Roofing in Reserve, St. John the Baptist Parish
Roofs for a sugar-refinery town: historic-district reroofs on River Road and postwar houses toward Airline Highway.
In the early 1900s, the largest sugarcane refinery in the United States stood on the riverbank at Reserve, on Leon Godchaux's Reserve Plantation. The refinery closed in 1985, and its grounds are now Globalplex, a Port of South Louisiana terminal.
Reserve sits on the east bank of the Mississippi between LaPlace and Garyville, about 70 minutes from Mandeville by I-12 west, I-55 south over the Manchac swamp, and Airline Highway (US-61) west. Call 225-396-8122.
Sugar-Town Blocks and Boom-Era Blocks
The oldest houses in Reserve stand nearest the river and the old Godchaux works. Since 2017, many of them have sat inside the parish-designated Reserve Historic District, which follows LA 44 with Central Avenue as its second main street. Its design guidelines give roofs a chapter of their own: repairs and replacements should keep a roof's historic look, ideally in the same material.
Away from the river, the town gets younger. Industry brought a housing boom in the 1950s and 1960s, and a company formed to build neighborhoods around the plant, with homes for 6,000 residents by 1974.
Before You Call About a Reserve Roof
Does a new roof on my Reserve house need a Certificate of Appropriateness?
Only if the building is historic, contributing (counted toward the district's historic character), or a local landmark inside the design review corridor, and the work goes beyond ordinary maintenance.
How much lead time does design review add?
The historic commission meets monthly and requires a complete application three to four weeks in advance; the owner must attend. Staff can approve some routine maintenance without a meeting.
What does the West Shore levee project cover?
The Army Corps describes a 100-year system comprising about 18.5 miles of levees from the Bonnet Carré Spillway west to Garyville, with the Reserve behind it. During Isaac in 2012, lake surge flooded about 7,000 homes in the project's study area.
Can a district house in Reserve get new gutters?
The parish's Reserve design guidelines cover new gutters and downspouts: install them so they intrude as little as possible on the house's historic character and do not unnecessarily damage historic materials. Whether yours need review is a question for Planning and Zoning.
Roofing Services in Reserve
Roof repair in Reserve
Inside the historic district, replacement shingles should match the old ones in size, color, appearance, and scale. More on roof repair.
Roof replacement in Reserve
A 2,000- to 2,500-square-foot Reserve home reroofs for $13,000 to $23,000. See roof replacement.
FORTIFIED roofing in Reserve
A reroof on a 1950s or 1960s house north of the railroad can be built to the IBHS FORTIFIED standard, starting with a sealed deck and ring-shank nails at closer spacing. See FORTIFIED roofing.
Insurance claim roofing in Reserve
For an older house near the river, the photos and written scope we prepare for your adjuster show the roof as it was left by the storm. See insurance claim roofing.
Storm damage roof repair in Reserve
A storm patch on a historic metal roof in Reserve should visually match the panels around it. See storm damage repair.
Hail damage roof repair in Reserve
On a historic-district house, we document hail damage to the original material before a matching replacement is ordered. See hail damage repair.
Asphalt shingle roofing in Reserve
Postwar ranch houses tend to have low-pitched gable or hip roofs, and a shallow pitch requires shingles and underlayment suited to that slope. See asphalt shingle roofing.
Standing-seam metal in Reserve
The guidelines accept a change to metal on a historic house if it suits the architecture or an old photo shows metal there, so family pictures are worth finding. See standing-seam metal.
Composite slate in Reserve
Where an old slate roof cannot be replaced in kind, the guidelines consider closely matching synthetic slate appropriate, which puts DaVinci composite slate on the table for a district house. See composite slate.
Historic roof restoration in Reserve
Decorative roof details removed during work are to be returned to their original spot and orientation, as the district asks, so we photograph them in place first. See historic roof restoration.
Roof inspection in Reserve
The district guidelines call for a certified asbestos contractor to remove or replace an asbestos shingle roof, so raise what your existing shingles are made of at the inspection. See roof inspection.
Leak detection in Reserve
The reserve averages about 67 inches of rain in a normal year, with June the wettest month, making spring a sensible time to have a slow leak traced. See leak detection.
Emergency repair and tarping in Reserve
Call during business hours. For a district house, a tarp or carefully applied roll roofing is an accepted storm stopgap. See emergency repair.
Three Parts of Reserve
- River Road (LA 44) and Central Avenue: the historic district and its commercial heart, where the Reserve–Edgard ferry crossed until 2013.
- The boom-era streets toward the railroad: neighborhoods that grew up around the refinery in the 1950s and 1960s.
- Airline Highway (US-61) and the lakeside: the commercial corridor and the homes stretching from it toward I-10.
Levee Letters, Permits, and Your Carrier
The parish Permit Division
Reserve re-roof permits are issued by the Permit Division of the St. John the Baptist Parish Planning and Zoning Department at 1811 West Airline Highway in LaPlace, and South Central Planning handles the roof inspection. On River Road lots within 1,500 feet of the Mississippi River levee, the application can also call for a levee-district letter of no objection.
Your insurer
Louisiana RS 22:1684 bars roofers from serving as public adjusters, so we do not negotiate or settle claims. Carriers we work with include State Farm, Allstate, National General, Louisiana Citizens, and USAA. No contractor may legally cover or waive a deductible in Louisiana.
Hip Roofs and the FORTIFIED Edge
A hip-roofed ranch house has eaves on all four sides, so its edge details, a wider drip edge and an adhered starter strip, carry extra weight. The Louisiana Fortify Homes lottery could award a selected owner up to $10,000 once the program's approval came through, before a contractor began the reroof; St. John the Baptist Parish was on the Round 9 list, and fortifyhomes.la.gov announces any later round. Certification also earns a discount on the insurance premium. Joey holds three IBHS FORTIFIED credentials, and Epic is a state-approved program contractor.
Commercial Roofing in Reserve
Church and shop roofs on both sides of the district line
Central Avenue storefronts and churches sit inside the historic district; Airline Highway businesses sit outside it. Either way, we bid TPO, EPDM, modified bitumen, built-up, metal, and roof coating systems in writing within 5–10 business days, under LA Commercial license CL69991. See Commercial Roofing.
Edge Photos First
On the free visit, we photograph the roof edge, trim, and existing material from close up. Then the drone photographs the rest of the roof, and the attic gets a look if a hatch is reachable. Plan on the written estimate, photos, and all, within 2–5 business days.
137 Girod Street, Suite 3, Mandeville, LA 70448