Roof replacement, leak repair and storm damage for homes in Scarborough. In Scarborough, the 2021 IRC is in force and 8% of the 11,097 homes went up before 1940. It starts with a free inspection that photographs every slope.
Scarborough runs to about 47.7 square miles and roughly 23,215 people. It sits about 7 miles southwest of downtown Portland. The community dates back to 1658. We cover ZIP codes 04074 and 04070.
No completed roof in Scarborough is logged in our job records yet.
We work across Scarborough rather than one corner of it — Pine Point, Higgins Beach, Prouts Neck, Dunstan, Oak Hill, Blue Point, North Scarborough, West Scarborough, Eight Corners and Pleasant Hill included. Age and construction change between them, which is why we look before we quote.
A coastal town on Saco Bay with beach neighborhoods at Pine Point, Higgins Beach and Prouts Neck, and the Scarborough Marsh between Pine Point and the inland villages. Incorporated in 1658, it is the most populous place in Maine still called a town.
From this stretch of building, houses in Scarborough sit on plywood or OSB, were first roofed in three-tab shingles, and are mostly on their second roof now. Trouble tends to be at the penetrations rather than across the field: the rubber collar on a pipe boot splits years before the shingles give out, and it is the leak we trace most often. Ridge vents were hit and miss in these decades, and OSB that stays damp for a season softens in a way plywood does not, something you feel underfoot rather than see from the yard.
By the Census Bureau's estimate there are 11,097 homes in Scarborough, with a median year built of 1988. 921 of them (8%) went up before 1940 — 55th of 64 places on this site for pre-1940 share — and 3,283 (30%) in 2000 or later. The 1990s were the busiest decade, adding 1,954 of today's homes (18%). That is below Cumberland County's 23%.
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 7,814 homes in Scarborough built before 2000 (70%) have outlived at least one roof, and 23% (2,533 homes) go back before 1970, two roof lives and more. First replacements are arriving on the 1,457 homes built in the 2000s, while the 1,826 built since 2010 are mostly still on the roof they were built with.
Detached single-family houses make up 69% (7,703); attached houses and townhouses 9% (1,028). 1,129 homes (10%) sit in two- to nine-unit buildings and 1,041 (9%) in buildings of ten units or more, where a resident rarely gets to choose the roofer. The count also takes in 196 mobile homes, which are a different kind of roof job. 7,717 of 9,972 occupied homes (77%) are lived in by their owners. Read together, those figures point toward first replacements on 2000s builder-grade shingles, flat and low-slope sections, which turn up more on attached and multi-unit buildings and storm checks on newer roofs that look fine from the driveway.
| Built | Homes | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before 1940 | 921 | 8% | |
| 1940s | 350 | 3% | |
| 1950s | 452 | 4% | |
| 1960s | 810 | 7% | |
| 1970s | 1,807 | 16% | |
| 1980s | 1,520 | 14% | |
| 1990s | 1,954 | 18% | |
| 2000s | 1,457 | 13% | |
| 2010s | 1,407 | 13% | |
| 2020 or later | 419 | 4% |
Census ACS 2020–2024, tables B25034, B25035, B25024 and B25003: 11,097 homes, 9,972 occupied. Survey estimates.
NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center logged no reports of hail 1 inch or larger within 5 miles of Scarborough’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.
Scarborough's Codes FAQ quotes the 2021 International Residential Code: anyone who intends to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish or change the occupancy of a building must first apply for and obtain the required permit. Renovation permit fees may be calculated at $12.50 per $1,000 of estimated construction cost, with a $50 minimum, and after-the-fact permits are charged at double the normal fee.
Scarborough enforces the 2021 IRC. The Town's Codes FAQ says Scarborough is a town of over 4,000 people and by statute must adopt the Maine Uniform Building and Energy Code (MUBEC): the 2021 International Residential Code, 2021 International Building Code, 2021 International Existing Building Code, 2021 International Energy Conservation Code and 2021 International Mechanical Code, with Maine amendments.
The published number is 207-730-4040. The building official on record is Brian Dobson, John Lotfey and Christian Glendinning, Code Enforcement Officers. The department page is here.
The design wind speed a roof in Scarborough 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.
Scarborough borders Cape Elizabeth, South Portland, Westbrook, Gorham, Buxton and Saco. Our pages for them:
Also in Cumberland County:
| Town | Re-roof permit | Code | Median built |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scarborough | Not published | 2021 IRC | 1988 |
| Cape Elizabeth | No | 2021 IRC | 1967 |
| South Portland | Not published | 2021 IRC | 1968 |
| Westbrook | Not published | 2021 IRC | 1975 |
| Gorham | Not published | 2021 IRC | 1988 |
| Buxton | Conditional | 2021 IRC | 1981 |
| Saco | Not published | 2021 IRC | 1982 |
All 25 Cumberland County towns side by side →
Scarborough's Codes FAQ quotes the 2021 International Residential Code: anyone who intends to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish or change the occupancy of a building must first apply for and obtain the required permit. Renovation permit fees may be calculated at $12.50 per $1,000 of estimated construction cost, with a $50 minimum, and after-the-fact permits are charged at double the normal fee.
Scarborough enforces the 2021 IRC. The Town's Codes FAQ says Scarborough is a town of over 4,000 people and by statute must adopt the Maine Uniform Building and Energy Code (MUBEC): the 2021 International Residential Code, 2021 International Building Code, 2021 International Existing Building Code, 2021 International Energy Conservation Code and 2021 International Mechanical Code, with Maine amendments.
The Census Bureau's 2020–2024 estimates put the median year built at 1988: 8% of Scarborough's 11,097 homes predate 1940 and 30% were built in 2000 or later. At the usual 25-year roof life, 70% have needed at least one new roof already.
The building official on record is Brian Dobson, John Lotfey and Christian Glendinning, Code Enforcement Officers. The department's own number is on this page, beside its name.
Not yet: no completed roof in Scarborough 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.scarboroughmaine.org · www.scarboroughmaine.org · www.scarboroughmaine.org · www.scarboroughmaine.org · www.scarboroughmaine.org · resources.finalsite.net · resources.finalsite.net · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · www.zip-codes.com · tigerweb.geo.census.gov · data.census.gov · www.spc.noaa.gov. Rules and staff change; check with the jurisdiction.
