A quarter of Stillwater's homes were built before 1940, and its downtown is a National Register historic district where even a reroof can need design review. Repair King inspected the flat roof on a historic commercial building at 106 South Main Street in September 2024, chalk-marking hail hits across the membrane, and in April 2026 we inspected the gravel-ballasted roof at Safe Reflections on Greeley Street South. We know which Stillwater roofs need a Heritage Preservation Commission design permit, and we document every roof with dated photos.
We've dealt with a lot of companies over the years, and this company has done an exceptional job, from customer service to follow-through. We trust our business, we trust our time, we trust our space to them, and they've never once disappointed.
Yeah, the guys at Repair King are incredible. If you're looking to do any roofing business, they're definitely the company to go with. We've dealt with a lot of companies over the years, and this company has done an exceptional job, from customer service to follow-through. So if you're looking for someone to do your roofing, you know, we trust our business, we trust our time, we trust our space to them, and they've never once disappointed. So go ahead and use them if you're looking at anything roof. Repair King.
It can. Exterior changes to buildings in Stillwater's Downtown Design Review District go through a design permit, reviewed by city staff or the Heritage Preservation Commission. In 2025 the commission's agenda included a design review for the reroof of a contributing building at 220 Myrtle Street East. If your building is in the historic district, plan for that step before you pick materials.
Most downtown Stillwater buildings are two and three stories of brick and stone with flat or low-slope roofs hidden behind parapet walls. From the street you see the cornice; from the roof you see membrane, coping, chimneys and the rooftop units of the buildings next door. That's what our September 2024 inspection at 106 South Main Street looked like: a single-ply membrane with dozens of hail marks we circled in chalk, coping stones along the parapet, a brick chimney with a metal cap, and a satellite dish mount.
Flat roofs behind parapets fail in predictable places. Water collects where the membrane turns up the wall, coping joints open up, and chimney flashing pulls away as the masonry moves. We photograph each of those, and we photograph the hail marks with a chalk circle so you can find every one again.
Away from downtown, Stillwater's older neighborhoods are part of a Conservation District built between 1843, when the first sawmill went up, and 1914, when the last log came down the St. Croix. The city's design guidelines describe early 1½-story vernacular houses with gabled, wood-shingled roofs, Italianate homes with low-pitched hip roofs, and Queen Anne houses with several steep roofs on one building. Each style needs its own flashing plan when it's reroofed.
Two Stillwater commercial roofs from our job files, plus the closest large job outside town: Oak Meadows Senior Living in Oakdale, where Repair King did siding and roofing work. The third card is in Oakdale, not Stillwater.
A historic commercial building at Main and Myrtle. Our September 2024 inspection covered the flat membrane roof, parapet coping and this brick chimney with its metal cap, with neighboring downtown buildings all around.
A large gravel-ballasted flat roof with rooftop HVAC units, exhaust fans, a domed skylight and this cooling tower. We walked and photographed it in April 2026.
A three-story senior residence with a brick base, vinyl siding and a shingled roof, about 10 miles west in Oakdale. Repair King did siding and roofing work on the building.
Stillwater has two housing stories. 2,121 homes, about a quarter of the total, were built before 1940, many in the lumber-era neighborhoods on the hills around downtown. Then came steady growth: 1,378 homes in the 2000s and 1,308 in the 1990s. Downtown is a separate world of brick and stone commercial buildings with flat roofs.
| Local factor | What we see in Stillwater | Why it matters for repairs |
|---|---|---|
| Housing age | Median year built 1980. 2,121 homes built 1939 or earlier, 1,378 from 2000-2009 and 1,308 from the 1990s (Census ACS 2020-2024) | Pre-1940 homes often have board sheathing, several roof planes and old chimneys; 1990s-2000s homes are reaching their first or second replacement |
| Lumber-era styles | Vernacular 1½-story gable houses, Italianate low-pitched hip roofs, Queen Anne multi-gable roofs (Conservation District Design Guidelines) | Each style has different valleys, hips and dormer flashings, so we plan flashing before tear-off |
| Downtown | Stillwater Commercial Historic District, listed on the National Register in 1992 | Exterior work, including reroofs of contributing buildings, can need an HPC design permit |
| Commercial roofs | Flat membrane and gravel-ballasted roofs with parapets, chimneys, rooftop units and skylights | Most leaks start at wall flashings, coping joints, unit curbs and skylights |
| Townhomes | 1,400 attached single-family homes, 16% of Stillwater's housing | Association roofs need a record for each building and slope |
| Ownership | 6,197 of 8,078 occupied homes are owner-occupied (77%) | Owners and building managers both get the same dated photo report |
Real Stillwater jobs from our CompanyCam records, described only from the photos. No claim results or dollar amounts.
The largest hail reported near our Stillwater jobs since 2015 was 2 inches, on May 19, 2022. Before that, 1-inch hail was reported on June 11 and May 16, 2017, and 1.75-inch hail on May 3, 2015. The latest wind report came on July 28, 2025, when a storm broke 3- to 4-inch branches about a mile northeast of Lake Elmo, near our Greeley Street job; 58 mph gusts were measured on August 27, 2024. On a flat roof, hail marks can be hard to see until you circle them in chalk, which is how we found them on Main Street.
| Date | Type | What was reported | What to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 28, 2025 | Wind | Damaging wind reported (trees/limbs down) | Missing or creased shingles, ridge caps, flashing, siding |
| Aug 27, 2024 | Wind | 58 mph wind gust measured | Missing or creased shingles, ridge caps, flashing, siding |
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center storm reports within 3 miles of the two Stillwater commercial properties in our storm records (downtown Main Street and Greeley Street S), through September 2026. Reports are from trained spotters and the public; hail can hit a street without a report.
Our free Roof & Storm Report looks up hail and wind history for your exact address, not just the city.
Photos taken by Repair King on Stillwater jobs. Dates are capture dates from our job camera.
Yes. Stillwater's Building Inspections division requires permits for roofing, siding and window replacement, along with new construction and additions. In the downtown historic district, a reroof of a contributing building may also need a design permit from the Heritage Preservation Commission.
Building permit fees in Stillwater follow the city's valuation-based fee table, so we give the building department the project value with the application. Commercial roofs usually get plan review. Repair King pulls permits under our Minnesota license, BC695228.
For design review, the process in the city's design guidelines runs from an initial meeting through staff review, an HPC public hearing if needed, and approval before the building permit is issued. If your building is in the Downtown Design Review District, we photograph the existing roof and details first, so the commission and the building department see exactly what's there now.
Stillwater is the Washington County seat, a river city of about 19,400 people on the St. Croix, about 20 miles east of St. Paul. Its downtown historic district and lumber-era neighborhoods are protected by a preservation ordinance the city adopted in 1987.
Stillwater grew from a lumber town into a river town on the bluffs, and its older neighborhoods still follow the grid laid over those hills and ravines. The city's design guidelines note that the houses were framed and sheathed in locally milled white pine on foundations of local limestone, and that the wealthier families built on the hills while the first three decades of building happened downtown in 'the original bowl.' The Stillwater Commercial Historic District was listed on the National Register in 1992. Today our Stillwater work includes a downtown Main Street building and a commercial roof on Greeley Street South.
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.
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.
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Yes. Stillwater requires building permits for roofing, siding and window replacement. Fees follow the city's valuation table, and Repair King pulls the permit for you.
It may. Exterior alterations in the Downtown Design Review District need a design permit, reviewed by staff or the Heritage Preservation Commission. The commission reviewed a reroof of a contributing building at 220 Myrtle Street East in 2025.
Yes. We inspected the membrane roof at 106 South Main Street in September 2024 and the gravel-ballasted roof at Safe Reflections on Greeley Street South in April 2026.
The largest hail near our Stillwater jobs since 2015 was 2 inches, on May 19, 2022. The latest storm report nearby was damaging wind on July 28, 2025. Run a free Roof & Storm Report for your exact address.
Usually more roof planes, older board sheathing and chimneys to reflash. Stillwater's Queen Anne and Italianate houses have very different roof shapes, so we plan every valley and flashing detail before tear-off.
We document what we find; coverage questions go to your insurer. Repair King is a licensed contractor, not a public adjuster, and we don't negotiate claims.
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