Roof replacement, leak repair and storm damage for homes in Dayton. In Dayton, 14% of the 872 homes went up before 1940. It starts with a free inspection that photographs every slope.
Dayton runs to about 17.9 square miles and roughly 2,313 people. It sits about 18 miles southwest of downtown Portland. The community dates back to 1854. We cover ZIP code 04005.
No completed roof in Dayton is logged in our job records yet.
That includes Union Falls and Goodwins Mills. Housing age and construction shift across Dayton, sometimes by decades within a few streets, which is why we look at the roof before we quote rather than after.
Dayton is a small town on the Saco River across from Saco and Buxton, set off from the southern part of Hollis in 1854. The Great Fires of 1947 destroyed two-thirds of Dayton, including 27 homes, four barns and the town hall.
Housing from this stretch in Dayton sits on plywood or OSB decking and was largely first roofed with three-tab shingles. Most are on their second covering by now. The things worth checking are the penetrations rather than the field: pipe boots from this era are the single most common leak we trace, because the rubber collar splits long before the shingles wear out. Ridge venting was inconsistent through these years, and OSB that has been damp for a season goes soft in a way plywood does not — you find it with your feet, not from the ground.
The Census Bureau counts 872 homes in Dayton, with a median year built of 1990. 120 of them (14%) went up before 1940 — 43rd of 64 places on this site for pre-1940 share — and 241 (28%) in 2000 or later. The 1990s were the busiest decade, adding 203 of today's homes (23%). Across York County the pre-1940 share is 20%, so Dayton sits below it.
The rule of thumb in the Maine Bureau of Insurance's claims guide is a useful life of usually about 25 years for a roof. On that yardstick the 631 homes in Dayton built before 2000 (72%) have outlived at least one roof, and the 211 built before 1970 (24%) are usually on a third covering or later. The 128 homes from the 2000s are where first replacements come up now, while the 113 built since 2010 are mostly still on the roof they were built with.
By building type: 776 detached houses (89%), 8 attached (1%). 43 homes (5%) sit in two- to nine-unit buildings. 90% of occupied homes are owner-occupied, 10% rented. With houses like these, the jobs we expect most are first replacements on 2000s builder-grade shingles.
| Built | Homes | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before 1940 | 120 | 14% | |
| 1940s | 18 | 2% | |
| 1950s | 32 | 4% | |
| 1960s | 41 | 5% | |
| 1970s | 109 | 12% | |
| 1980s | 108 | 12% | |
| 1990s | 203 | 23% | |
| 2000s | 128 | 15% | |
| 2010s | 77 | 9% | |
| 2020 or later | 36 | 4% |
Census ACS 2020–2024, tables B25034, B25035, B25024 and B25003: 872 homes, 829 occupied. Survey estimates.
NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center logged no reports of hail 1 inch or larger within 5 miles of Dayton’s center from 2016 through 2025. That is a gap in the reports rather than proof that no hail fell: reports come from spotters and the public.
Dayton's Zoning Ordinance (Section 8.2) says repairs, replacement and normal maintenance not requiring structural elements, and decorative changes to existing buildings, do not need a building permit, as long as the work follows federal, state and local law and involves no other change that needs a permit. The ordinance does not name roofing. The town's building permit application asks for the kind of roof, its pitch and the roof covering. Permit fees are set each year by the Select Board.
Dayton is not required to enforce a building code. Maine law leaves enforcement of its statewide code optional for a town of 4,000 or fewer people (10 M.R.S. 9724(1-A)), and Dayton had 2,129 residents in the 2020 Census. A town that does enforce one may use only Maine's code, and the state says meeting the code is the building owner's responsibility either way.
The published number is 207-499-3034. Dayton's Building and Codes page lists Tracy Jacek as the Code Enforcement Office contact, and the town's Zoning Ordinance is enforced by a Code Enforcement Officer appointed each year. 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.
Dayton borders Saco, Biddeford, Arundel, Lyman, Hollis and Buxton. Our pages for them:
Also in York County:
| Town | Re-roof permit | Code | Median built |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dayton | Not published | Enforcement optional | 1990 |
| Saco | Not published | 2021 IRC | 1982 |
| Biddeford | Not published | 2021 IRC | 1952 |
| Arundel | Not published | 2021 IRC | 1992 |
| Lyman | No | 2021 IRC | 1979 |
| Hollis | Conditional | 2021 IRC | 1977 |
| Buxton | Conditional | 2021 IRC | 1981 |
All 29 York County towns side by side →
Dayton's Zoning Ordinance (Section 8.2) says repairs, replacement and normal maintenance not requiring structural elements, and decorative changes to existing buildings, do not need a building permit, as long as the work follows federal, state and local law and involves no other change that needs a permit. The ordinance does not name roofing. The town's building permit application asks for the kind of roof, its pitch and the roof covering. Permit fees are set each year by the Select Board.
Dayton is not required to enforce a building code. Maine law leaves enforcement of its statewide code optional for a town of 4,000 or fewer people (10 M.R.S. 9724(1-A)), and Dayton had 2,129 residents in the 2020 Census. A town that does enforce one may use only Maine's code, and the state says meeting the code is the building owner's responsibility either way.
The Census Bureau's 2020–2024 estimates put the median year built at 1990: 14% of Dayton's 872 homes predate 1940 and 28% were built in 2000 or later. At the usual 25-year roof life, 72% have needed at least one new roof already.
Not yet: no completed roof in Dayton 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.dayton-me.gov · www.dayton-me.gov · www.dayton-me.gov · www.dayton-me.gov · www.dayton-me.gov · legislature.maine.gov · www2.census.gov · www.maine.gov · en.wikipedia.org · 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.
