The buildings here
Largely 1970s through 2000s suburban housing, with a strong run of two story homes through the Union and Jenks school districts. Pitches are steeper than Midtown, commonly 7/12 to 10/12, with cut up rooflines, multiple gables, long valleys, tall masonry chimneys and plenty of vents, skylights and rooftop mechanical penetrations.
Where South Tulsa starts
For us it runs from 51st Street down to the county line, east of Riverside and out through Sheridan, Memorial and Mingo. That takes in Southern Hills and Warren Place at the north end, the Woodland Hills and 71st Street corridor through the middle, and the newer building out past 101st toward Tulsa Hills and the Bixby line. It is a big spread of housing built across four decades, and the roof problems change with the decade.
Two story houses are a different inspection
A Midtown ranch takes twenty minutes to walk properly. A two story in the Union district with six gables, three valleys, two skylights and a masonry chimney takes considerably longer, and the parts that fail are usually the parts you cannot see from the yard. Back slopes get missed. The slope behind a garage wing gets missed. Our photo report covers every plane of the roof for that reason, and after hail we chalk a test square on each of them so nothing gets counted from one convenient slope.
Valleys carry the load
The cut up rooflines that look good from the street concentrate an enormous amount of water into a few short runs. Open metal valleys and woven shingle valleys both work when they are installed properly, and both fail when someone puts a nail through the valley center or runs the ice and water membrane short. When we replace a roof here we run self adhering membrane the full length of every valley before any shingle goes down, and we keep fasteners well clear of the center line.
Gutters that cannot keep up
Because the water arrives fast and concentrated, five inch gutter under a long South Tulsa valley overflows in a heavy storm even when it is clean. Sizing up to six inch with three by four inch downspouts on those runs solves it. Lots are flat through much of the area, so getting the discharge four to six feet away from the slab matters as much as the gutter itself.
Hail and the spring pattern
Storms coming out of the southwest frequently track across South Tulsa before they reach the rest of the county, and hail cores tend to lay damage in a narrow band. One subdivision gets hit hard while the one across Memorial takes nothing. If your street took a beating in March or April, get the roof documented while the marks are fresh, and be cautious with anyone who knocks on the door the same week.
What matters locally
Steep, cut up rooflines
A typical South Tulsa two story carries several intersecting gables and valleys that funnel water from two or three slopes into one run. Those valleys are where leaks start, and the pitch means most of these roofs need harnesses and roof jacks rather than a simple walk.
HOA color and material rules
Many neighborhoods through the 71st and Memorial corridor have covenants covering shingle color and profile. We check the HOA requirement before ordering material, because a roof installed in the wrong color is an expensive conversation to have afterwards.
Percentage deductibles on larger homes
Wind and hail deductibles set as a percentage of the dwelling coverage are common on the bigger South Tulsa policies. On a large home that figure can be several times a flat deductible, which is worth reading off your declarations page before you file anything.
Good access, easy staging
Wide driveways, three car garages and generous setbacks make South Tulsa straightforward for material drops and dumpsters. Long gutter runs and steep slopes mean these are still often two day jobs rather than one.
Jobs we do most often in South Tulsa
- Full architectural shingle replacements on two story homes after hail
- Valley repairs and rebuilds on cut up gable rooflines
- Skylight reflashing and curb rebuilds on 1990s builds
- Class 4 impact resistant upgrades ahead of the spring storm season
- Six inch gutter upgrades where long valleys overload a short run
- Ridge cap and rake edge repairs after straight line wind