SERVICE AREA / FOUNTAIN HILLS, AZ
Roofing in Fountain Hills
is 1990s tile
on hillside lots.
Fountain Hills was planned in 1970 around a fountain and built out mostly in the 1980s and 1990s. It had 23,820 people at the 2020 census, about 41 percent of them over 65, and about a third of its homes are townhomes, condos or apartments. Most of its roofs are older than the valley average.
A USEFUL FIRST QUESTION
“My roof is from the 1990s and looks fine from the street. Is it?”
01 / WHEN FOUNTAIN HILLS WAS BUILT
Built out
by the
late 1990s.
C. V. Wood laid out Fountain Hills for Robert McCulloch’s company in 1970, and the fountain went up that December. The town incorporated in 1989, doubled during the 1990s, and has been essentially full since. It borders the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community and Scottsdale, and has been an International Dark Sky Community since 2018.
| 1990 | 10,030 |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 20,235 |
| 2010 | 22,489 |
| 2020 | 23,820 |
About 35 percent of homes here date from the 1990s and 23 percent from the 1980s. A 1990s roof is 27 to 36 years old, and a 1980s one is 37 to 46: the whole range of tile underlayment life, and past it.
Fountain Hills is an older town than its neighbors in north Scottsdale, and a hillier one. Many roofs are on their second underlayment already; the ones that are not are the ones to look at.
02 / ACROSS THE CITY
Not every
part of Fountain Hills
is the same age.
01
The original 1970s and 1980s neighborhoods
Around the fountain and the first hillside streets
Roofs 37 or more years old unless replaced. Most have been re-roofed at least once; what matters is when, and how well.
02
The 1990s build-out
The largest share of the town, up the slopes toward the McDowells
Tile 27 to 36 years old. Underlayment at or beyond the end of its range. The core of the roofing work here.
03
The 2000s communities
The later developments on the higher ground
Tile around 21 years old, in the second half of the underlayment range. Worth a look.
04
Condos and townhomes
Across the town, about a third of all homes
Roofs that belong to an association rather than to one owner. The question is who is responsible, what the reserve study says, and when the last replacement was.
03 / WHAT THE ROOFS ARE MADE OF
What you
tend to find
in Fountain Hills.
Concrete tile on steep and complex roofs
Hillside houses have more valleys, more changes of pitch and more flashing than a flat-lot tract house. Each junction is a place for water to find.
Foam and low-slope on the custom homes
Many custom and view homes use flat or low-slope sections, usually foam, which needs a recoating cycle and careful drainage on a slope.
Shingle on some 1980s stock
The older neighborhoods used shingle more often. Those roofs have mostly been replaced; where an original one remains, it is well past its life.
04 / WHAT SHOWS UP HERE
The patterns
worth knowing
about.
01
Steep lots, hard access.
Getting materials onto a hillside roof, and getting old tile off it, takes more time and more care than on flat ground. It is a legitimate cost; ask for it to be itemized.
02
Part-year residents.
A large share of owners are away in summer. The storm season runs while nobody is home, and a leak found in October has been running since July.
03
Associations with their own clocks.
In the condo and townhome communities the roof is replaced on the association’s schedule and budget, not the owner’s. Knowing where that schedule stands is worth a question to the board.
05 / WHAT CHANGES THE PRICE
Why two quotes
can differ by
thousands.
01
Access and pitch
Steep, high and hard-to-reach roofs cost more to work on safely. Two quotes on similar-sized houses can differ for this reason alone.
02
Re-laying versus new tile
On 1990s roofs the tile is usually reusable. A proposal should say whether it has priced re-laying yours or supplying new.
03
Who is paying
In an association community, some or all of the roof may be the association’s responsibility. Settle that before comparing quotes.
07 / FOUNTAIN HILLS QUESTIONS
Common ones.
How old is too old for a Fountain Hills tile roof?
The tile is not the issue; the underlayment is. At twenty-five years it is at the end of the range these last in Arizona heat, and most 1990s roofs here are there or past it.
I live in a condo. Who handles the roof?
Usually the association, under its governing documents. Check them, and ask the board when the roofs were last done and what the reserve study plans.
We are away all summer. What should we do?
Have the roof looked at in spring before you leave. The monsoon runs June 15 to September 30, and an empty house does not report a leak.
Does the dark-sky rule affect roofing?
It affects lighting, not roofing. Where the town or an association has rules on tile color or rooftop equipment, tell us and we will work within them.
Is a hillside roof more expensive to replace?
Often, because of access and the amount of flashing and valleys. The material cost is the same; the labor is not.
My foam roof is faded. Is that normal?
It is the coating reaching the end of its cycle. A recoat on time keeps the foam sound; waiting turns a maintenance item into a replacement.
Roofing in Fountain Hills?
A roof that looks fine from the street can be well past its underlayment. Find out how far along yours is.