Roofing contractor serving Hingham from 100 Hancock St, Quincy
Roofers In Hingham, MA.
In Hingham the roof job starts with paperwork. Which certificate the house needs, how the town works out the permit, and the wind number your bid has to hit. We read those three documents before we scope anything, and most of the quotes you will collect do not mention them at all.
Start here
Where a Hingham Roof Job Actually Starts
Three documents, in this order. A certificate from the Historic Districts Commission if the house sits inside a district. A building permit from 210 Central Street. And a scope written to Hingham’s own row in the state code table. Skip the first and the Building Department will not issue the second.
That sequence is the whole difference between a Hingham job and a job in a town with no districts. It is also the part a directory listing cannot tell you, because a directory has no idea which street your house is on.
The certificate question
Will the Commission Need to Approve Your Re-Roof?
It depends entirely on whether anything changes. Same design, same materials, same colors gets you a Certificate of Non-Applicability. Change the material, the color or the shape and you need a Certificate of Appropriateness, and that one goes to a hearing before the Building Department will issue your permit.
Work that is not visible from any public street, way, place or body of water also falls under Non-Applicability. A rear slope behind mature trees is a different conversation from the street elevation.
Certificate of Non-Applicability
Maintenance, repair or replacement using the same design, materials and colors. Or work no public way can see. Still a filing, still goes through the Commission, but it is the short path.
Certificate of Appropriateness
Any exterior change visible from a public way. Different material, different color, different roof shape. The Commission’s own application notes say large projects commonly run across two or three meetings, with revisions.
Where it goes wrong
A roofer who assumes the light path, orders material, and then discovers the color counts as a change. Now you are waiting on a hearing with a dumpster in the driveway and shingles on a pallet.
Two claims float around this topic and both are wrong. Contractor landing pages say historic Hingham requires cedar or slate. It does not. Elsewhere you will read that the Commission has no say over re-roofing at all. It does, and the filing is a Certificate of Non-Applicability. The real rule sits between those two, and it is written down in the town’s own Guidelines for Work in Hingham’s Historic Districts.
What the Commission actually wrote
Roofing Materials Hingham Allows Inside a Historic District
The Guidelines are specific in a way no ranking page repeats. These are the town’s words rather than a paraphrase, and the last card is the one that fails most district jobs.
Asphalt over wood
Permitted. “Asphalt shingles may be repaired, replaced or substituted for wood shingles, and should be predominately black, dark gray or weathered dark wood tone.” White and light colors are called out as wrong for the older houses.
Wood, if you stay with wood
“Red cedar is recommended for wood roof shingles. White cedar is impractical as it has a very short life span.” The town names the short-life material, so you do not have to argue about it with a salesperson.
Slate, tin or copper
Changes to any of them must be reviewed by the Commission. Not banned. Reviewed. That distinction is what a hearing is for, and it is why slate does not automatically mean slate forever.
Imitation products
“Artificial or imitation materials are discouraged and will normally not be approved.” Synthetic slate sold as a drop-in substitute is the usual version of this conversation.
Skylights
Only approved on roofs not visible from a public way. A street-side slope on a district house starts with that conversation rather than the order. Ours usually begins with why skylights leak in the first place.
Flashing and drip edge
“Flashings and drip edges shall be lead, lead-coated copper or copper.” Then, plainly: “aluminum and stainless steel will not be approved.” Aluminum drip edge ships on nearly every asphalt roof sold in Massachusetts. Here it is a documented rejection, and a bid that does not name the metal is quoting aluminum.
Quoted from the Guidelines for Work in Hingham’s Historic Districts, published by the Hingham Historic Districts Commission.
Town arithmetic
How Hingham Works Out Your Roofing Permit Fee
Ten dollars for every $1,000 of estimated cost entered on the permit application, with a $50 floor. That is the entire residential formula, and it means you can work out the town’s number yourself instead of taking a roofer’s word for it.
The formula
Estimated cost divided by 1,000, multiplied by $10. Anything landing under the floor is charged at $50. No brackets, no sliding scale, no surprise.
The penalty
Start the work without a permit and Hingham’s published schedule is double the fee plus $100. It also puts unpermitted work on the record of a house you will eventually sell.
Whose name goes on it
In Massachusetts the contractor carries the obligation to obtain the permit, under MGL chapter 142A section 2. A bid that is cheaper because you pull your own permit is selling you a problem rather than a discount.
We walk through the rest of the homeowner side of this, including the state deposit cap, in how to prepare for a roof replacement.
Fee schedule published by the Town of Hingham, Building Department, 210 Central Street.
Ask which edition
The Wind and Snow Figures Your Hingham Bid Has to Hit
Table 301.2(2) of the 10th Edition Massachusetts Residential Code lists Hingham on one line: 35 psf ground snow load, 30 psf minimum flat roof snow load, 122 mph ultimate design wind speed. That is the row your inspector reads.
psf ground snow load
The town’s design ground snow figure. It drives structural capacity on the framing under your deck.
psf flat roof snow
The minimum for low slope. This is the number that matters on a porch roof, an addition or a flat rear section.
mph Vult
Ultimate design wind speed. Shingle and fastener specifications get rated against it, so a bid should name it.
The 10th Edition took effect in October 2024. Older figures for Hingham still circulate on roofing pages written against the previous edition, and they are not the same job. When a bid says it specifies shingles and fasteners to a wind rating, the follow-up question is which edition and which table.
Here is the part worth sitting with. Not one page on the first screen of results for Hingham roofers publishes this row. The directories do not carry it, and the one real contractor page ranking there has no code numbers on it at all. We checked on 22 September 2026.
Source: 780 CMR, 10th Edition Residential Code, Chapter 3, Table 301.2(2).
Before you compare bids
What Belongs in a Hingham Roofing Quote
Two quotes are almost never the same roof. Four of the lines below exist nowhere else on the South Shore, because they come out of the district rules and the town formula. If a bid looks light, start with those.
The certificate, named
Non-Applicability or Appropriateness, written on the quote. A roofer who has not looked up your address cannot tell you which one the job needs.
The flashing metal
Copper, lead-coated copper or lead inside a district. Spelled out, not filed under “flashing included.”
The permit line
Worked out on the town formula, carried as its own line, and pulled in the contractor’s name rather than yours.
The wind and snow basis
122 mph and 35/30 psf, or an engineered site calculation. If neither appears, the bid was not written for this town.
Tear-off or layover
Layovers hide rot and void some warranties. The code side of that call is in overlay versus tear-off.
A decking allowance
In writing, with a per-sheet price, so rotted sheathing found after tear-off is a known number rather than an argument in your driveway.
Ice and water barrier
At the eaves, with the distance stated. Measured from inside the wall line, not from the drip edge, which is where two quotes quietly diverge.
New pipe boots
The cheapest part on the roof and the single most common source of a slow leak. Plenty of quotes reuse them without saying so.
Ventilation and cleanup
Attic intake and exhaust checked, because a hot attic shortens shingle life and feeds ice dams. Then a magnetic nail sweep and debris haul-away, written into the scope.
We will not put a number on a Hingham roof over the phone off a satellite image. The roof gets walked, the district status gets checked, and the scope comes written down.
Read the letterhead
The Roof Letter That Is Not From Your Insurer
On 5 November 2025 the Massachusetts Division of Insurance issued a consumer advisory about third-party mailers built to look like notices from your insurer. The advisory names the sender it had been seeing, “Home Coverage Risk Alert,” and describes the pattern: your roof has been flagged, your policy is at risk, here is who to call.
days of written notice
A real non-renewal comes from your insurer or your agent, and by law they must tell you at least 45 days before the policy expires. A mailer with a contractor referral attached is not that notice.
Aerial imagery is real
Insurers do look at roofs from above, and the Division set out its expectations for that practice in Bulletin 2025-02. The imagery being real does not make the letter in your hand real.
Call the policy, not the letter
Do not authorize work off a notice that did not come from your carrier. Ring the number printed on your policy. If the roof did take damage, documentation is what carries the claim, and we wrote that out in how to document roof damage for insurance in Massachusetts.
Source: Massachusetts Division of Insurance, Consumer Advisory on Roof-Related Insurance Notices, 5 November 2025, and Bulletin 2025-02.
Straight about this
Is Powersol Based in Hingham? No.
Powersol Roofing works out of 100 Hancock St in Quincy and drives to Hingham. Worth saying plainly, because most of the names on the Hingham directory lists are not in Hingham either. Filter those lists by actual street address and the in-town count drops fast. The rest are Needham, Weymouth, East Bridgewater, Hanson and further out.
That is not a knock on any of them. A company an hour away can do excellent work. It just means “local Hingham roofer” is a claim worth checking rather than a category you can trust from a listing. Run these three on us too. It is the same check that keeps storm chasers off your roof after the next nor’easter.
Where is the shop?
Not the service area. The street address. A service-area list is a marketing choice. An address is a fact.
Who holds the CSL?
The Construction Supervisor License that will appear on your permit belongs to a person, not to a company. Ask which person.
What is the HIC number?
The Home Improvement Contractor registration is the business registration and the consumer protection layer. Separate credential, separate purpose, searchable at contractorhub.mass.gov.
What we did not verify
Four Things We Could Not Confirm
Everything above is sourced to a town or state document. These four are not, so they are not stated as fact anywhere on this page. We would rather publish the gap than fill it with a number we cannot stand behind in your driveway.
How many properties sit inside Hingham’s local historic districts. A figure of 574 circulates. We could not find it published on a town page we could reach. The Historic Districts Commission answers at historic@hingham-ma.gov.
The previous edition’s wind speed for Hingham. We wanted it for the comparison and could not reach the 9th Edition municipal table from a source that permits automated access. The current figure, 122 mph, is confirmed.
Daily fine amounts for unpermitted work. The town’s fee schedule publishes double the fee plus $100. A separate requirements document is said to carry a daily figure. We have not read it.
Flood zone elevations for harbor and waterfront parcels. Hingham has AE and VE zones, and reconstruction rules there are not a shingle conversation. Pull your own parcel’s FIRM panel before assuming a standard spec applies.
What we do here
Roofing Work We Handle Across Hingham
Residential and commercial. One crew, one point of contact, and an itemized scope before anything is torn off.
Roof Replacement
Full tear-off to the deck, decking replaced where it has gone, then the complete system rather than shingles over whatever is underneath.
Historic District Roofing
Certificate work, copper and lead-coated copper flashing, and material choices written to survive the Commission rather than argued after the fact.
Roof Repair
Flashing, missing shingles, pipe boots, chimney leaks. We find the actual entry point and document it with photos.
Emergency Repair, 24/7
Water coming in now? We answer nights, weekends and during nor’easters, tarp and stabilize, then schedule the permanent fix.
Roof Inspections
Buying a house, past year 15, or after a storm. A documented photo inspection separating what is urgent from what can wait.
Flat and Low-Slope
EPDM and low-slope systems for porches, additions and rear sections, written to the 30 psf flat roof minimum.
Proof, not promises
What Powersol Customers Say
5.0 across 90 Google reviews, pulled 21 September 2026.
“Amazing team to work with. They answered all my questions and were active in communicating with me during the whole installation process (before, during, and after).”
Mari M. Google review
“Top-notch service! Rafael Rey Reyes was professional, knowledgeable, and incredibly helpful throughout the process. I highly recommend him.”
Sonia Sharma Google review
“I had a great experience working with Rey. He was knowledgeable, professional, and always willing to take the time to explain everything clearly. From the beginning, he made the process feel simple and stress-free.”
Djine Marlly Pierre Google review
Straight answers
Hingham Roofing Questions, Answered
Do I need Historic Districts Commission approval to re-roof in Hingham?
It depends on whether anything changes. Work that repairs or replaces using the same design, materials and colors falls under a Certificate of Non-Applicability. Change the material, the color or the shape and you need a Certificate of Appropriateness before the Building Department will issue your permit. Work not visible from any public street, way, place or body of water also falls under Non-Applicability.
Does historic Hingham require cedar or slate roofs?
No. The Commission’s own Guidelines for Work in Hingham’s Historic Districts say asphalt shingles may be repaired, replaced or substituted for wood shingles, and should be predominantly black, dark gray or weathered dark wood tone.
What flashing is allowed in a Hingham historic district?
Lead, lead-coated copper or copper. The Guidelines state that aluminum and stainless steel will not be approved. Aluminum drip edge is standard on most asphalt roofs sold in Massachusetts, so this is the item most likely to fail a district job.
How does Hingham work out a roofing permit fee?
The town charges $10 for every $1,000 of estimated cost entered on the permit application, with a $50 minimum. Starting work without a permit is double the fee plus $100.
What wind speed and snow load does a Hingham roof have to meet?
Table 301.2(2) of the 10th Edition Massachusetts Residential Code lists Hingham at 35 psf ground snow load, 30 psf minimum flat roof snow load, and a 122 mph ultimate design wind speed. The 10th Edition took effect in October 2024.
Can I put a skylight in on a Hingham historic district house?
The Guidelines say skylights are only approved on roofs not visible from a public way. A rear or side slope is usually the conversation. A street-facing slope usually is not.
I got a letter saying my roof was flagged by my insurer. Is it real?
Check who sent it. On 5 November 2025 the Massachusetts Division of Insurance issued a consumer advisory about third-party mailers designed to look like insurance notices. A real non-renewal comes from your insurer or your agent, with at least 45 days written notice.
Is Powersol Roofing based in Hingham?
No. Powersol works out of 100 Hancock St in Quincy and serves Hingham and the South Shore. Most companies on the Hingham directory lists are not in Hingham either, so ask any roofer where the shop is, who holds the Construction Supervisor License going on the permit, and what the Home Improvement Contractor registration number is.
Do you offer emergency roof repair in Hingham?
Yes. Call (617) 631-5435 any time, including nights, weekends and nor’easters. We tarp and stabilize the leak, then schedule the permanent repair.
How long does the historic district certificate add to a Hingham roof job?
A same-for-same re-roof under a Certificate of Non-Applicability is the short path. A Certificate of Appropriateness goes to a hearing, and the Commission’s own application notes say large projects commonly run across two or three meetings with revisions. Budget hearing time before the building permit, not after.
Free estimate
Book a Hingham Roof Estimate
We check the district status on your address before we scope the job, and the scope comes itemized. No pressure, no games.