Keys Roofing

Kirkwood Roofers, Permits Included

Kirkwood roofs, and the specific things this area does to them.

This is not a mild market. NOAA's Storm Events Database logged 125 hail events in St. Louis County between 2020-2025, with stones measured up to 2.5 inches and averaging 1.32 inches. That count is of reported events, not of insured losses, and reporting density tracks population, so a busy county logs more reports than an empty one. Even read conservatively it means a roof in this area takes repeated impact.

What ages a roof here

The Missouri climate is unusually hard on roofing because it swings. Summer decking heat and winter freeze-thaw work the same fasteners in opposite directions across a single year, and the expansion and contraction that comes with it opens the seams around penetrations first. Nail pops, lifted flashing and failed pipe boots show up long before the field of the roof gives out. The result is that most roofs in this area fail at their details rather than their surface.

Permits in Kirkwood

Worth knowing before anyone starts: in unincorporated St. Louis County a straight like-for-like asphalt replacement on a slope of 4:12 or steeper does not require a permit. A permit is required below that slope, if more than a quarter of the sheathing is being replaced, or if the roofing material is changing. Municipalities set their own rules on top of the county, and a few of them, Ballwin and Kirkwood among them, run their own contractor licensing rather than deferring to the county. Missouri itself has no state roofing license. Bills to create one were filed in 2016, 2019 and 2021 and all three failed.

Scope of work

Roofing, gutters, downspouts. Nothing else, on purpose. Atlas and Malarkey shingles.

The drainage end of that list is genuinely uncommon for a roofing company in this market, and it is the part that decides whether a well-drained roof ends up protecting the foundation or undermining it.

Working in Kirkwood

Keys works across greater St. Louis and is not a franchise or a national brand with a local phone number. The crews are the same crews, the shingles are Atlas and Malarkey, and the company is licensed and insured.

Call Keys Roofing at (314) 220-2333

Straight through to the office. Roofing, gutters and downspouts only, across greater St. Louis.

Ask about your roof

A real person calls back, usually the same day.

The questions worth asking

Not the price first. Ask who is physically doing the work, employees or subcontracted crews. Ask for the scope in writing, including the per-sheet cost of replacing decking that turns out to be rotten, because that is the number that moves after work starts. Ask who honours the workmanship warranty and for how long, separately from whatever the manufacturer covers on the shingle itself. Ask for proof of insurance covering the people on the roof.

And be wary of urgency. A roof that has lasted through the storm will last through the week it takes to get a second opinion.

Questions people actually ask

Do I need a permit to replace my roof?

In unincorporated St. Louis County, a like-for-like asphalt replacement on a 4:12 or steeper slope does not need one. Below that slope, or if more than a quarter of the decking is replaced, or the material changes, it does. Municipalities add their own rules.

Is a roofing contractor licensed by the state of Missouri?

There is no state roofing license. Bills to create one were filed in 2016, 2019 and 2021 and all three failed. Licensing is municipal, and it varies house to house across this metro.

How long should a roof last here?

Less than the number on the wrapper, generally. The freeze-thaw cycle and summer decking heat work fasteners in opposite directions across a single year, and most roofs in this area fail at their details rather than their surface.