Roof replacement, leak repair and storm damage for homes in South Portland. In South Portland, the 2021 IRC is in force and 81% of the 12,782 homes were built before 2000. It starts with a free inspection that photographs every slope.
South Portland runs to about 12.0 square miles and roughly 26,930 people. It sits about 2 miles southwest of downtown Portland. The community dates back to 1895. We cover ZIP codes 04106 and 04116.
A building permit for exterior work on a South Portland home built in 1940 or earlier, or on a property in the city's inventory of historic resources, can be held up to 90 days while the South Portland Historical Society and the city's Arts and Historic Preservation Committee review it. The Building Inspector can shorten or waive the wait for significant financial hardship.
No completed roof in South Portland is logged in our job records yet.
Redbank and Brick Hill on the west side saw new affordable and market-rate housing from 2006 on former Long Creek Youth Development Center land.
We work across South Portland rather than one corner of it — Ferry Village, Knightville, Willard Beach, Pleasantdale, Ligonia, Thornton Heights, Cash Corner, Meetinghouse Hill, South Portland Heights and Redbank included. Age and construction change between them, which is why we look before we quote.
A working-waterfront city on Portland Harbor that broke away from Cape Elizabeth as a town in 1895 and became a city in 1898. Ferry Village is its oldest neighborhood, and its World War II shipyards built 236 Liberty ships, more than 10 percent of all built in the war.
Postwar houses in South Portland 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.
The Census Bureau counts 12,782 homes in South Portland, with a median year built of 1968. 3,133 of them (25%) went up before 1940 — 6th of 64 places on this site for pre-1940 share — and 2,390 (19%) in 2000 or later. More of today's homes date from before 1940 than from any decade since. Across Cumberland County the pre-1940 share is 23%, so South Portland sits above it.
The Maine Bureau of Insurance's claims guide puts the useful life of a roof at usually about 25 years. By that measure, 81% of South Portland's homes — the 10,392 built before 2000 — are past their first roof, and 51% (6,532 homes) go back before 1970, two roof lives and more. First replacements are arriving on the 1,366 homes built in the 2000s, while the 1,024 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.
Detached single-family houses make up 53% (6,830); attached houses and townhouses 5% (648). 2,465 homes (19%) sit in two- to nine-unit buildings and 2,781 (22%) in buildings of ten units or more, where the roof is usually a landlord's or an association's decision. The count also takes in 58 mobile homes, which are a different kind of roof job. 58% of occupied homes are owner-occupied, 42% 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 | 3,133 | 25% | |
| 1940s | 1,398 | 11% | |
| 1950s | 1,224 | 10% | |
| 1960s | 777 | 6% | |
| 1970s | 1,239 | 10% | |
| 1980s | 1,749 | 14% | |
| 1990s | 872 | 7% | |
| 2000s | 1,366 | 11% | |
| 2010s | 799 | 6% | |
| 2020 or later | 225 | 2% |
Census ACS 2020–2024, tables B25034, B25035, B25024 and B25003: 12,782 homes, 12,152 occupied. Survey estimates.
NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center logged no reports of hail 1 inch or larger within 5 miles of South Portland’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.
South Portland's permit FAQ answers "Do I need a permit for this?" with "Very likely!" and asks owners to email the project idea to code@southportland.gov with the property address in the subject line; staff then say which permit to apply for. The building permit application covers alterations, and the fee for construction work is $100 plus $15 per $1,000 of cost of work.
South Portland enforces the 2021 IRC. Chapter 5, Section 5-1 of the City Code says South Portland adopts, administers and enforces the Maine Uniform Building and Energy Code (MUBEC). The City's Building Codes page lists the 2021 International Residential Code, 2021 International Building Code, 2021 International Existing Building Code, 2021 International Mechanical Code and the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (residential and commercial), which the City adopted as its stretch energy code (Section 5-169A).
The published number is 207-767-7603. The building official on record is Nicholaus Richard, Code Enforcement Director & CEO. 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.
South Portland borders Portland, Cape Elizabeth, Scarborough, Westbrook and Casco Bay. Our pages for them:
Also in Cumberland County:
| Town | Re-roof permit | Code | Median built |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Portland | Not published | 2021 IRC | 1968 |
| Portland | No | 2021 IRC | 1946 |
| Cape Elizabeth | No | 2021 IRC | 1967 |
| Scarborough | Not published | 2021 IRC | 1988 |
| Westbrook | Not published | 2021 IRC | 1975 |
| Baldwin | Not published | Enforcement optional | 1979 |
| Bridgton | No | 2021 IRC | 1985 |
All 25 Cumberland County towns side by side →
South Portland's permit FAQ answers "Do I need a permit for this?" with "Very likely!" and asks owners to email the project idea to code@southportland.gov with the property address in the subject line; staff then say which permit to apply for. The building permit application covers alterations, and the fee for construction work is $100 plus $15 per $1,000 of cost of work.
South Portland enforces the 2021 IRC. Chapter 5, Section 5-1 of the City Code says South Portland adopts, administers and enforces the Maine Uniform Building and Energy Code (MUBEC). The City's Building Codes page lists the 2021 International Residential Code, 2021 International Building Code, 2021 International Existing Building Code, 2021 International Mechanical Code and the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (residential and commercial), which the City adopted as its stretch energy code (Section 5-169A).
Median year built 1968, by the Census Bureau's 2020–2024 estimates. Of 12,782 homes, 10,392 were built before 2000 and 3,133 before 1940, so most roofs in South Portland are not the first one the house has had.
The building official on record is Nicholaus Richard, Code Enforcement Director & CEO. The department's own number is on this page, beside its name.
It can. South Portland has State Reform School 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 South Portland 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.southportland.gov · www.southportland.gov · www.southportland.gov · www.southportland.gov · www.southportland.gov · www.southportland.gov · www.southportland.gov · www.southportland.gov · www.southportland.gov · 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.
