Our work in Preston
We have not completed a job in Preston itself. We would rather say that plainly than imply otherwise. The town is 73 miles from our base in Bethel and well inside our normal working radius.
Preston is a 30.8-square-mile municipality in New London County.
Neighborhoods and villages here include Hallville, Happyland, Poquetanuck, Preston City and Shewville. What is on the roofs differs across them, and so does what should go back on.
Design criteria for a Preston roof
The state assigns Preston an ultimate design wind speed of 125 mph — 97 mph nominal — in Appendix AY of the 2022 Connecticut building code. That places Preston mid-range for the state, with 51 municipalities at or above it. Connecticut's amendment to R905.1.1 applies statewide, so a full tear-off here brings the sealed roof deck requirement with it.
Snow loading here is 30 psf at grade. The state's floor figure. Ice at the eaves does more damage in towns like this one than weight ever does.
Connecticut amendments that apply here
Connecticut amends the international code on two points that touch nearly every roof we do. Ice barrier is required statewide under R905.1.2, running from the lowest roof edge to at least 24 inches inside the exterior wall line — measured along the slope, so a low-pitch roof needs more membrane than people expect. The sealed roof deck amendment, R905.1.1, carries an exception: it does not apply over lumber sheathing under 3 feet nominal width, which is what sits under the shingles on a great many pre-1950 Connecticut houses.
It matters here because 64.8% of Preston homes predate 1980 - the median was built around 1972 - so plank decking and older fastening turn up regularly on tear-offs in this town.
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 Preston
Roofs are worn out by weather, not by time. The measured picture for Preston comes from the long-record station about 3 miles from the center of town at Norwich Public Utility Plt, over the thirty years behind NOAA's 1991-2020 normals.
Snow: 28 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. A sound roof carries the weight without complaint. The damage comes from melt-and-refreeze at the eaves, where backed-up water gets under the shingles. The eave detail is where a re-roof here is won or lost.
Freeze-thaw: about 124 nights a year drop below freezing, and 19 days never climb above it. That is a hundred-odd chances a year for trapped water to freeze, expand and open a joint a little wider. It is why flashing and sealant age faster here than the shingles above them do.
Rain: 52 inches a year, including about 14 days when an inch or more falls in a single day and 4 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 187 feet above sea level, Preston 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 Norwich Public Utility Plt (3 miles from Preston).
Preston'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 Preston over 2015-2026.
34 damaging-wind reports, the strongest put at 70 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.
If your roof went through any of those, get eyes on it before the next one. The inspection is free in Preston, the photographs are yours, and the storm damage report gathers what an insurer will ask for.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, reports within 10 miles of the center of Preston, 2015-2026.
Permits and inspections in Preston
Permits for roof work in Preston go through the town building department. Doug Colter is listed as the building official. The office is staffed full-time, so inspections here are generally easy to schedule. The published number is 860-887-5581. Written questions go to dcolter@seccog.org. We pull the permit ourselves. If a roofer asks you to pull it in your own name, that is a reason to stop and ask why.
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.
Preston houses from 1960 to 1979, and their next roofs
More of Preston's housing dates from 1960 to 1979 than from any other period in the Census Bureau's 2019-2023 estimates: 37.1 percent, compared with 26.7 percent statewide and 26.4 percent in the Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region. The median year built is 1972, so the typical house is about 54 years old in 2026. Only 9.8 percent of homes predate 1940, against 20.4 percent statewide, and 17.1 percent have been built since 2000. Preston is also a town of owned, freestanding houses. Owners occupy 92.4 percent of occupied homes, and 93.7 percent of the 2,100 housing units are single-family detached, against 66.2 and 58.7 percent across Connecticut. A town this size gives the survey a modest sample, so small shares in the table below deserve less weight than the large ones.
A house from that era has very likely worn out its first roof. On InterNACHI's life expectancy chart, 3-tab asphalt is good for about 20 years and architectural asphalt for about 30, and the chart itself says local weather, design, materials and maintenance shift those figures. A Preston house of typical age is therefore probably on its second covering, and some may be on a third. When the next full replacement comes, IRC R908.3 requires stripping the existing layers to the roof deck, which on many of these houses may be the first time in decades that the deck has been seen from above.
Painted wood is the other consideration at this age. Homes built before 1980 are 64.8 percent of the town's stock, and those built before 1978 are target housing under EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting rule, with some exceptions. A roof job that disturbs painted fascia or trim on one of those houses is covered by the rule unless an exception fits, such as the minor-repair exclusion for exterior work that disturbs 20 square feet of paint or less. Window replacement and demolition of painted surfaces never qualify for that exclusion.
Stallion Ridge's roof inspections are free and carry no obligation. The rest of Preston's housing figures, set beside Connecticut's, are in the table below.
| Housing (ACS 2019–2023) | Preston | Connecticut |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 2,100 | 1,536,049 |
| Owner-occupied homes | 1,752 | 939,912 |
| Share owner-occupied | 92.4% | 66.2% |
| Single-family detached | 93.7% | 58.7% |
| Median year built | 1972 | 1967 |
| Built before 1940 | 9.8% | 20.4% |
| Built 1940–1979 | 55.0% | 47.4% |
| Built 1980–1999 | 18.1% | 20.5% |
| Built 2000 or later | 17.1% | 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 Preston compares with the towns around it
Every town Preston 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. Preston | Ground snow | County |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Griswold | 125 mph | same | 30 psf | New London |
| Ledyard | 126 mph | +1 | 30 psf | New London |
| Lisbon | 125 mph | same | 30 psf | New London |
| Montville | 125 mph | same | 30 psf | New London |
| North Stonington | 127 mph | +2 | 30 psf | New London |
| Norwich | 125 mph | same | 30 psf | New London |
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Common questions about roofing in Preston
What wind speed does a roof in Preston have to be designed for?
The 2022 Connecticut State Building Code assigns Preston an ultimate design wind speed of 125 mph. That figure sets the fastener schedule and the manufacturer wind rating we specify.
How many nails per shingle should be used in Preston?
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.
Do I need a permit to replace a roof in Preston?
Yes. A roof replacement in Preston requires a building permit, and we pull it as part of the job. The building department's published number is 860-887-5581 if you want to confirm anything independently.
Who is the building official in Preston?
Doug Colter is the building official on record for Preston, per the State of Connecticut list of municipal building officials. Staffing changes — confirm with the town before relying on it.
Is ice barrier required on a Preston 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 Preston, that detail is doing real work.
Does Preston get hail?
Yes, though it is not the main risk here. NOAA has 2 confirmed hail reports within ten miles of Preston 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 Preston?
They are the winter problem worth planning for. The nearest long-record station averages 28 inches of snow a year across about 8 days that leave an inch or more, and roughly 124 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.