Roof replacement, leak repair and storm damage for homes in Acton. In Acton, the 2021 IRC is in force and 77% of the 2,298 homes were built before 2000. It starts with a free inspection that photographs every slope.
Acton runs to about 37.8 square miles and roughly 2,721 people. It sits about 35 miles west of downtown Portland. The community dates back to 1830. We cover ZIP code 04001.
No completed roof in Acton is logged in our job records yet.
We work across Acton rather than one corner of it — Acton Village, South Acton, Miller Corner, Great East Lake and Wilson Lake included. Age and construction change between them, which is why we look before we quote.
Acton, set off from Shapleigh in 1830, sits on the New Hampshire line and holds lake shores on Great East Lake, Wilson Lake and several ponds, with villages at Acton, South Acton and Miller Corner. Hussey Hill, at 1,051 feet, is the southernmost 1,000-foot hill in Maine, and the Acton Fair runs every late summer.
Postwar houses in Acton are plain to roof, which is exactly why so many get roofed carelessly. Expect 1x6 board decking or early plywood: usually sound, but it should be walked, not assumed. The weak spots are the shallow pitches — a porch roof, the join to a carport, the flat section over an addition — where shingles went on below their rated slope and have leaked slowly for years. Attics from this era rarely have the ventilation today's shingle warranties ask for, and a hot, under-vented attic ages a roof from below, so intake and exhaust get measured before the quote.
By the Census Bureau's estimate there are 2,298 homes in Acton, with a median year built of 1974. 363 of them (16%) went up before 1940 — 36th of 64 places on this site for pre-1940 share — and 531 (23%) in 2000 or later. More of today's homes date from before 1940 than from any decade since. (York County as a whole: 20% before 1940.)
About 25 years is the usual useful life of a roof, by the figure in the Maine Bureau of Insurance's claims guide. That puts 1,767 homes in Acton, the 77% built before 2000, past at least one full roof life, and 46% (1,066 homes) go back before 1970, two roof lives and more. The 316 homes from the 2000s are where first replacements come up now, while the 215 built since 2010 are mostly still on the roof they were built with. Older houses are where a second layer laid over the first turns up, and that layer is what hides soft decking.
97% of homes in Acton are single-family detached houses (2,228) and 0% attached ones such as townhouses (0). The count also takes in 70 mobile homes, which are a different kind of roof job. 96% of occupied homes are owner-occupied, 4% rented. With houses like these, the jobs we expect most are full tear-offs on houses past two roof lives, deck and flashing checks on pre-war board sheathing and first replacements on 2000s builder-grade shingles.
| Built | Homes | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before 1940 | 363 | 16% | |
| 1940s | 75 | 3% | |
| 1950s | 276 | 12% | |
| 1960s | 352 | 15% | |
| 1970s | 222 | 10% | |
| 1980s | 292 | 13% | |
| 1990s | 187 | 8% | |
| 2000s | 316 | 14% | |
| 2010s | 145 | 6% | |
| 2020 or later | 70 | 3% |
Census ACS 2020–2024, tables B25034, B25035, B25024 and B25003: 2,298 homes, 1,066 occupied. Survey estimates.
Between 2016 and 2025 there was one report of 1-inch-plus hail within 5 miles of Acton’s center in the records of NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center. The stone was 1 inch, on June 6, 2020, about 4.3 miles east of the center. A report needs someone to see the hail and send it in, so the count is a floor, not a full tally.
If that storm crossed your street and nobody has been on the roof since, a storm inspection photographs what it did.
Acton's zoning ordinance says a building or use permit must be applied for and cleared by the Code Enforcement Officer before any construction starts, and that renovations must be built to the International Residential Code as adopted by Maine. The town fee schedule charges $6 per $1,000 of estimated cost for new homes and renovations. Re-roofing is not named either way, so ask the Code Enforcement Office before starting.
Acton enforces the 2021 IRC. Acton's zoning ordinance (amended April 11, 2026) says new one- and two-family homes, their accessory buildings, renovations and additions must be built to the International Residential Code as adopted by the State of Maine, including all amendments, and that construction must meet the International Energy Conservation Code as adopted by the state. Since April 7, 2025, the state's adopted code is based on the 2021 editions. The town's building permit application and code pages still point to the 2015 codes. With 2,671 residents in the 2020 Census, Acton is not required to enforce the code under state law, and has chosen to.
The published number is 207-636-3131. Acton's code enforcement page lists the Code Enforcement Officer by title only, at ceo@actonmaine.org. The department page is here.
Wind design changes with location across greater Portland and southern Maine: the published ultimate design wind speeds run 115–120 mph, and the building department can say which figure applies to a given address. Ground snow load is set for each address, not one figure for the whole area: the published figures here run 50–70 psf. See the roofing code guide for what it governs.
Acton borders Newfield, Shapleigh, Sanford, Lebanon, Milton, New Hampshire and Wakefield, New Hampshire. Our pages for them:
Also in York County:
| Town | Re-roof permit | Code | Median built |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acton | Not published | 2021 IRC | 1974 |
| Newfield | No | 2021 IRC | 1977 |
| Shapleigh | Not published | 2021 IRC | 1980 |
| Sanford | Not published | 2021 IRC | 1975 |
| Lebanon | Not published | 2021 IRC | 1989 |
| Alfred | Conditional | 2021 IRC | 1983 |
| Arundel | Not published | 2021 IRC | 1992 |
All 29 York County towns side by side →
Acton's zoning ordinance says a building or use permit must be applied for and cleared by the Code Enforcement Officer before any construction starts, and that renovations must be built to the International Residential Code as adopted by Maine. The town fee schedule charges $6 per $1,000 of estimated cost for new homes and renovations. Re-roofing is not named either way, so ask the Code Enforcement Office before starting.
Acton enforces the 2021 IRC. Acton's zoning ordinance (amended April 11, 2026) says new one- and two-family homes, their accessory buildings, renovations and additions must be built to the International Residential Code as adopted by the State of Maine, including all amendments, and that construction must meet the International Energy Conservation Code as adopted by the state. Since April 7, 2025, the state's adopted code is based on the 2021 editions. The town's building permit application and code pages still point to the 2015 codes. With 2,671 residents in the 2020 Census, Acton is not required to enforce the code under state law, and has chosen to.
Median year built 1974, by the Census Bureau's 2020–2024 estimates. Of 2,298 homes, 1,767 were built before 2000 and 363 before 1940, so most roofs in Acton are not the first one the house has had.
The only report near Acton of hail 1 inch or bigger since 2016 came on June 6, 2020, in NOAA's records within 5 miles.
It can. Acton has Great Falls Manufacturing Company Newichawannock Canal Historic District. Inside a designated district, changing a visible roof material or color can need preservation review before the permit is issued. Like-for-like replacement usually raises fewer questions, but we check before quoting.
Not yet: no completed roof in Acton is in our job records, so this page shows no job count.
Researched 2026-10-24; housing, Census ACS 2020–2024; hail, NOAA SPC. Sources: www.actonmaine.org · www.actonmaine.org · www.actonmaine.org · www.actonmaine.org · www.actonmaine.org · www.actonmaine.org · www.maine.gov · legislature.maine.gov · www2.census.gov · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · www2.census.gov · www2.census.gov · www2.census.gov · prd-tnm.s3.amazonaws.com · data.census.gov · www.spc.noaa.gov. Rules and staff change; check with the jurisdiction.
