Sidewalks, the Curb and the Street Side of a Chesterfield Roof Job

A roof job on a Chesterfield street does not stay on the lot. The tear-off throws debris, the delivery truck needs a place to unload, the crew needs a place to stand, and the dumpster or trailer has to go somewhere. Much of that space is public: the sidewalk along the front of the house, the curb, and the strip of street or apron between the curb and the property line. Before the first bundle lands, you should know which of those spaces the city controls, which ones your roofer needs, and who answers for what happens in them.

Town roofing

Many Chesterfield lots are narrow where the driveway, the sidewalk and the front yard meet. A dumpster set at the end of the driveway may sit partly on the apron, which is the paved section between the street and the sidewalk, and the sidewalk itself may be the only clear path for a neighbor's child walking to a bus stop or a dog walker heading out for the morning. The roof crew does not own that space. In most subdivisions the street and the sidewalk are public, though landscaped entrance strips and islands may belong to the homeowners' association. Check the plat or ask the association before you assume a strip is yours to give up.

Ask the roofer one plain question before the contract is signed: where will the container sit, and will any part of it, or any trailer, pallet or portable toilet, be on the street or the sidewalk? If the answer is yes, the next question is whether the city requires a permit for that placement. Call the city's permit desk and ask directly. The rules for a container in the right-of-way, the hours it may stay, and the cones or signs needed to keep the walk open vary from one municipality to the next, and a roofer who has worked in a neighboring town may not know the current rule here. Do not accept a verbal promise that this is how they always do it.

Sidewalk closures are the item most often missed. A crew working at the front eave may need to block the walk while the bin is loaded or while bundles are carried up a ladder. A closed sidewalk in front of a house with a school-age child or a daily mail carrier is a short disruption, but people notice it. Ask whether the crew will put out signs or cones, who sets them, and who picks them up at the end of each day. If the answer is that the crew will simply use the walk as it is, plan for someone to be walking past the work while the roof is open.

Curb inlets need attention too. An inlet carries runoff from the street into the storm sewer, and debris that drops into one during a tear-off is hard to retrieve. Nails, granules and torn felt can block drainage just when the next rain arrives. Ask the crew how they will protect the inlet nearest the house, usually with a cover or a sheet held down over the grate, and how they will clear it the same day the work ends.

Trucks create a second street problem. A flatbed delivering shingle bundles on a narrow street may stop with flashers on while the driver lowers the load, and a trailer in a cul-de-sac may sit in the bulb for hours if it cannot turn around easily. Ask the roofer to name the delivery window and the route the truck will take. If the truck will park on the street, say so in writing, because the neighbors will ask you about it.

Lot shapes vary across Chesterfield. A corner lot can have two frontages, each with its own sidewalk, and a house at the end of a cul-de-sac may have the only useful staging area in the whole bulb. Walk the frontage with the roofer before the contract is signed. Note which strip is public right-of-way, which is front yard, and which is driveway, and photograph each one. The photos help the roofer price the placement honestly and help you check it on the day the crew arrives.

What it costs

Right-of-way costs are usually small compared with the roof itself, but they are real, and they should appear somewhere in the bid. A container placed on the street may carry a permit fee. A second container move, an extra pickup for a bin that sat full too long, or a crew member added to set and remove cones can each add a line. Traffic control and walk protection also take labor time, so they show up either in the daily rate or in a separate line. None of these items should be a surprise on the final invoice.

Read the bid for three things. First, whether any permit or right-of-way fee is named, or whether it is folded into a general line with no description. Second, whether a container on the street is priced separately from a container on the driveway. Third, whether the bid says who pays if the city asks for a change after work has started. A quote that says dumpster included, with no location given, is not finished. A quote that names the container location, the permit responsibility and the sidewalk plan is one you can compare line by line with the others.

When two quotes differ on the street side, the difference is usually in the detail rather than the principle. One roofer may have priced a permit and a sign crew, and the other may have assumed the homeowner would handle both. Ask each one to restate its assumption in a sentence. That single sentence will tell you more than the total at the bottom of the page.

What to ask

Put these questions to each roofer in writing, and compare the answers as text rather than from memory:

1. Which parts of the work will sit in the public right-of-way, and which will sit on my own lot?
2. Will a container, trailer, pallet or portable toilet be placed on the street or sidewalk, and if so, who applies for the permit?
3. When will the sidewalk be closed, for how long, and who sets and removes the signs or cones each day?
4. What is the delivery window for the shingles, and where will the truck stop while it unloads?
5. How will the storm inlet nearest the house be protected, and who clears it at the end of each day?
6. Does the bid include any city permit fee for the right-of-way, and is that fee listed as its own line?
7. If the city asks for a change after work starts, who contacts the city, and who pays for the change?

On your side of the job, make two calls before the crew arrives. Call the city's permit desk to confirm what is required for the placement you agreed to. Then tell the neighbors on both sides and across the street which days the sidewalk may be blocked and when the delivery truck is expected. A short note with dates is enough, and it gives the people who walk past your house a reason to plan around the work instead of being surprised by it.

If you are comparing bids this week and want to ask Keys Roofing about the street side of your job, call the office at (314) 220-2333 and ask for the written placement plan before you choose a date.