Roof Replacement in Howell, Michigan

Do you actually need a new roof, or just a repair?

This is the first question worth answering honestly, because the wrong answer sets you back in both directions. Replacing a roof that had five good years left throws away service life. Patching a roof that is structurally done means doing the work twice. Here is the framework we use on every inspection.

Replace it if any of these are true

Repair it if any of these are true

There is also a crossover point. Once a roof is past the halfway mark of its life and the failures keep coming back, replacement is usually the better decision — you are buying a new warranty clock instead of extending an old one. We will tell you which side of that line you are on, in writing, and we will tell you when the answer is "not yet."

What Michigan code actually requires (and what a shortcut bid leaves out)

This is the part almost no roofing website in this market will explain, and it is the single most useful thing you can know before comparing bids. Two quotes that look single most useful thing you can know before comparing bids. Two quotes that look far apart are often not quoting the same roof. Michigan's residential code sets a floor, and a bid that skips these items is sitting under it.

Ice barrier — the big one in Michigan

The Michigan Residential Code requires an ice barrier — either two layers of underlayment cemented together, or a self-adhering polymer-modified bitumen sheet — running from the lowest edge of every roof surface to a point at least 24 inches inside the exterior wall line of the house. Read that carefully: it is 24 inches past the wall, not 24 inches up from the gutter. On a typical Livingston County home with a 12-inch overhang and a 4/12 to 6/12 pitch, a single 36-inch course of ice-and-water shield does not reach that line. It takes two courses. If a bid lists "ice and water at the eaves" with no mention of how far up, that is a question worth asking.

Two layers is the maximum

Michigan code requires complete removal of the existing roof covering when there are already two or more applications of any roof covering, when the existing covering is water-soaked or deteriorated, or when it is wood shake, slate, clay, or cement tile. A third layer is never permitted. If your home already has two layers, a full tear-off is not an upsell — it is the law.

Solid deck, drip edge, and ventilation

Asphalt shingles have to be fastened to a solidly sheathed deck; spaced or skip sheathing has to be sheeted over first. Drip edge is required at both eaves and rake edges — it was optional under older code cycles, so plenty of Livingston County roofs built before 2012 simply do not have it. And attic ventilation has to provide net free ventilating area of at least 1/150 of the vented space, or 1/300 where a vapor retarder is installed or where 40% to 50% of the ventilation sits in the upper portion of the attic. In practice that means a balanced system: continuous soffit intake, ridge exhaust, and a clear 1-inch air channel above the insulation.

Permits and licensing

A roof replacement requires a building permit. For most of Livingston County — including Howell Township and Genoa Township — that permit is issued by the Livingston County Building Department at 2300 E Grand River Ave in Howell. The City of Howell and Green Oak Township run their own building departments, so a home inside city limits is permitted through the city instead. We pull the permit; you should never be asked to pull it yourself.

Michigan also requires roofing contractors to hold a state license — either a Residential Builder license or a Maintenance & Alteration Contractor license with Roofing listed among its trades. You can verify any Michigan contractor's license through LARA's licensee lookup. Confirm it is active, in the company's actual business name, and that "Roofing" appears on it.

Code and permit details are current as of 2026 and are provided for general guidance. Requirements are enforced by your local building department — we confirm the specifics for your jurisdiction on every job.

We know these roofs because we live under them

On Top Roofing has been headquartered in Howell since 2010, at 5896 Sterling Dr. Most of the subdivision build-out across Genoa, Oceola, Marion, Hartland, and Brighton Townships happened between 1995 and 2005 — which means a very large share of Livingston County housing stock is now 20 to 30 years old and sitting right at the replacement point for the builder-grade shingles it was originally roofed with. We also work a lot of lakefront property around the Huron River Chain of Lakes, Lake Chemung, Thompson Lake, and Woodland Lake, where open exposure across the water means more wind on the roof and steeper, more complex rooflines than the county average.

• Howell
• Brighton
• Hartland
• Fowlerville
• Pinckney
• Hamburg Township
• Genoa Township
• Oceola Township
• Marion Township
• Green Oak Township
• Whitmore Lake
• Gregory
• Chilson
• Lakeland
• South Lyon
• Milford
• Fenton
• Linden
• Dexter
• Ann Arbor
• Williamston
• Webberville
• Durand
• Byron