Our work in Stonington
We have not completed a job in Stonington itself. We would rather say that plainly than imply otherwise. The town is 77 miles from our base in Bethel and well inside our normal working radius.
Stonington covers 38.6 square miles in New London County. It is one of Connecticut's 24 shoreline municipalities. Salt air is hard on fasteners and on the metal at valleys, drip edge and flashing, which is why we specify stainless or heavier coatings nearer the water than we would inland.
Within Stonington we work in Clarks Village, Lords Point, Mystic, Mystic Seaport, Pawcatuck and Wequetequock. 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 Stonington roof
Roofs in Stonington are designed to an ultimate wind speed of 129 mph, which the code expresses as 100 mph nominal. The source is Appendix AY of the 2022 Connecticut State Building Code. No municipality in Connecticut carries a higher figure. Stonington is the windiest place in the state to put on a roof, and the fastening schedule reflects it. Connecticut's amended R905.1.1 applies statewide, so the sealed roof deck requirement is triggered on a full tear-off here.
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
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.
It matters here because 60.8% of Stonington homes predate 1980 - the median was built around 1968 - so plank decking and older fastening turn up regularly on tear-offs in this town.
On nailing, be careful who you believe. Connecticut's code minimum is four nails per shingle. Six is what the shingle manufacturers require to keep a wind warranty in force, and six is what we install — but that is a manufacturer requirement, not a code requirement. A contractor telling you the code demands six is either mistaken or selling.
Stonington weather, measured
The nearest weather station with a thirty-year record sits about 7 miles from the center of town at Groton. Its readings - NOAA's 1991-2020 normals - say what a roof in Stonington actually has to put up with.
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. 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 102 nights a year drop below freezing, and 17 days never climb above it. Water that gets into a split seam or a tired flashing joint expands when it freezes and widens the gap a little each time. Repeat that a hundred-odd times a winter and a small defect becomes a leak.
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. Steady volume plus humid summers is also why north-facing slopes in this part of Connecticut streak black with algae - cosmetic, unlike the valley and gutter problems the same rain exposes.
At roughly 90 feet above sea level, Stonington 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 (7 miles from Stonington).
The storms Stonington has had since 2015
NOAA keeps a confirmed record of severe weather by location. Within ten miles of Stonington, 2015-2026 looks like this.
13 damaging-wind reports, the strongest put at 69 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.
1 hail report, the largest 1.5 inches across - about the size of a ping-pong ball. That is past the bruising range. Hail of that size splits the mat under the granules, and a split mat lets water into the shingle itself.
Also on the record: 2 confirmed tornadoes touched down inside the same circle and the National Weather Service logged 30 winter-storm, heavy-snow or ice-storm events for New London County over the same years.
None of that means a roof is damaged. It means it is worth looking. An inspection in Stonington 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 Stonington, 2015-2026.
Permits and inspections in Stonington
Stonington issues roofing permits through its building department. Robert Chevalier is listed as the building official. It is a full-time department, which usually makes inspection scheduling simple. The published number is 860-535-5075. Written questions go to rchevalier@stonington-ct.gov. 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.
Stonington's pre-war houses and newer building
Stonington holds a large share of old houses. According to the Census Bureau's 2019-2023 estimates, 30 percent of its 9,615 housing units were built before 1940, compared with 20.4 percent statewide and 23.4 percent in the Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region. Building has continued too: 16.2 percent of units date from 2000 or later, ahead of the state's 11.8 percent. The median year built is 1968. Of the 9,615 units, 8,364 were counted as occupied, and owners live in 71.6 percent of those. Single-family detached houses are 68.9 percent of the stock and two-to-four-unit buildings 16.6 percent.
A pre-1940 house has likely been re-roofed several times, and what matters at the next job is what earlier crews left in place. R908.5 requires that flashings, edgings, outlets, vents and similar parts of the roof assembly be replaced where they are rusted, damaged or deteriorated; old metal is not kept on the strength of having lasted this long. If the covering on one of these houses is slate, R908.3.1.1 bars laying anything over it.
The 16.2 percent built since 2000 sits at the other end of the range. InterNACHI puts architectural shingles at 30 years and 3-tab at 20, and notes that local weather, building design, material quality and maintenance all change the result. So the oldest of Stonington's newer houses are reaching the age when an original asphalt roof is typically first replaced, and for many of them the next roof will be the first replacement.
Between those two groups sit 13.4 percent of units from 1940 to 1959, 17.4 percent from 1960 to 1979 and 22.9 percent from 1980 to 1999. The typical Stonington home is about 58 years old, and on a house of that age not every roof problem calls for a whole new roof. Connecticut's amended R105.2 exempts repairs limited to 25 percent of the roof covering within one calendar year from permits. Larger work, including any replacement, requires one, and a replacement is when every layer, flashing and vent gets looked at together.
| Housing (ACS 2019–2023) | Stonington | Connecticut |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 9,615 | 1,536,049 |
| Owner-occupied homes | 5,986 | 939,912 |
| Share owner-occupied | 71.6% | 66.2% |
| Single-family detached | 68.9% | 58.7% |
| Median year built | 1968 | 1967 |
| Built before 1940 | 30.0% | 20.4% |
| Built 1940–1979 | 30.8% | 47.4% |
| Built 1980–1999 | 22.9% | 20.5% |
| Built 2000 or later | 16.2% | 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 Stonington compares with the towns around it
Stonington carries a higher design wind figure than every town it borders. A roof spec that was correct one town over is not automatically correct here.
| Bordering town | Design wind | vs. Stonington | Ground snow | County |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Groton | 128 mph | -1 | 30 psf | New London |
| Ledyard | 126 mph | -3 | 30 psf | New London |
| North Stonington | 127 mph | -2 | 30 psf | New London |
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Common questions about roofing in Stonington
How many nails per shingle should be used in Stonington?
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 a Stonington 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 Stonington, that detail is doing real work.
Do I need a permit to replace a roof in Stonington?
Yes. A roof replacement in Stonington requires a building permit, and we pull it as part of the job. The building department's published number is 860-535-5075 if you want to confirm anything independently.
What wind speed does a roof in Stonington have to be designed for?
The 2022 Connecticut State Building Code assigns Stonington an ultimate design wind speed of 129 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.
Who is the building official in Stonington?
Robert Chevalier is the building official on record for Stonington, per the State of Connecticut list of municipal building officials. Staffing changes — confirm with the town before relying on it.
Does Stonington get hail?
Yes, and it is worth taking seriously. NOAA has 1 confirmed hail report within ten miles of Stonington since 2015, the largest 1.5 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 Stonington?
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.
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.