sits about 8 miles from the center of town at Storrs. Its readings - NOAA's 1991-2020 normals - say what a roof in Ashford actually has to put up with.
Snow: 39 inches in an average year, which is about average for Connecticut. It falls across roughly 11 days that leave an inch or more, and 5 that leave three inches or more. Snow itself rarely hurts a sound roof. What hurts is meltwater running down to a cold eave, freezing, and backing up under the shingles - an ice dam. That is why the ice barrier at the eaves is the detail worth paying attention to on any re-roof here.
Freeze-thaw: about 123 nights a year drop below freezing, and 36 days never climb above it. It is the quiet killer of Connecticut flashing. Water sits in a joint, freezes overnight, pushes the gap a fraction wider, melts, and goes in deeper the next night.
Rain: 49 inches a year, including about 13 days when an inch or more falls in a single day and 2 that top two inches. Volume like that finds a tired valley, an undersized gutter or a kick-out flashing that was never installed. Those are the three places we look first on an older roof here.
The town center is about 527 feet up - middling for Connecticut, where every few hundred feet of elevation adds snow and takes away melting days.
Source: NOAA 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals, station Storrs (8 miles from Ashford).
What the storm record says about Ashford
NOAA keeps a confirmed record of severe weather by location. Within ten miles of Ashford, 2015-2026 looks like this.
51 damaging-wind reports, the strongest put at 81 mph. Wind, not hail, is what takes roofs apart here. It works on the edges - rake, ridge, eave - and the damage is usually invisible from the ground.
11 hail reports, the largest 1.25 inches across - about the size of a half dollar. Stones that big do more than bruise. They crack tabs and drive the granules off in patches, and the damage is often visible from the ground once you know the pattern.
Also on the record: 3 confirmed tornadoes touched down inside the same circle and the National Weather Service logged 24 winter-storm, heavy-snow or ice-storm events for Windham County over the same years.
None of that means a roof is damaged. It means it is worth looking. An inspection in Ashford costs nothing, you get the photographs whatever we find, and the storm damage report collects the evidence in one document if you need it.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, reports within 10 miles of the center of Ashford, 2015-2026.
Permits and inspections in Ashford
Permits for roof work in Ashford go through the town building department. The building official on record is Rich McKinnon. The office is staffed part-time, which is worth planning around — inspection windows are narrower than in a full-time department, and a tear-off scheduled without checking availability can sit open longer than anyone wants. The published number is 860-487-4404. Written questions go to rmckinnon@boltonct.gov. We pull the permit as part of the job. No homeowner should be asked to pull their own roofing permit by a contractor working on their house.
A roof replacement permit in Connecticut is generally issued over the counter or online once the scope is submitted, with an inspection at completion. Where a house sits in a local historic district, or where zoning or health review applies, that approval comes first and can add real time. If your property is affected, we will tell you before the contract is signed rather than after the dumpster arrives.
Two kinds of Ashford house, two kinds of roof job
Ashford built a larger share of its housing in 2000 or later than Connecticut as a whole did. Census Bureau estimates for 2019–2023 put 26.3 percent of the town's 2,068 housing units in that newest bracket, against 11.8 percent statewide and 15.7 percent across the Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region. The town's median year built is 1978, so the typical Ashford home is about 48 years old in 2026, younger than the state's median of 1967 and the region's 1973. It is a town of owners and detached houses, too: 80.8 percent of occupied homes are owner-occupied, and 85.8 percent of units are single-family detached.
That newer group changes the roof conversation. InterNACHI's life expectancy chart gives architectural asphalt shingles about 30 years and 3-tab about 20, and notes that weather, building design, material quality and maintenance all move those figures. A house finished early in the 2000s is therefore likely still on its first roof and well into the span the chart gives it. For many of these owners the decision is a new one, and it starts with whether the roof needs a repair or has reached the end.
For permits, Connecticut draws the line by size. Its amended R105.2 frees from permits any repair limited to 25 percent of the roof covering within one calendar year; anything larger, a full replacement included, needs one. Replacement is also a defined term. IRC R908.3, taken into Connecticut's code without amendment, calls for removing the existing layers down to the roof deck, so on a first-roof house the deck is exposed for the first time since it was built.
The rest of Ashford's housing is older. The estimates place 53.2 percent of units before 1980 and 11.9 percent before 1940. Those houses have likely been re-roofed at least once. If that earlier work was laid over the old shingles, the roof may already carry two layers, and IRC R908.3.1.1 then rules out another layover. The table below puts each bracket beside the statewide figure.
| Housing (ACS 2019–2023) | Ashford | Connecticut |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 2,068 | 1,536,049 |
| Owner-occupied homes | 1,477 | 939,912 |
| Share owner-occupied | 80.8% | 66.2% |
| Single-family detached | 85.8% | 58.7% |
| Median year built | 1978 | 1967 |
| Built before 1940 | 11.9% | 20.4% |
| Built 1940–1979 | 41.4% | 47.4% |
| Built 1980–1999 | 20.5% | 20.5% |
| Built 2000 or later | 26.3% | 11.8% |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2019–2023 5-year estimates, tables B25001, B25003, B25024, B25034, B25035. Estimates carry a margin of error, which is wider in smaller towns.
How Ashford compares with the towns around it
Every town Ashford borders is rated for equal or stronger wind. Crossing the town line here means a heavier fastening schedule, not a lighter one.
| Bordering town | Design wind | vs. Ashford | Ground snow | County |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chaplin | 125 mph | +5 | 35 psf | Windham |
| Eastford | 120 mph | same | 40 psf | Windham |
| Mansfield | 120 mph | same | 35 psf | Tolland |
| Union | 120 mph | same | 40 psf | Tolland |
| Willington | 120 mph | same | 35 psf | Tolland |
Get a straight answer on your roof
Free inspection, a written scope, and a 25-year workmanship warranty.
Common questions about roofing in Ashford
How many nails per shingle should be used in Ashford?
Connecticut's code minimum is four. Shingle manufacturers require six to keep their wind warranty in force, and six is what we install. Six nails is a manufacturer requirement, not a code requirement.
Is ice barrier required on an Ashford roof?
Yes — Connecticut requires it statewide under code section R905.1.2, running from the lowest roof edge to at least 24 inches inside the exterior wall line. With a 35 psf ground snow load in Ashford, that detail is doing real work.
What wind speed does a roof in Ashford have to be designed for?
The 2022 Connecticut State Building Code assigns Ashford an ultimate design wind speed of 120 mph. That figure sets the fastener schedule and the manufacturer wind rating we specify.
Have you worked in Ashford before?
Yes. Our records show 2 completed roofs in Ashford. That count comes from our own job history.
Who is the building official in Ashford?
Rich McKinnon is the building official on record for Ashford, per the State of Connecticut list of municipal building officials. Staffing changes — confirm with the town before relying on it.
Do I need a permit to replace a roof in Ashford?
Yes. A roof replacement in Ashford requires a building permit, and we pull it as part of the job. The building department's published number is 860-487-4404 if you want to confirm anything independently.
Does Ashford get hail?
Yes, and it is worth taking seriously. NOAA has 11 confirmed hail reports within ten miles of Ashford since 2015, the largest 1.25 inches across. Stones that size crack the mat under the granules rather than just bruising it, so the damage is real even when the roof looks sound from the driveway.
Are ice dams a problem in Ashford?
They are the winter problem worth planning for. The nearest long-record station averages 39 inches of snow a year across about 11 days that leave an inch or more, and roughly 123 nights below freezing. That is the exact recipe for melt at the warm middle of a roof refreezing at the cold eave. Connecticut's code answer is an ice barrier at the eaves; the practical answer is that plus attic insulation and ventilation that keep the roof deck cold.
Design criteria are taken from Appendix AY of the 2022 Connecticut State Building Code. Building department details come from the State of Connecticut list of municipal building officials, updated 04-06-2026. Municipal staffing and personnel change — confirm current details with the town. Stallion Ridge Exteriors is a service-area business based in Bethel, Connecticut.