Drone view of a story-and-a-half home in Hinckley, MN after Repair King's tear-off: new shingle roof and box vents, new tan lap siding and white gutters

Hinckley, Minnesota

Hinckley roofing, from the shakes on up

Hinckley sits halfway up I-35 between the Twin Cities and Duluth, in a town that was rebuilt from nothing after the Great Hinckley Fire of 1894, and its older homes can hide more than one roof. Repair King tore one of those roofs down to the deck, through several layers of shingles and the original cedar shakes, then replaced the roof, siding and gutters on the whole house. We photograph what's under your shingles before we quote, and we pull the City of Hinckley permit under our Minnesota license (BC695228).

Get My Free Roof & Storm Report (612) 354-7677

1894The year the Great Hinckley Fire leveled the town; the official death toll was 418

1952Median year built of owner-occupied Hinckley homes (ACS, city housing study)

$40City of Hinckley owner-occupied maintenance permit for a reroof (2026 fee schedule)

2009Licensed Minnesota contractor (BC695228) since

Hinckley, in her words

Amy Tendrup, former mayor of Bigfork, on her Hinckley home

Repair King came along, knocked on the door, let me know what I should really be looking for for damage. Repair King was great to me, and I recommend them highly.

Amy TendrupFormer mayor of Bigfork, MN · Hinckley homeowner

Read the transcript

Hi, I'm Amy. We had a bad storm go through in July. Repair King came along, knocked on the door, let me know what I should really be looking for for damage. Repair King was great to me, and I recommend them highly.

Weathered gray asphalt shingles, box vents and a brick chimney on a Hinckley home before Repair King's multi-layer tear-off, with tall pines behind

Why Hinckley is different

What's under the shingles on an older Hinckley home?

Often more than one roof. Hinckley's owner-occupied homes have a median build year of 1952, and on one Hinckley house our crew tore off several layers of asphalt shingles with the original cedar shakes underneath. Minnesota's residential code (IRC R908.3.1.1, adopted through Minnesota Rules chapter 1309) doesn't allow a new roof over two or more existing roof coverings, so a house like that needs a full tear-off down to the deck.

Hinckley's building history restarts on September 1, 1894. That afternoon the Great Hinckley Fire burned about a quarter-million acres in roughly four hours and leveled the town; the official death toll was 418. The railroad depot that now houses the Hinckley Fire Museum was rebuilt that winter to the plans of the one that burned. Nearly everything else in town went up after the fire, and on some older houses, new roofs went right on top of the old ones.

That's what we found on a story-and-a-half home in town. After a July storm, the whole exterior was replaced: the tear-off went through multiple layers of asphalt shingles and then a layer of cedar shakes underneath. Every extra layer adds weight, hides the roof deck and covers up whatever was wrong with the layer below it. Minnesota code draws the line at two coverings. Past that, recovering isn't allowed and everything comes off.

The deck is where a shake tear-off gets serious. The code allows wood shakes over spaced board sheathing (IRC R905.8.1), but asphalt shingles must be fastened to wood structural panels or solid lumber sheathing (R905.2.1). Once the shakes are off, we check the boards for gaps, rot and splits and plan solid sheathing wherever the deck needs it before any underlayment goes down. In a town defined by fire, there's one more reason to get the shakes off: NFPA's Firewise program calls an untreated wood shake roof the greatest threat to a home in a wildfire, and it lists asphalt fiberglass shingles among the common Class A roof coverings.

Around Hinckley

From the depot to the interstate

Hinckley is a small city of about 3.8 square miles, but its roofs change a lot from one side of town to the other.

Downtown and the historic core

Around Main Street and the 1894-95 railroad depot that houses the Hinckley Fire Museum. Older houses here are the most likely to have more than one roof on them.

The I-35 / Highway 48 interchange

Fire Monument Road (Highway 48) runs past Tobies, the hotels and Grand Casino Hinckley. Big commercial roofs and long motel roofs take the open wind along the interstate.

Wooded lots toward the Grindstone River

Hinckley sits on the Grindstone River, and many lots have tall pines over the house. Expect needles in the gutters and shaded, slow-drying roof slopes.

Hinckley homes & buildings

What are Hinckley homes and buildings built like?

Hinckley's owner-occupied houses are old for a small Minnesota town, with a median build year of 1952 against 1983 for Pine County as a whole, and about half of the city's households rent. Add northern Minnesota snow, tall pines and a busy I-35 commercial strip, and roof work here runs from older layered roofs to motel and casino-area buildings.

Local factor	What we see in Hinckley	Why it matters for repairs
Housing age	Median year built 1952 for owner-occupied homes, versus 1983 countywide (2016 ACS, 2018 Hinckley Housing Study)	Older houses often carry more than one roof and older board decking, so we check layers and the deck before quoting
Roof layers & shakes	On our Hinckley job: several asphalt shingle layers over the original cedar shakes	Two or more existing coverings means a mandatory tear-off under Minnesota code, and shake decks often need solid sheathing
Renters & landlords	50.3% of Hinckley households rented in 2010, versus 27% statewide; the rental stock's median build year is 1982	A reroof on a rental needs a regular building permit, not the owner-occupied maintenance permit, and owners usually want a written photo record
Snow & cold	Average snowfall of about 45 inches a year and a record low of -41°F (NOAA normals)	Ice barrier at the eaves, attic ventilation and flashing at chimneys matter more than the shingle color
Pines & wooded lots	Tall pines and hardwoods over the roofs and yards in our Hinckley job photos	Needles clog gutters, shade holds moisture and moss, and limbs over the roof are a wind risk we note in the photo report
I-35 commercial strip	Grand Casino Hinckley, hotels and Tobies at the I-35 / Highway 48 interchange, plus motels along MN-23 in Pine County	Large low-slope and long shingle roofs need a slope-by-slope and membrane-by-membrane inspection, not a ground-level look

Project files

Hinckley and Pine County project files

Real Repair King jobs in and around Hinckley. Details come from our job footage, photos and their capture dates; we don't list dollar amounts.

The Hinckley home before the work: red siding, weathered shingle roof, brick chimney and attached two-car garage under tall pines, summer

Multi-layer tear-off, then a new roof, siding and gutters

Property: Story-and-a-half home with an attached two-car garage in Hinckley, owned by a former mayor of Bigfork, MN
Work: Tear-off of several layers of asphalt shingles plus the original cedar shakes underneath, a new shingle roof with new box vents, full new lap siding and new gutters. The entire exterior was replaced after a July storm
Found: Weathered, worn shingles across the old roof, and chalk-marked hits on the old red lap siding in our pre-job footage
Result: New roof, new tan lap siding and new white gutters and downspouts, shown in the drone photo at the top of this page
When: Completed by 2019

Two-story motel with a brown shingle roof and tan siding on MN-23 in Finlayson, MN, with a ladder at the entry during a Repair King roof inspection, June 2024

Two-story motel on MN-23, Finlayson

Property: Two-story motel with a long asphalt shingle roof and vinyl siding, north of Hinckley in Pine County
Work: Roof and siding inspections, documented slope by slope
Found: July 2023: chalk-circled hits on the shingles and close-ups of the siding. June 2024: creased and lifted shingle tabs below the roof vents, and marked roof vents
When: July 2023 and June 2024

Hail & storm history

When storms last hit Hinckley

NOAA storm reports put 1-inch hail within 3 miles of our Hinckley job site on July 6, 2017, the most recent hail report there, and the largest hail since 2015 was 1.75 inches on July 12, 2015. Hinckley has logged four hail days since 2015, all with 1-inch or larger stones: July 12 and August 2, 2015, June 19, 2016, and July 6, 2017. Wind has been the bigger story lately, with a 69 mph gust on May 30, 2022, a 62 mph gust on August 5, 2019, and a 64 mph gust on July 17, 2017. Wind like that creases and lifts shingle tabs, strips ridge caps and brings pine limbs down on roofs, and hail can hit a street without anyone filing a report.

Jul 6, 2017Last hail report near Hinckley (1")

1.75"Largest hail reported near Hinckley since 2015 (Jul 12, 2015)

4Days with 1"+ hail reported near Hinckley since 2015

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center storm reports within 3 miles of the Hinckley home Repair King re-roofed, through September 2026. Reports are from trained spotters and the public; hail can hit a street without a report.

What our inspection covers

Every slope walked and hits or creased tabs chalk-marked and photographed
Layers counted at the eaves and the deck checked where we can see it
Gutters, vents, chimney flashing and siding checked on all sides
Dated photo report you keep for your records

Check your own address

Our free Roof & Storm Report looks up hail and wind history for your exact address, not just the city.

Run My Storm Report

Job photos

Real Hinckley-area jobs, from our job files

Close-up of worn, weathered asphalt shingles and a box vent on the Hinckley home before the tear-off

Chalk-marked hit on the old red lap siding of the Hinckley home before new siding went on

Side wall of the Hinckley home with chalk marks on the old red siding, before the exterior was replaced

Creased, lifted shingle tab below the roof vents on a Pine County motel roof in Finlayson, June 2024

Chalk-circled hit on a brown architectural shingle, Finlayson motel roof, July 2023

Photos and video stills from Repair King jobs in Hinckley and Finlayson (Pine County). Finlayson dates are the capture dates from our job camera.

Codes & permits

Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Hinckley?

Yes. For an owner-occupied house, the City of Hinckley issues a Residential Owner-Occupied Maintenance Permit, listed at $40 on the city's 2026 fee schedule. A reroof on a rental property or a business needs a regular building permit, priced on the value of the work.

The City of Hinckley's Planning & Zoning Department handles roofing permits (320-384-7491, [email protected]). The city requires a licensed contractor for construction work on a house unless the owners do the work themselves and sign a property owner waiver. Repair King pulls the permit under our Minnesota contractor license (BC695228).

Rentals and businesses go through the regular building permit instead. Its fee is based on the value of the work, with a plan review fee and the state surcharge added on top. On a whole-exterior job, the other pieces can need their own paperwork too: the city lists a regular building permit for fixing a deck and a separate fence permit with a site plan for a new fence.

Whatever the permit, Minnesota's residential code sets the tear-off rule: no new roof over two or more existing roof coverings (IRC R908.3.1.1), and asphalt shingles must go on a solid deck (R905.2.1). We count the layers and photograph the deck, ice barrier and underlayment on every job. Homes outside city limits fall under the township or county instead, so we confirm who issues the permit for your address before scheduling.

Local

What makes Hinckley different from other towns along I-35?

Hinckley is generally considered the halfway point on I-35 between the Twin Cities and Duluth, which is why the railroads first called it Central Station. It's also the town of the Great Hinckley Fire of September 1, 1894, and the start of the Munger State Trail, which follows the old St. Paul & Duluth rail line whose trains carried people out of the fire.

Travelers know Hinckley for Tobies, the Fire Monument Road bakery that has called itself the halfway stop since 1948, and for Grand Casino Hinckley, opened by the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe in 1992. The Hinckley Fire Museum tells the story of 1894 from the depot rebuilt right after the fire, on the site of the one where telegrapher Thomas Dunn sent the last messages out of town. The paved Munger State Trail runs 70 miles from Hinckley to Duluth, and a 37-mile stretch is known as the Hinckley Fire Trail. East of town, St. Croix State Park, Minnesota's largest state park, holds 164 CCC and WPA buildings, the largest collection of New Deal projects in the state. The Ojibwe name for Hinckley, Gaa-zhiigwanaabikokaag, means the place abundant with grindstones, after the Grindstone River that runs through town.

Inspect first

Storm damage in Hinckley: what should you do first?

Start with an inspection, not a decision. A damaged shingle does not automatically mean a roof needs to be replaced. What matters is what the inspection actually finds on the roof, siding, gutters and windows.

1 · InspectWe check the roof, soft metals, gutters, siding and windows, and we check the storm history for your address.

2 · DocumentYou get a dated photo report of everything we observe, damage or not.

3 · DecideYou choose the next step: repair, replace, or keep an eye on it. We explain the repair options and give you a written estimate.

Repair King is a licensed Minnesota contractor (BC695228). We are not a public adjuster and do not negotiate insurance claims. Questions about your policy belong with your insurance company.

Owner resources

Hinckley property owner resources

Official links worth bookmarking, whether or not you ever hire us.

FAQ

Hinckley roofing questions

Do I need a permit to replace my roof in Hinckley?

Yes. An owner-occupied house needs the city's Residential Owner-Occupied Maintenance Permit ($40 on the 2026 fee schedule); a rental or business needs a regular building permit. Repair King pulls the permit for you.

Can you put new shingles over my old roof in Hinckley?

Not if there are already two or more roofs on it. Minnesota's residential code (IRC R908.3.1.1) doesn't allow a recover over two or more existing coverings, or over a roof that's too deteriorated to serve as a base. We count the layers at the eaves during the inspection.

My older Hinckley house has cedar shakes under the shingles. What happens?

They come off with everything else. Shakes were allowed on spaced board sheathing, but asphalt shingles need a solid deck, so after tear-off we check the boards and plan solid sheathing where the deck needs it, and we photograph it before underlayment goes on.

When did hail last hit Hinckley?

NOAA storm reports show 1-inch hail within 3 miles of our Hinckley job on July 6, 2017, the most recent report there; the largest since 2015 was 1.75 inches on July 12, 2015. The most recent damaging wind was a 69 mph gust on May 30, 2022. Run a free Roof & Storm Report for your exact address.

I own a rental in Hinckley. Is the permit different?

Yes. The city lists a regular building permit, priced on the value of the work, for reroofing a rental property or business. Owner-occupied houses use the $40 maintenance permit.

Does Repair King work as far north as Hinckley?

Yes. We've worked in Hinckley and in Pine County towns like Finlayson and Sandstone. Hinckley is right on I-35, and we schedule inspections there like any other job.

Is an asphalt roof safer than cedar shakes in a fire?

Generally, yes. NFPA's Firewise program lists asphalt fiberglass shingles among common Class A roof coverings, its best fire rating, and calls untreated wood shakes the greatest roof threat to a home in a wildfire.

What do I get from a Repair King inspection?

A dated photo report covering roof layers, slopes, vents, flashing, gutters and siding, so you have a clear record of your home's condition before anything is decided.

Book a free roof inspection

No cost, no pressure. You get photos of everything we find.

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