Roof replacement
Roof Replacement in Northville, Michigan
Northville is two governments sharing one name and one downtown. The City of Northville is small and old — about two square miles, split by Eight Mile Road between Oakland and Wayne Counties, with nearly a quarter of its housing built before 1940 and a historic district that reviews roofing materials and color. Northville Township is a separate government, entirely in Wayne County, and its housing skews newer: about six in ten Township homes went up between 1980 and 2009, with the single largest decade being the 2000s. The two offices answer the permit question differently, and the City's historic district adds a layer the Township doesn't have. We find out which one applies to your address before we schedule a crew, tear off to the deck, and install a complete Owens Corning system with the warranty registered in your name.
Serving the City of Northville, which straddles the Oakland–Wayne county line, and Northville Township — two separate governments under one Northville name.
Do I need a permit to replace my roof in Northville?
Yes, but which office issues it depends on which Northville you're in. Northville Township's own list of projects that need a permit names re-roofing directly, and the Township publishes a Roofing Permit Checklist: a building permit, 'before' photos of all sides of the roof, a signed copy of the homeowner's contract showing the value of the roof, and a builder's license. At final inspection the Township asks for 'after' photos of the completed roof, including all sides and the stacks. We handle that paperwork and the photo documentation on every Township job. The City of Northville is a different matter — its permit pages don't carry a separate line item for roofing; re-roof work falls under the City's general category of alterations and repairs to existing structures, and the City doesn't list a roofing-specific checklist or inspection rule, so we confirm the current requirement with the City's Community Development office at 215 W. Main St. before your job is scheduled. One more wrinkle worth knowing: the City's own permit page warns that several communities carry a Northville mailing address while the property actually sits in a different jurisdiction, so a 48167 or 48168 ZIP code doesn't by itself tell you which office you belong to. We confirm the jurisdiction from the parcel, not the ZIP.
23.1%
Of City of Northville homes built before 1940
1968
Median year built, City of Northville
28.3%
Of Northville Township homes built 2000–2009, the largest single decade
1993
Median year built, Northville Township
Two governments, one Northville name
The City of Northville is about 2.05 square miles with 6,119 residents as of the 2020 census, and Eight Mile Road runs through it as the Oakland–Wayne county line, so part of the City sits in each county. Northville Township split off from the City area back in 1898 and became a charter township in 1985; today it covers 16.57 square miles entirely within Wayne County and holds 31,758 residents — more than five times the City's population on roughly eight times the land. Same name, two entirely separate building departments.
That split matters on the day a roof is scheduled, not before. We identify which jurisdiction a parcel sits in during the estimate visit, call the right office, and write the answer into the estimate so you aren't the one tracking down the City or the Township to find out what's required.
| Year built | City of Northville | Northville Township |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 or later | 0.3% | 2.1% |
| 2010–2019 | 3.5% | 7.8% |
| 2000–2009 | 3.2% | 28.3% |
| 1990–1999 | 7.0% | 17.2% |
| 1980–1989 | 17.5% | 14.3% |
| 1970–1979 | 14.5% | 17.6% |
| 1960–1969 | 17.8% | 7.5% |
| 1950–1959 | 9.4% | 2.1% |
| 1940–1949 | 3.7% | 1.0% |
| 1939 or earlier | 23.1% | 2.2% |
| Median year built | 1968 | 1993 |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 five-year estimates (Table DP04 and Table B25035). The City of Northville holds 2,767 housing units and Northville Township 13,306 units; the City figure covers the whole city, since Census place geography isn't split at the county line. One-unit detached homes run 66.8% of City housing and 60.1% of Township housing; owner-occupied units are 80.3% in the City and 78.3% in the Township.
City of Northville: Community Development and the historic layer
The City's Community Development / Building Department sits at City Hall, 215 W. Main St., reachable at 248-449-9902, open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with a separate inspection hotline at 248-305-2737. Permits are filed online through the City's portal, and inspections are scheduled online against the assigned permit number — a request for the next business day has to go in by 3:30 p.m. the day before.
The City also layers tree protection onto some roof jobs. Its own guidance states that any proposed removal of a tree eight inches in diameter at breast height or larger has to be reviewed by the Community Development Director before work begins, under the City's Tree Preservation Ordinance, and skipping that review is a misdemeanor. If a re-roof means taking down an overhanging limb or tree first, that review happens before the tree work, not after.
Northville Township: a published roofing checklist
Northville Township's Building Division is reachable at (248) 348-5830, and 're-roofing' is named directly on its list of common projects that need one or more permits. The Township's Roofing Permit Checklist is specific: a building permit application, 'before' pictures of all sides of the roof, a signed copy of the homeowner's contract showing the roof's value, and a builder's license on file. At final inspection the Township requires 'after' pictures of the completed roof, covering all sides and any stacks that are visible.
Under the Township's code, the Building Official makes the final call on what a given permit requires. We supply the photos, the license documentation and the signed homeowner contract as a matter of course on every Township job, so the final inspection isn't held up waiting on paperwork that should already be on file.
What a Northville roof replacement actually corrects
In the City, 23.1 percent of housing predates 1940 and another 49.8 percent was built between 1960 and 1989 — meaning roughly three in four City homes are now somewhere between 37 and 90-plus years old. The Township tells a different story: 59.8 percent of its housing was built from 1980 through 2009, with the 2000s alone accounting for 28.3 percent, the largest single decade, and a median year built of 1993. Those are two different roofing conversations under one Northville name.
The pre-1940 pocket in the City
Northville's pre-1940 housing — more than a fifth of the City — includes much of the Northville Historic District near downtown. These are older roof frames: steeper pitches, plank decking rather than sheathing panels in many cases, porch and addition roofs low enough to need extra underlayment protection, and often a roof already carrying more than one layer of covering. The Michigan Residential Code requires a full tear-off to the deck once a roof already has two layers of any covering, so on a lot of these houses, removal isn't a preference — it's the only legal path to a new roof. A full tear-off is also the only honest way to find out what the decking underneath actually looks like.
The 1960s-to-1980s City cohort
About half of City housing was built across the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s — a band of houses now 37 to roughly 66 years old. Many of these are on a second covering already, with the usual findings underneath: a layover hiding soft sheathing, an attic vented by nothing more than gable louvers, reused pipe boots and step flashing, and valleys that have worn thin at the center. A tear-off is where every one of those shortcuts gets corrected at once, because the deck is only open once: drip edge at the eaves and rakes, ice barrier extending from the eave to at least 24 inches inside the exterior wall line, gable vents sealed in favor of a continuous ridge vent fed by real soffit intake, and every flashing replaced rather than reused.
The Township's 1980s-to-2000s wave
Northville Township's housing is concentrated in a very specific window: 14.3 percent from the 1980s, 17.2 percent from the 1990s, and 28.3 percent — the largest single decade — from the 2000s. That's a builder-grade generation: three-tab or early architectural shingles over 7/16-inch OSB, box vents instead of a continuous ridge, one course of ice barrier at most, and in the oldest of that group, no drip edge at the rakes. Seventeen to 35 years is the honest working life of that original roof, which puts a large share of Township housing arriving at the same decision within the same few years.
The Northville Historic District: what gets staff approval, and what doesn't
The City's Historic Preservation Ordinance dates to 1974, and the Historic District Commission reviews construction, alteration, exterior changes, exterior paint colors and demolition on buildings inside the district, under City Code and state law. The Commission meets at 6:30 p.m. on the third Wednesday of each month at City Hall, and submission deadlines are firm — an application that arrives late goes to the following month's agenda, not the current one. The District covers 425 resources, 251 of them (60 percent) contributing, with a period of significance running from roughly 1830 to 1968, and includes Greek Revival, Italianate, Second Empire, Folk Victorian, Queen Anne, Shingle, Colonial Revival, Tudor Revival, Neoclassical, Prairie, Craftsman-era and Ranch styles.
The practical rule most homeowners actually need is the City's Staff Approval List and Standards, which lets the Community Development Director approve a Certificate of Appropriateness directly, without a full Commission hearing, for specific categories of work. On roofing, the standard reads: replacement of roofs, gutters, downspouts and gutter guards with materials matching the existing in profile and color can be approved at staff level, and an asphalt shingle roof may also be changed to another commonly used neutral color at staff level. The Director can still refer any application to the full Commission if the work might change the character of the structure or its exterior appearance.
What's appropriate, and what isn't
The City's Historic District Design Guidelines are specific about roofing. They identify historic roofing materials as including slate, wood shake or shingle, clay tile, metal and concrete tile. They call it appropriate to replace historic roofing material only when it's too deteriorated to retain or retention isn't feasible, and when replacement is necessary, to match the historic material as closely as possible in design, color, texture and dimension. On the other side, the Guidelines state plainly that it is not appropriate to install metal seam roofs on buildings that did not historically have that material, to change the shape or pitch of a roof, or to mix gutter types — half-round and Ogee — on the same structure. The Guidelines also note gutters should run along the roof edge with downspouts at the corners of the structure rather than mid-wall.
Put plainly: a like-for-like asphalt shingle re-roof, or an asphalt color change to another neutral tone, can typically be approved at staff level without a full Commission hearing. A metal seam roof on a house that never had one, a change in roof shape, or a material change outside the historic palette is the kind of request that goes to the full Historic District Commission instead, on its monthly meeting schedule. If your house is inside the district, we ask the City which path applies before the job is booked.
Northville's storm record, read from the database rather than a doorstep pitch
Northville's severe weather is mostly wind and the occasional hail report, not a pattern of tornado strikes inside the city limits. Here's what NOAA's Storm Events Database actually records within about 12 kilometers of downtown Northville since 2020.
| Date | Location | Event | What was recorded |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 20, 2023 | Northville | 1.00-inch hail | The one hail report recorded inside Northville itself in this period; the same storm system produced 2.75-inch hail at Davison and 2-inch hail at Ypsilanti |
| June 5, 2024 | Livonia, about 7 km southeast | EF1 tornado, 5.75 miles long, 450 yards wide | Peak winds estimated up to 95 mph; uprooted large trees and did some damage to residential housing |
| Aug. 24, 2023 | Plymouth, about 8.5 km south | 61 kt (about 70 mph) estimated thunderstorm gust | Multiple trees uprooted with shingles blown off roofs |
| June 16, 2022 | Novi, about 5.6 km north | 56 kt gust | Numerous trees blown down, snapped and uprooted in and around Novi Town Center |
| July 7, 2021 | Novi and Farmington | 50–56 kt gusts | Wires reported down across both directions of I-275 near Grand River |
| June 15, 2023 | Plymouth | 1.00-inch hail | 1.00-inch hail reported at Plymouth, about 8.5 km south |
| July 30, 2025 | Northville area | Flash flood | 6 Mile and Northville Road impassable due to flood waters |
Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, bulk files 2020 through June 30, 2026. Reports kept are Hail, Thunderstorm Wind and Tornado within about 12 km of downtown Northville, all from NWS Detroit/Pontiac. Wind speeds are in knots unless noted; EG means estimated gust, MG means measured gust. About 34 hail, thunderstorm-wind and tornado reports were logged within that radius since January 2020; the July 20, 2023 report is the only hail event recorded inside Northville itself.
Beyond those headline events, the database also logs a steady run of 50-to-62-knot thunderstorm gusts at Novi, Plymouth, Walled Lake, Farmington and Livonia between 2020 and 2026 — towns near Northville — mostly without hail. That's a wind-and-limb pattern more than a hail pattern. Owens Corning Duration shingles carry a 130 mph wind resistance limited warranty as standard and a 160 mph enhanced warranty when the full component set, including starter shingles at the eaves and the rakes, goes on as one system. Because the sealant strip on a new shingle is heat-activated — a day or so in summer heat, up to about twelve weeks on a shaded north slope in cold weather — a Northville roof finished well before the first hard freeze is sealed before the heaviest winter wind arrives.
Northville's neighborhoods, Maybury and Mill Race Village
The City of Northville describes itself as known for its walkable, tree-lined neighborhoods, and names the Historic District within walking distance of downtown, along with Cabbagetown, Beal Town, and a mix of subdivisions and condominium communities. The City's own partial list of homeowners associations names Abbey Knoll, Lexington Commons, Lexington Condo Homeowners, North Lexington Condo Homeowners, Mountain View Condos, New Victorian Condominium Association, Northville Estates, Pheasant Hills and St Lawrence Estates Condominium Association, and separately lists Beal Town and Cabbagetown as neighborhoods without an HOA.
Maybury State Park sits on Eight Mile Road — roughly 1,000 acres with an eight-acre spring-fed pond, a quiet neighbor to the houses nearby. The former Northville Psychiatric Hospital site, more than 400 acres on Seven Mile Road, was mostly purchased after voters approved it in 2009 and its buildings razed in 2018; it's planned as open natural space with trails. Mill Race Village, opened in 1972 on Griswold Avenue, gathers a collection of relocated historic buildings, and the City celebrates its Victorian heritage each September. Northville Downs, which opened in 1944 as Michigan's first nighttime harness track, operated at Center Street and 7 Mile Road until 2024.
Working in Northville: tree review and a historic calendar
In the City, the tree ordinance is the detail most likely to affect scheduling: any proposed removal of a tree eight inches DBH or larger needs Community Development Director review before the work happens, and that review has to clear before a tear-off that depends on removing an overhanging limb or tree. In the historic district, the Historic District Commission's monthly meeting calendar — the third Wednesday of the month, with firm submission deadlines — is the thing to plan around if your project needs a full Commission hearing rather than staff approval; a late application slips an entire month.
Beyond those two items, a Northville roof is built to the same Michigan Residential Code wherever the parcel sits: ice barrier running from the eave to at least 24 inches inside the exterior wall line, and a full tear-off to the deck once a roof already carries two layers of covering. We confirm the specific permit process — City or Township — and any historic district requirement with the relevant office before your job is scheduled, and we put the answer in your written estimate.
The Owens Corning system we register in Northville
On Top Roofing is an Owens Corning Platinum Preferred Contractor — the top tier of the Owens Corning contractor network in the company's own words, and the only tier that can register its best system warranty. Every Northville replacement is registered under a Platinum Protection Roofing Limited Warranty: limited lifetime coverage on materials with a 50-year non-prorated period, limited lifetime workmanship non-prorated for the first 25 years, 130 mph wind resistance as standard and 160 mph enhanced, and 25-year algae resistance with Owens Corning hip and ridge. It transfers once to a buyer within 60 days of a sale.
The warranty requires the complete system rather than the shingle alone: Duration shingles with SureNail Technology, Owens Corning or approved synthetic underlayment, Owens Corning hip and ridge, Owens Corning self-adhered ice and water barrier, starter shingles at the eaves and rakes, and VentSure balanced ventilation — plus new flashings and new drip edge throughout. We install all of it as standard, in the City and in the Township alike. Our credentials behind it: Owens Corning Platinum Preferred, BBB A+ accredited, HAAG Certified inspectors.
Colors for Northville houses
On the Greek Revival, Italianate and Queen Anne houses in and around the Historic District, the Duration Designer line — Aged Copper, Storm Cloud, Black Sable — is a line we can bring to the City's color review, choosing a commonly used neutral color when staff approval is the goal. The 1960s-to-1980s ranches and colonials across the rest of the City sit well under Estate Gray, Slatestone Gray or Onyx Black. The Township's 1980s-to-2000s brick-and-vinyl subdivision houses take Driftwood, Teak or Brownwood comfortably. We bring full-size samples to the estimate and look at them against your siding, in daylight, at the house — and when a historic review calls for matching an existing profile and color, that's the sample that goes into the application.
Northville neighborhoods where we replace roofs
From our yard at 5896 Sterling Dr in Howell, Northville is about 30 miles southeast, down I-96 to the Novi Road exit and south into downtown. We replace roofs across the City of Northville and Northville Township alike — the Historic District near downtown, Cabbagetown and Beal Town, the City's condominium and subdivision communities, and the Township's 1980s-to-2000s neighborhoods.
- Downtown Northville
- Northville Historic District
- Main Street
- Cady Street
- High Street
- Cabbagetown
- Beal Town
- Abbey Knoll
- Lexington Commons
- Mountain View Condos
- New Victorian Condominium
- Northville Estates
- Pheasant Hills
- St Lawrence Estates
- Mill Race Village
- Maybury State Park
- Eight Mile Road
- Seven Mile Road
- Northville Township
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a permit to replace my roof in the City of Northville?
Do I need a permit to replace my roof in Northville Township?
My house is in the Northville Historic District. Do I need approval for new shingles?
Can I put a metal seam roof on my historic Northville house?
Is Northville a hail town?
What storms have actually hit near Northville recently?
My City of Northville house was built before 1940. Is it time to think about the roof?
Do I need to worry about tree removal before a re-roof in the City?
How far is Northville from your shop in Howell?
What warranty comes with a Northville roof replacement?
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