Roof Replacement for Mid-Century Ranches in North Canton, Ohio

Why does North Canton have so many ranches?

Timing. The census counted 4,032 people here in 1950 and 15,228 in 1970. The town nearly doubled in each of those two decades, and it became a city in 1962. Those were the years when the single-story ranch and the split-level were what builders built. The Hoover Company was at full stride, and street after street filled in around the old center. The median North Canton house dates to about 1971, and around Applegrove Street the figure is about 1968.

What is a typical ranch roof like?

Long, low and simple. Pitches run about 4/12 to 6/12, which a person can walk. The shapes are plain gables and hips, with one or two valleys where a garage or a family room joins. A ranch keeps all its rooms on one floor, so all of them sit under the roof. That is why a modest ranch often carries 20 to 28 squares, as much roof as a two-story house with far more floor space. A square is 100 square feet.

Split-levels add one twist. The roof steps where the two halves of the house meet, and the short wall between the upper roof and the lower one needs step flashing along its whole length.

What usually fails first on these roofs?

• The edge. Many roofs of this period went on without drip edge. Water curls under the shingle and wets the fascia.
• Attic air. Small louvers in the gable ends were the usual vent. They move little air, and a hot attic ages shingles from below.
• Low valleys. On a shallow pitch, water crosses a valley slowly, and leaves sit in it.
• Old additions. A family room or patio roof added in the 1970s or 1980s often joins the house at a very low slope.
• A second layer. Covering the first roof instead of removing it was common, so many ranches now carry two.

What does a replacement change?

A full tear-off resets all of that. Old layers come off to the deck. Soft sheets at the eaves are replaced. Ice and water shield goes along the eaves and in the valleys, then synthetic underlayment over the rest. New drip edge is fitted to the eaves and rakes. A ridge vent runs along the peak, which on a long ranch is a lot of vent. Architectural shingles finish it. The whole list is on the roof replacement in North Canton page, and the shingles page covers the material.

One warning about ridge vent. It only pulls air out if air can get in at the soffits. Many ranch soffits are solid plywood or have vents that were painted shut years ago. The owner checks them, and the photo report shows what he found.

Is a ranch roof quicker to replace?

Usually. A walkable roof with one layer is the fastest kind of tear-off, and an average house commonly takes one to two days. Two layers or soft decking slow it down. What a ranch saves in time it gives back in size, because there is simply a lot of roof. The page on roof replacement cost explains how squares, pitch and layers turn into a number.

Should the gutters be done with a ranch roof?

Often it makes sense. Long eaves put a lot of water into one gutter run, and gutters of this age are frequently hung on spikes that have worked loose. With the shingles off, the fascia is open and the new drip edge can be set to drop into the gutter. See roof and gutters done together.

Where does the permit come from?

If your street is inside the city, from the Building and Permits Division of the North Canton Development Services Department, through the city's online portal. Some ranch neighborhoods with North Canton mail are actually in Plain or Jackson Township, and those go through the county. Check the page on township addresses with 44720 mail if you are not sure which side of the line you are on.

When is a ranch roof due?

Count back. If the house was built in 1968, the first roof likely lasted into the late 1980s, and whatever replaced it is well into middle age or past it. Our post on when a 1970 North Canton ranch roof is due works through the math and the warning signs. Or skip the guessing and book the free roof inspection. The owner inspects every job himself and you get a photo report the same day.