Roof replacement, leak repair and storm damage for homes in Biddeford. In Biddeford, the 2021 IRC is in force and 89% of the 10,502 homes were built before 2000. It starts with a free inspection that photographs every slope.
Biddeford runs to about 30.1 square miles and roughly 22,498 people. It sits about 17 miles southwest of downtown Portland. The community dates back to 1653. We cover ZIP codes 04005, 04006 and 04007.
In Biddeford's downtown historic districts (the three Main Street Revitalization District zones) and on designated landmarks, any change of roofing material other than a minor repair needs a certificate of appropriateness from the Historic Preservation Commission before Code Enforcement issues a permit. Maintenance that keeps the same design, materials and look gets a certificate of nonapplicability from the City Planner instead, and work not visible from a street is exempt.
No completed roof in Biddeford is logged in our job records yet.
We work across Biddeford rather than one corner of it — Biddeford Pool, Hills Beach, Fortunes Rocks, Granite Point, Five Points, Fort Hill, Guinea Corner, Oak Ridge, Newtown and Timber Point included. Age and construction change between them, which is why we look before we quote.
Biddeford, the principal commercial center of York County, grew as a mill city: large textile mills such as the Laconia and Pepperell companies rose at the Saco River falls in the 1840s and 1850s, drawing Irish, Albanian and French-Canadian workers. Its ocean shore holds the seaside neighborhoods of Hills Beach, Biddeford Pool, Fortunes Rocks and Granite Point. The city's historic preservation ordinance covers exterior alterations in its designated downtown and mill-area historic districts.
The postwar housing in Biddeford is mostly simple to roof, which is why it gets done badly so often. Decking is usually 1x6 boards or early plywood, still sound but worth walking rather than assuming. The recurring problems are the low-slope sections — porch roofs, carport tie-ins, the flat bit over an addition — where a shingle was installed below its rated pitch and has been failing quietly ever since. Attic ventilation on houses of this era is also routinely short of what current shingle warranties require, and under-venting cooks a roof from underneath. We measure intake against exhaust before we quote rather than just nailing on a ridge vent and calling it solved.
By the Census Bureau's estimate there are 10,502 homes in Biddeford, with a median year built of 1952. 4,270 of them (41%) went up before 1940 — the 3rd-highest pre-1940 share of the 64 places on this site — and 1,133 (11%) in 2000 or later. More of today's homes date from before 1940 than from any decade since. Across York County the pre-1940 share is 20%, so Biddeford sits above it.
About 25 years is the usual useful life of a roof, by the figure in the Maine Bureau of Insurance's claims guide. On that yardstick the 9,369 homes in Biddeford built before 2000 (89%) have outlived at least one roof, and 63% (6,604 homes) go back before 1970, two roof lives and more. First replacements are arriving on the 638 homes built in the 2000s, while the 495 built since 2010 are mostly still on the roof they were built with. At that age it pays to know whether the last roof was torn off or laid over the one before it, because a second layer hides the deck.
By building type: 4,268 detached houses (41%), 218 attached (2%). 4,755 homes (45%) sit in two- to nine-unit buildings and 1,114 (11%) in buildings of ten units or more, where a resident rarely gets to choose the roofer. The count also takes in 147 mobile homes, which are a different kind of roof job. 48% of occupied homes are owner-occupied, 52% rented. On a housing mix like this, the likely work is full tear-offs on houses past two roof lives, deck and flashing checks on pre-war board sheathing and flat and low-slope sections, which turn up more on attached and multi-unit buildings.
| Built | Homes | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before 1940 | 4,270 | 41% | |
| 1940s | 779 | 7% | |
| 1950s | 854 | 8% | |
| 1960s | 701 | 7% | |
| 1970s | 1,128 | 11% | |
| 1980s | 1,023 | 10% | |
| 1990s | 614 | 6% | |
| 2000s | 638 | 6% | |
| 2010s | 465 | 4% | |
| 2020 or later | 30 | 0% |
Census ACS 2020–2024, tables B25034, B25035, B25024 and B25003: 10,502 homes, 9,204 occupied. Survey estimates.
From 2016 through 2025, NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center recorded one report of hail of 1 inch or more within 5 miles of Biddeford’s center. The stone was 1.25 inches, on July 14, 2020, about 4 miles northwest 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.
Biddeford's permit pages and fee schedule do not say whether a roof replacement needs a building permit. The building permit application lets an applicant check 'Remodel exterior'. The city's monthly lists of issued building permits include roof work, such as a permit to strip and repair a roof issued in August 2026. Building permits cost a $60 application fee plus $15 per $1,000 of project value, and projects of $5,000 or less pay only the $60 application fee. Work started before a permit is issued pays double the permit fee.
Biddeford enforces the 2021 IRC. The Code Enforcement page says the office follows the codes adopted by the State of Maine, listing the 2021 International Residential Code, 2021 International Building Code, 2021 International Existing Building Code, 2021 energy code and 2021 International Mechanical Code. The city's own ordinance (Chapter 18, Section 18-76) still reads that it adopts the 2003 International Building Code and 2003 International Residential Code, with local amendments.
The published number is 207-284-9236. The building official on record is Roby Fecteau, Director of Code Enforcement and Emergency Management. The department page is here.
The design wind speed a roof in Biddeford is built to depends on where the house stands: across greater Portland and southern Maine the published ultimate design wind speeds run 115–120 mph. Ground snow load is set for each address, not one figure for the whole area: the published figures here run 50–70 psf. The building department can confirm the figure, and the code guide explains what it governs.
Biddeford borders Saco, Dayton, Arundel, Kennebunkport, Saco River and Atlantic Ocean. Our pages for them:
Also in York County:
| Town | Re-roof permit | Code | Median built |
|---|---|---|---|
| Biddeford | Not published | 2021 IRC | 1952 |
| Saco | Not published | 2021 IRC | 1982 |
| Dayton | Not published | Enforcement optional | 1990 |
| Arundel | Not published | 2021 IRC | 1992 |
| Kennebunkport | No | 2021 IRC | 1982 |
| Acton | Not published | 2021 IRC | 1974 |
| Alfred | Conditional | 2021 IRC | 1983 |
All 29 York County towns side by side →
Biddeford's permit pages and fee schedule do not say whether a roof replacement needs a building permit. The building permit application lets an applicant check 'Remodel exterior'. The city's monthly lists of issued building permits include roof work, such as a permit to strip and repair a roof issued in August 2026. Building permits cost a $60 application fee plus $15 per $1,000 of project value, and projects of $5,000 or less pay only the $60 application fee. Work started before a permit is issued pays double the permit fee.
Biddeford enforces the 2021 IRC. The Code Enforcement page says the office follows the codes adopted by the State of Maine, listing the 2021 International Residential Code, 2021 International Building Code, 2021 International Existing Building Code, 2021 energy code and 2021 International Mechanical Code. The city's own ordinance (Chapter 18, Section 18-76) still reads that it adopts the 2003 International Building Code and 2003 International Residential Code, with local amendments.
Median year built 1952, by the Census Bureau's 2020–2024 estimates. Of 10,502 homes, 9,369 were built before 2000 and 4,270 before 1940, so most roofs in Biddeford are not the first one the house has had.
One report of 1-inch-plus hail fell within 5 miles of Biddeford between 2016 and 2025: 1.25 inches on July 14, 2020 (NOAA Storm Prediction Center).
The building official on record is Roby Fecteau, Director of Code Enforcement and Emergency Management. The department's own number is on this page, beside its name.
It can. Biddeford has Biddeford Main Street Historic District, Biddeford-Saco Mills Historic District, Downtown Historic District (local) and Mill Area Historic District (local). 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 Biddeford 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.biddefordmaine.org · www.biddefordmaine.org · www.biddefordmaine.org · www.biddefordmaine.org · www.biddefordmaine.org · ecode360.com · ecode360.com · www.biddefordmaine.org · www.ecode360.com · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · ecode360.com · www.pressherald.com · 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.
