SERVICE AREA / LITCHFIELD PARK, AZ
Roofing in Litchfield Park
is two eras
in three square miles.
Litchfield Park was founded in 1916 for cotton and has 6,847 people in just over three square miles. About 22 percent of its homes date from the 1970s and 10 percent from the 1960s; more than half were built in the 2000s and 2010s. The original town and the new town need different conversations about their roofs.
A USEFUL FIRST QUESTION
“Is a 1970s house here on its first roof?”
01 / WHEN LITCHFIELD PARK WAS BUILT
A 1916 cotton
town, grown
twice.
Paul Litchfield of Goodyear Tire planned the town in 1916 to grow long-staple cotton, and the Wigwam opened as a resort in 1929. The city incorporated in 1987. It grew once in the 1960s and 1970s around the original village and again in the 2000s and 2010s, with little in between.
| 1990 | 3,303 |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 3,810 |
| 2010 | 5,476 |
| 2020 | 6,847 |
A 1970s roof, if never replaced, is 47 to 56 years old. Nearly all of them have been re-roofed; the question is when, and with what. The 2000s homes are 17 to 26 years old, inside the underlayment range, and the 2010s homes are younger than it.
In the original town the roof you are looking at is a replacement, and its age is what matters. In the newer neighborhoods the roof is original and its age is known. Those are different inspections.
02 / ACROSS THE CITY
Not every
part of Litchfield Park
is the same age.
01
The original village
Around the Wigwam
Homes from the 1960s and 1970s on mature lots. Roofs replaced at least once, often more, with shingle, tile and low-slope sections mixed on the same street.
02
The 1980s infill
Scattered through the older town
A small share. Roofs of this age that are original are past their range; most have been replaced.
03
The 2000s neighborhoods
The growth on the city’s edges
Tile around 21 years old, in the second half of the underlayment range. Worth a look.
04
The 2010s and newer
The newest phases, about a third of the city
First underlayment with years left. Workmanship and storm damage are the questions.
03 / WHAT THE ROOFS ARE MADE OF
What you
tend to find
in Litchfield Park.
Mixed roofs on the original town
Shingle, tile and flat sections from several generations of repair. The useful question on these is when each part was last done.
Concrete tile on the newer homes
The valley default since the 1990s: sound tile over underlayment that wears out first.
Low-slope and foam
On 1970s ranch houses and on the patios and casitas of the newer plans. A coating cycle, not a one-time installation.
04 / WHAT SHOWS UP HERE
The patterns
worth knowing
about.
01
Layers of repair.
Older houses here have been worked on by several hands over fifty years. Sorting original from repaired from failing is the first job.
02
Mature trees, hidden roofs.
The original town is shaded, which is kinder to underlayment and harder on gutters and valleys, where leaves and seed pods collect and hold water.
03
Small city, big neighbors.
Litchfield Park sits inside the Goodyear and Avondale growth. Its newer homes share those cities’ builders, materials and timing.
05 / WHAT CHANGES THE PRICE
Why two quotes
can differ by
thousands.
01
What is under an old roof
On a 1970s house a tear-off can reveal several layers and tired decking. A proposal should say what happens, and what it costs, if that is found.
02
Re-laying versus new tile
On the 2000s homes the tile is usually reusable. The quote should say which it priced.
03
Matching an older roof
Repairs on the original town often need materials that match something no longer made. The honest answer is sometimes a larger repair than the leak suggests.
07 / LITCHFIELD PARK QUESTIONS
Common ones.
My 1972 house has a roof that looks fairly new. How do I find out its age?
The city’s permit records, the previous owner’s paperwork, or an inspection. Materials and fasteners date a roof within a few years.
Is the original town different from the new neighborhoods?
Completely. One has replacement roofs of unknown age; the other has original roofs of known age. The inspection asks different questions in each.
My 2006 roof has never leaked. Is it fine?
The tile probably is. The underlayment is about 20 years old and entering the range where its condition is worth knowing.
Do the trees cause roof problems?
They cause valley and gutter problems. Debris that holds water is the most common avoidable cause of a leak on a shaded roof.
Does my HOA need to approve work?
In the newer communities, usually, for what is visible. The original town has fewer rules of that kind. Tell us what applies.
Should I wait for a leak?
That is a choice about cost rather than risk. Waiting means the repair includes whatever the water reached on the way in.
Roofing in Litchfield Park?
Original town or new, the first step is the same: find out what is on the roof and how far along it is.