Roof replacement, leak repair and storm damage for homes in Kennebunk. In Kennebunk, the 2021 IRC is in force and 19% of the 6,403 homes went up before 1940. It starts with a free inspection that photographs every slope.
Kennebunk runs to about 35.1 square miles and roughly 11,820 people. It sits about 24 miles southwest of downtown Portland. The community dates back to 1820. We cover ZIP codes 04043 and 04094.
In Kennebunk's Historic Preservation Overlay District, created in 1963, no building permit for exterior work is issued until the Historic Preservation Commission grants a certificate of appropriateness. The district's guidelines say a certificate is needed to change the color or material of a roof. They encourage keeping and repairing slate; where slate must go, concrete slate or an asphalt shingle in a closely matching color is recommended, and patterned shingles, iron cresting, chimneys and original rooflines are to be kept where possible.
No completed roof in Kennebunk is logged in our job records yet.
We work across Kennebunk rather than one corner of it — Lower Village, Kennebunk Beach, West Kennebunk, Kennebunk Landing, Gooch's Beach, Mother's Beach, Parsons Beach, Lords Point, Bartlett Mills and Coopers Corner included. Age and construction change between them, which is why we look before we quote.
Kennebunk runs from the inland Kennebunk Plains and West Kennebunk to the ocean at Kennebunk Beach, Gooch's Beach and the Lower Village, and it was a shipbuilding center until 1918, leaving many historic shipbuilders' homes.
Housing from this stretch in Kennebunk 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.
By the Census Bureau's estimate there are 6,403 homes in Kennebunk, with a median year built of 1983. 1,204 of them (19%) went up before 1940 — 27th of 64 places on this site for pre-1940 share — and 1,581 (25%) in 2000 or later. The 1980s were the busiest decade, adding 1,280 of today's homes (20%). That is below York County's 20%.
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. That puts 4,822 homes in Kennebunk, the 75% built before 2000, past at least one full roof life; 2,306 of them (36%) predate 1970, old enough for two replacements already. The 862 homes from the 2000s are where first replacements come up now, while the 719 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.
Detached single-family houses make up 65% (4,183); attached houses and townhouses 14% (927). 883 homes (14%) sit in two- to nine-unit buildings and 294 (5%) in buildings of ten units or more, whose roofs are normally an owner's or a board's call rather than a resident's. The count also takes in 95 mobile homes, which are a different kind of roof job. 4,323 of 5,364 occupied homes (81%) are lived in by their owners. On a housing mix like this, the likely work is deck and flashing checks on pre-war board sheathing, first replacements on 2000s builder-grade shingles and flat and low-slope sections, which turn up more on attached and multi-unit buildings.
| Built | Homes | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before 1940 | 1,204 | 19% | |
| 1940s | 66 | 1% | |
| 1950s | 617 | 10% | |
| 1960s | 419 | 7% | |
| 1970s | 493 | 8% | |
| 1980s | 1,280 | 20% | |
| 1990s | 743 | 12% | |
| 2000s | 862 | 13% | |
| 2010s | 624 | 10% | |
| 2020 or later | 95 | 1% |
Census ACS 2020–2024, tables B25034, B25035, B25024 and B25003: 6,403 homes, 5,364 occupied. Survey estimates.
NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center logged one report of hail 1 inch or larger within 5 miles of Kennebunk’s center from 2016 through 2025. The stone was 1 inch, on July 14, 2020, about 1 miles northeast of the center. Counts follow people as much as storms, since every report is a spotter’s or a resident’s.
If that storm crossed your street and nobody has been on the roof since, a storm inspection photographs what it did.
Kennebunk says a building permit is needed for the construction or alteration of any building, and in general whenever work affects structural features or alters building elements regulated by the Maine Uniform Building and Energy Code. Cosmetic work such as painting, flooring and trim does not need a permit, and repairs such as replacing loose siding do not either. The town's permit lists do not name roofing either way. Replacement windows and doors do need a permit, and so does rooftop solar. Every permit has a $45 application processing fee, and building permits have a $40 minimum fee, with the rest set by the cost and size of the project.
Kennebunk enforces the 2021 IRC. The town's FAQ says Kennebunk adheres to and enforces the Maine Uniform Building and Energy Code, which includes the 2021 International Residential Code, 2021 International Building Code, 2021 International Energy Conservation Code and 2021 International Existing Building Code. The Zoning Ordinance (Article 4, Section 1) says no building may be erected or altered without a permit showing compliance with the zoning ordinance and MUBEC.
The published number is 207-604-1303. The building official on record is Frank Kunkel, Code Enforcement Officer. The department page is here.
The design wind speed a roof in Kennebunk 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.
Kennebunk borders Kennebunkport, Arundel, Lyman, Alfred, Sanford and Wells. Our pages for them:
Also in York County:
| Town | Re-roof permit | Code | Median built |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kennebunk | Not published | 2021 IRC | 1983 |
| Kennebunkport | No | 2021 IRC | 1982 |
| Arundel | Not published | 2021 IRC | 1992 |
| Lyman | No | 2021 IRC | 1979 |
| Alfred | Conditional | 2021 IRC | 1983 |
| Sanford | Not published | 2021 IRC | 1975 |
| Wells | Not published | 2021 IRC | 1989 |
All 29 York County towns side by side →
Kennebunk says a building permit is needed for the construction or alteration of any building, and in general whenever work affects structural features or alters building elements regulated by the Maine Uniform Building and Energy Code. Cosmetic work such as painting, flooring and trim does not need a permit, and repairs such as replacing loose siding do not either. The town's permit lists do not name roofing either way. Replacement windows and doors do need a permit, and so does rooftop solar. Every permit has a $45 application processing fee, and building permits have a $40 minimum fee, with the rest set by the cost and size of the project.
Kennebunk enforces the 2021 IRC. The town's FAQ says Kennebunk adheres to and enforces the Maine Uniform Building and Energy Code, which includes the 2021 International Residential Code, 2021 International Building Code, 2021 International Energy Conservation Code and 2021 International Existing Building Code. The Zoning Ordinance (Article 4, Section 1) says no building may be erected or altered without a permit showing compliance with the zoning ordinance and MUBEC.
The Census Bureau's 2020–2024 estimates put the median year built at 1983: 19% of Kennebunk's 6,403 homes predate 1940 and 25% were built in 2000 or later. At the usual 25-year roof life, 75% have needed at least one new roof already.
The only report near Kennebunk of hail 1 inch or bigger since 2016 came on July 14, 2020, in NOAA's records within 5 miles.
The building official on record is Frank Kunkel, Code Enforcement Officer. The department's own number is on this page, beside its name.
It can. Kennebunk has Kennebunk Historic District, Lower Alewive Historic District and Kennebunk Historic Preservation Overlay 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 Kennebunk 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.kennebunkmaine.us · www.kennebunkmaine.us · www.kennebunkmaine.us · www.kennebunkmaine.us · www.kennebunkmaine.us · www.kennebunkmaine.us · www.kennebunkmaine.us · www.kennebunkmaine.us · www.kennebunkmaine.us · www.kennebunkmaine.us · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · www.kennebunkmaine.us · 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.
