Our work in Stratford
3 completed roofs in Stratford to date, counted from our own records. Stratford sits 18 miles from our Bethel base.
Stratford is a 17.5-square-mile municipality in Fairfield 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.
Neighborhoods and villages here include Johnsons Corner, Lordship, Oronoque, Oronoque Hills North, Oronoque Hills South, Pecks Mill, Putney and Stratford Downtown. What is on the roofs differs across them, and so does what should go back on.
Design criteria for a Stratford roof
For Stratford, 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. Statewide, 147 municipalities carry an equal or higher rating. Connecticut's amended R905.1.1 applies statewide, so the sealed roof deck requirement is triggered on a full tear-off here.
Ground snow load in Stratford is 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
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 84% of Stratford homes predate 1980 - the median was built around 1957 - 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.
The climate a roof in Stratford has to take
Roofs are worn out by weather, not by time. The measured picture for Stratford comes from the long-record station about 3 miles from the center of town at Igor I Sikorsky Mem Ap, over the thirty years behind NOAA's 1991-2020 normals.
Snow: 34 inches in an average year, which is on the lighter side for Connecticut. It falls across roughly 9 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 92 nights a year drop below freezing, and 18 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: 44 inches a year, including about 10 days when an inch or more falls in a single day and 2 that top two inches. Water at that rate does not soak in, it runs, and where it runs is the test of the valleys, the gutters and the flashing where the roof meets a wall.
At roughly 29 feet above sea level, Stratford 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 Igor I Sikorsky Mem Ap.
What the storm record says about Stratford
There is a public record of severe weather, town by town. For the ten miles around Stratford, this is what NOAA confirmed across 2015-2026.
44 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.
4 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 31 winter-storm, heavy-snow or ice-storm events for Fairfield 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 Stratford, 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 Stratford, 2015-2026.
Permits and inspections in Stratford
Stratford issues roofing permits through its building department. That office is headed by Brian Donovan. Full-time staffing means inspections here rarely become the bottleneck. The published number is 203-385-4010. Written questions go to bdonovan@townofstratford.com. 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.
How old Stratford's houses are, and why that shapes roof work
Stratford's housing was largely built before 1980: 84 percent of its 21,880 units, by the Census Bureau's 2019–2023 estimates, where the figure for Connecticut is 67.7 percent and for the Greater Bridgeport Planning Region 77.8. Only 4.4 percent of units date from 2000 or later. The largest single block, 33.6 percent, went up between 1940 and 1959, against 27.7 percent for the region, and the median year built is 1957, against 1959 for the region, so the typical Stratford house is about 69 years old in 2026.
Few Stratford houses are likely to be on their original roof. InterNACHI's life expectancy chart gives 3-tab asphalt about 20 years and architectural about 30. Over that many years, a house may have been re-roofed more than once, and whether earlier crews tore off or laid over is the first thing to establish. IRC R908.3.1.1 rules out a new covering on a roof that already has two or more applications, or on one too water soaked or deteriorated to be a base. Once the old roof is open, R908.5 requires any rusted, damaged or deteriorated flashings, edgings and vents to be replaced rather than reused.
The age profile also puts a large share of Stratford homes inside EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting rule, which covers paid work disturbing painted surfaces in housing built before 1978; the pre-1980 bracket includes that housing. Roof jobs that disturb painted fascia or trim can fall under the rule, while exterior work disturbing 20 square feet or less of paint is excluded as a minor repair.
Owners occupy 81.8 percent of Stratford's occupied homes, against 65.4 percent in the region, and 9.8 percent of units are single-family attached, where one roof can span more than one owner. Buildings of two to four units hold 11.4 percent of Stratford's housing and those of five or more 9.9 percent, against the region's 19.9 and 17.5. For damage short of a replacement, Connecticut's amended R105.2 exempts repairs limited to 25 percent of the roof covering in a calendar year from permits. The table below sets the brackets beside the state's.
| Housing (ACS 2019–2023) | Stratford | Connecticut |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 21,880 | 1,536,049 |
| Owner-occupied homes | 16,914 | 939,912 |
| Share owner-occupied | 81.8% | 66.2% |
| Single-family detached | 68.7% | 58.7% |
| Median year built | 1957 | 1967 |
| Built before 1940 | 21.8% | 20.4% |
| Built 1940–1979 | 62.2% | 47.4% |
| Built 1980–1999 | 11.6% | 20.5% |
| Built 2000 or later | 4.4% | 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 Stratford compares with the towns around it
Stratford shares its design wind figure with all 4 of its neighbors, so specifications carry across these town lines cleanly. The permit process does not — each town runs its own.
| Bordering town | Design wind | vs. Stratford | Ground snow | County |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bridgeport | 120 mph | same | 30 psf | Fairfield |
| Milford | 120 mph | same | 30 psf | New Haven |
| Shelton | 120 mph | same | 30 psf | Fairfield |
| Trumbull | 120 mph | same | 30 psf | Fairfield |
Get a straight answer on your roof
Free inspection, a written scope, and a 25-year workmanship warranty.
Common questions about roofing in Stratford
How many nails per shingle should be used in Stratford?
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 Stratford have to be designed for?
The 2022 Connecticut State Building Code assigns Stratford 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 Stratford before?
Yes. Our records show 3 completed roofs in Stratford. That count comes from our own job history.
Do I need a permit to replace a roof in Stratford?
Yes. A roof replacement in Stratford requires a building permit, and we pull it as part of the job. The building department's published number is 203-385-4010 if you want to confirm anything independently.
Who is the building official in Stratford?
Brian Donovan is the building official on record for Stratford, 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 Stratford 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 Stratford, that detail is doing real work.
Does Stratford get hail?
Yes, though it is not the main risk here. NOAA has 4 confirmed hail reports within ten miles of Stratford 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 Stratford?
They are the winter problem worth planning for. The nearest long-record station averages 34 inches of snow a year across about 9 days that leave an inch or more, and roughly 92 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.