Bungalow roof leak repair in Capitol View and Stifft Station

Capitol View and Stifft Station sit just west of downtown, roughly between West Markham Street and I-630, from Summit Street out to Pine. The neighborhood grew with Little Rock's push west in the early 1900s, and about 40 percent of its buildings went up in the 1920s alone, with more in the 1930s.

Two National Register districts cover much of it. The Capitol View Neighborhood Historic District was listed in 2001, and the Stifft Station Historic District sits beside it. Craftsman bungalows dominate, many with Tudor or Colonial Revival touches, mixed with shotgun houses, Foursquares, a few Queen Annes and some Spanish Colonial Revival homes.

Lamar Porter Field, a WPA era ballpark, anchors the area, and old hardwoods shade many of the side streets around it.

Bungalow roofs are low and wide on purpose. Deep overhangs with exposed rafter tails shade the porch and walls, and gentle pitches keep the house looking grounded. The downside is that water moves slowly on those slopes, and the exposed rafter ends soak up every drip that runs past the drip edge.

We find a lot of rafter tails here with rot at the ends, often hidden behind a gutter that was added decades later. Where the damage is shallow we cut back and splice new ends to match the profile. Where the rot runs deep, we sister new lumber alongside the old so the eave keeps its look.

Shingles on these pitches need careful underlayment. We use ice and water membrane along the eaves and in every valley, since a slow rain on a low pitch gives water plenty of time to find a gap.

Most leak calls here come from a small set of spots. Knowing them saves time on the roof and on your ceiling.

Many of these leaks show up far from where the water enters. On low pitch bungalow roofs, water can travel several feet along a rafter before it drips, so we trace from the attic side as well as from the roof.

• Where a hip or gable porch roof meets the front wall of the house
• Brick chimneys shared by two fireplaces, with old counter flashing
• Small shed additions on the back of the house with too little pitch
• Vent stacks added during later bathroom or kitchen remodels
• Rusted metal valleys left behind from an earlier roof

Many homes here sit on narrow lots with houses close on both sides, sometimes with a shared driveway. We stage material and dumpsters so neighbors can still get in and out, and we tarp side yards to catch debris before it lands on the next roof or in someone's garden.

Tear offs on 1920s houses often turn up board decking with gaps and old nail holes, and sometimes two or three layers of shingles. We replace bad boards and add plywood sheathing where the planks are too far gone, then dry in each section before the crew leaves for the day.

The National Register listing does not restrict materials. Still, a dark charcoal or weathered wood shingle tends to suit a bungalow better than a bright color, and we bring samples so you can see them against your siding.

West Markham Street carries a band of shops and small commercial buildings through the middle of Capitol View. Several have flat or low slope roofs behind parapet walls, and we handle those as well, from membrane patches and drain clearing to full TPO or modified bitumen replacements.

Most bungalows here run 1,100 to 1,700 square feet, so the roofs are modest in area. That keeps replacement costs lower than in west Little Rock, but the extra work of older framing can add up.

A typical full reroof ranges from $9,900 to $18,600. Plywood overlay on board decking, rafter tail repair, multiple layers and a porch membrane are the most common line items that push a job toward the upper end. We list every item separately on your written price, so you can see exactly what each part costs.