Our work in New London
Our records show 5 roofs finished in New London. It is 68 miles from Bethel.
The town runs to 5.6 square miles, in New London County. As one of the state's 24 shoreline towns, it gets salt air — and salt air finds fasteners and flashing metal first. Component specs change here.
Within New London we work in East New London, Fort Trumbull, Neptune Park and Osprey Beach. Housing stock varies enough inside one Connecticut town that the right roof in one neighborhood is not automatically right three miles away.
Design criteria for a New London roof
For New London, the governing figure is an ultimate design wind speed of 127 mph (98 mph nominal), straight out of Appendix AY of the 2022 state code. That puts New London in the top handful statewide — just 4 municipalities carry an equal or higher rating. Connecticut's amendment to R905.1.1 applies statewide, so a full tear-off here brings the sealed roof deck requirement with it.
The code assigns New London a ground snow load of 30 psf. That is Connecticut's baseline. Here the practical enemy is usually ice damming at the eaves rather than structural load.
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.
That decking exception is not a footnote in New London: 84.9% of the housing here went up before 1980 and 46.7% before 1940, so plank decking under the shingles is the rule rather than the exception.
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.
What the weather does to roofs in New London
Thirty years of readings from the nearest long-record station, about 3 miles from the center of town at Groton, say more about what a New London roof faces than any brochure does. These are NOAA's 1991-2020 normals.
Snow: 24 inches in an average year, which is on the lighter side for Connecticut. It falls across roughly 8 days that leave an inch or more, and 4 that leave three inches or more. Weight is seldom the issue on a roof that is sound. Meltwater is: it runs to the cold overhang, freezes there, and the next thaw has nowhere to go but sideways, under the shingles.
Freeze-thaw: about 102 nights a year drop below freezing, and 17 days never climb above it. Freezing water expands with enough force to widen any gap it is sitting in. Do that on most nights of the winter and the sealant around a chimney or a vent pipe gives up years before the shingles do.
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. Rain in that volume is a better roof inspector than most people are. It finds the badly closed valley and the overwhelmed gutter long before anyone on the ground notices.
At roughly 9 feet above sea level, New London sits on the milder end of Connecticut's snow map. The hill towns to the north average far more snow than this.
Source: NOAA 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals, station Groton (3 miles from New London).
New London's storm record, from the National Weather Service
Every severe-weather report a National Weather Service office confirms goes into NOAA's Storm Events Database. Here is what it holds for the ten miles around New London over 2015-2026.
12 damaging-wind reports, the strongest put at 64 mph. Wind damage is cumulative. Each gust that lifts a tab breaks a little more of the seal underneath, and the roof that survives five storms can fail in the sixth.
2 hail reports, the largest 1 inch across - about the size of a quarter. Hail that size bruises asphalt shingles rather than shattering them: the granules come off, the mat underneath ages fast, and the roof fails years early. A bruise is easy to miss and easy to prove once you know where to look.
Also on the record: the National Weather Service logged 30 winter-storm, heavy-snow or ice-storm events for New London County over the same years.
After a storm like those, the sensible move is a look at the roof before anything leaks - we do that for free in New London, and you get the photographs either way. If there is damage, our storm damage report puts the photos, measurements and a written estimate in one place for your insurer.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, reports within 10 miles of the center of New London, 2015-2026.
Permits and inspections in New London
Roofing work in New London is permitted through the town's building department. Kirk Kripas is listed as the building official on the State of Connecticut list. Full-time staffing means inspections here rarely become the bottleneck. The published number is 860-447-5240. Written questions go to kkripas@newlondonct.gov. Permitting is on us, not on you. A contractor asking a homeowner to pull the roofing permit is shifting liability, and you should treat it that way.
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.
New London's older, multi-family housing and its roofs
New London's housing is old, and much of it is not single-family. The Census Bureau's 2019-2023 estimates put the city's median year built at 1947, which makes the typical home about 79 years old in 2026, and place 46.7 percent of its 12,514 units before 1940, against 20.4 percent statewide and 23.4 percent in the Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region. Only 32.8 percent of units are single-family detached. Buildings of two to four units hold 29.8 percent, buildings of five or more hold 33.9 percent, and renters occupy 59.9 percent of occupied homes.
On buildings of that age a re-roof can reach well past the shingles, and two parts of the code shape the scope. IRC R908.3.1.1 prohibits laying a new covering over slate, over clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile, or over a roof that already carries two or more applications, so on an old building with any of those the existing roof comes off. R908.5 then requires that rusted, damaged or deteriorated flashings, edgings, outlets and vents be replaced rather than reused, which on a pre-1940 building can be a sizable part of the job.
Ownership shapes how the work gets decided. With most occupied homes rented, many roof decisions in New London are likely made by owners who do not live under the roof they are paying for, and a two- or three-family house puts more than one household under a single roof. The age of the stock matters here as well: 84.9 percent of the city's housing predates 1980, a bracket that takes in the pre-1978 housing EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting rule treats as target housing. Paid work that disturbs painted surfaces on the pre-1978 buildings, from fascia to cornice trim, falls under that rule.
Newer housing is scarce: 6.6 percent of units date from 2000 or later, against 11.8 percent across Connecticut, so very little of New London's housing is recent construction. Owners occupy 40.1 percent of the city's occupied homes, against 66.2 percent statewide. The table below compares New London's estimates with Connecticut's.
| Housing (ACS 2019–2023) | New London | Connecticut |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 12,514 | 1,536,049 |
| Owner-occupied homes | 4,634 | 939,912 |
| Share owner-occupied | 40.1% | 66.2% |
| Single-family detached | 32.8% | 58.7% |
| Median year built | 1947 | 1967 |
| Built before 1940 | 46.7% | 20.4% |
| Built 1940–1979 | 38.2% | 47.4% |
| Built 1980–1999 | 8.5% | 20.5% |
| Built 2000 or later | 6.6% | 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 New London compares with the towns around it
Every town New London 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. New London | Ground snow | County |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Groton | 128 mph | +1 | 30 psf | New London |
| Waterford | 127 mph | same | 30 psf | New London |
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Common questions about roofing in New London
Have you worked in New London before?
Yes. Our records show 5 completed roofs in New London. That count comes from our own job history.
How many nails per shingle should be used in New London?
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.
What wind speed does a roof in New London have to be designed for?
The 2022 Connecticut State Building Code assigns New London an ultimate design wind speed of 127 mph. The residential and commercial code tables disagree for this town, so we confirm the governing figure with the building department in writing before material is ordered.
Do I need a permit to replace a roof in New London?
Yes. A roof replacement in New London requires a building permit, and we pull it as part of the job. The building department's published number is 860-447-5240 if you want to confirm anything independently.
Is ice barrier required on a New London 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 30 psf ground snow load in New London, that detail is doing real work.
Does New London get hail?
Yes, though it is not the main risk here. NOAA has 2 confirmed hail reports within ten miles of New London since 2015, the largest 1 inch across. Hail that size bruises shingles and knocks granules loose rather than punching holes, so the damage is easy to miss from the ground and worth a proper look after a summer storm.
Are ice dams a problem in New London?
They are the winter problem worth planning for. The nearest long-record station averages 24 inches of snow a year across about 8 days that leave an inch or more, and roughly 102 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.
Who is the building official in New London?
Kirk Kripas is the building official on record for New London, per the State of Connecticut list of municipal building officials. Staffing changes — confirm with the town before relying on it.
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.