Roofing and gutters in Des Peres

Residential Des Peres began in the mid-1920s, when the Moll Farm was cut into the 448 lots of Manhattan Heights. The lots were only 25 by 125 feet, and a local movie theater gave them away as attendance prizes, which is why many homes there sit on two to four original lots. Postwar subdivisions such as Harwood Hills, Berkley Manor and Royal Acres followed (19.3% of homes date to the 1950s), then Dougherty Woods, Dougherty Lakes and Four Winds Farm along Des Peres Road in the 1970s, the decade with the largest share at 29.7%. Annexations in 1973 and 1975 added much of the west and south sides.

Older homes are now being torn down and replaced often enough that the city has separate in-fill housing rules, so a 1950s ranch can sit beside a new two-story with a steep, complex roof. City code expects every house to be guttered where appropriate, with ample downspouts in good repair, and every roof to keep out rain, rodents and birds. On the older houses, the weak spots are usually where porches and additions tie into the original roof.