Southwest Louisville, KY

Four communities, one generation of houses

Shively is its own city, incorporated in 1938 and centered on Dixie Highway near I-264. Distillers pushed for incorporation to avoid annexation, and eight whiskey distilleries opened nearby after Prohibition. In the 1950s it was the fastest-growing city in Kentucky.

Pleasure Ridge Park and Valley Station grew the same way, with large-scale suburban building in the 1950s and 1960s along what's now Dixie Highway. Both became part of Louisville in the 2003 city-county merger.

Fairdale sits in southern Jefferson County near Jefferson Memorial Forest, one of the largest municipal urban forests in the country at more than 6,600 acres. It has a more wooded, spread-out feel than the Dixie Highway corridor.

What these areas share is a lot of mid-century housing. Homes built in the 1950s and 1960s have usually had several roofs by now, and each replacement is a chance to fix what earlier ones didn't, like tired decking or an attic that was never properly vented.

Trees, storms and gutters

Big, mature trees are part of what makes these neighborhoods pleasant. They're also hard on roofs.

Leaves and needles collect in valleys and gutters, hold moisture against the shingles and clog downspouts. Overhanging branches scrape shingles in the wind and drop limbs during storms. Shaded slopes stay damp longer, which encourages moss and algae.

A few things help:

• Gutter guards cut down on how often gutters clog and overflow.

• Keeping branches trimmed back from the roofline reduces scraping and impact damage.

• A look after big storms, especially if limbs came down near the house.

When a storm does drop a limb on a roof, it can puncture the decking. We can tarp the opening to keep water out, then document the damage with photos and help you work through the claim if you decide to file. Our storm damage page explains more.

Hail and wind in this part of the county

Southwest Louisville gets the same humid subtropical weather as the rest of the metro. Severe spring storms are common enough that hail and wind damage are routine work for us, and the region sees occasional tornado outbreaks. Hail bruises shingles and dents gutters and vents. Wind breaks shingle seals and lifts ridge caps.

Storms in this part of the county often bring both at once, so a roof can show hail bruising on one slope and wind-lifted shingles on another. The side facing the storm usually takes the worst of it.

Neither always causes an immediate leak. Freezes usually start in early November and last into early April, and that's when storm damage from spring tends to start letting water in. If you remember a bad storm but never had the roof looked at, it's worth an inspection now. Our hail damage page shows what to look for from the ground.

Working through an insurance claim, step by step

For a lot of homeowners, the roof is the easy part and the insurance claim is what they dread. Here's how it usually goes when you work with us.

First, we inspect the roof, gutters, vents and siding, and photograph everything that looks storm-related. You'll know what's there before you decide whether to file.

If the damage looks worth a claim, you contact your insurance company to report it and give them the date of the storm. They'll typically send an adjuster to look at the roof.

You'll have our photos and a written estimate of the work, which helps you understand the scope and compare it with what your insurer approves. We help you work through the claim, answer your questions about the paperwork, and explain what the approved work covers.

Once the work is approved, we schedule the job, do the work, clean up, and walk the roof with you.

A few habits make it smoother: keep a simple log of who you talked to at the insurance company and when, save receipts for any tarps or emergency protection, and don't throw away shingles or gutter pieces the storm knocked loose until the adjuster has seen them.

Commercial roofs along Dixie Highway

Dixie Highway is lined with shops, restaurants and offices, and many of those buildings have flat or low-slope roofs. We repair and replace TPO and EPDM roofs, deal with ponding using tapered insulation, and coordinate with HVAC contractors when rooftop units are in the way. You get one point of contact from inspection to final walkthrough.

How the work goes

1. Free inspection of the roof, gutters and attic.

2. Photos of everything we find.

3. Written estimate with materials and scope.

4. Insurance help if a storm caused the damage.

5. Installation, with your landscaping, siding and walkways protected.

6. Cleanup, a magnet sweep for nails, and a final walkthrough.

Our work is backed by our workmanship warranty, and we offer financing for new roofs.

Elsewhere in Louisville

We work across Jefferson County, from Okolona and Fern Creek to St. Matthews and Prospect, as well as Bullitt County, Oldham County and Southern Indiana.

In a customer's words

"From the first inspection to the final walkthrough, they were on time, professional, and easy to work with. They explained what needed to be done, showed photos of the damage, and helped me navigate the insurance process to get the roof approved"

Byron S., Google review