Cranston, Rhode Island
Roof replacement in Cranston
Edgewood's trolley-era neighborhoods along the bay, a colonial village on the Pawtuxet, and newer subdivisions to the west.
Edgewood: a streetcar suburb, plat by plat
Edgewood grew along the streetcar lines south of Providence. Its subdivisions, called plats, are documented one by one in National Register listings; a 2009 multiple-property listing covers 18 of them. The dates and house types differ from plat to plat:
| Plat | When | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Arnold Farm Plat | Mostly built 1890–1930 | Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, Dutch Colonial, two- and three-deckers |
| Aberdeen Plat | Built out 1901–1957 | A streetcar suburb on a former country estate |
| Sally Greene Homestead Plats | Developed 1900–1963 | Streetcar-suburb houses for middle-income families |
| Shaw Plat | Mostly 1880–1962 | Grid plan, larger lots, mainly single-family houses |
For roofing, that variety means a single street can hold a steep Queen Anne roof with a turret, a Dutch Colonial gambrel and a low-slope three-decker roof. Each needs a different approach, and older Edgewood houses often still have board decking under their shingles.
Pawtuxet Village
Where the Pawtuxet River meets the bay, settlers had formed a hamlet by 1638, two years after Roger Williams founded Providence. The village, split between Cranston and Warwick, has been on the National Register since 1973. Only a handful of its early houses survive, such as the Remington Arnold House of about 1730 on Bridge Street, mixed with later houses first built as summer cottages.
Western Cranston
West of Interstate 295 the city turns more rural, with newer subdivisions and larger houses. Those roofs are usually architectural shingle replacements, where the work centers on valleys, ventilation and skylights.
Edgewood, Pawtuxet or western Cranston, call a roofer who works in the city.
Mon–Fri 8:30 am–7 pm · Sat 9 am–4 pm (Eastern)
Cranston roof questions
+Is Edgewood a historic district?
Several Edgewood plats are listed on the National Register as historic districts. National Register listing alone does not require approval for a new roof. Cranston also has a historic district commission; check with the city whether any local rules apply to your property.
+My Edgewood house has a gambrel roof. Is that harder to replace?
Gambrel roofs on Dutch Colonials have two pitches on each side. The steep lower slopes and the break between pitches need careful flashing and shingle work, so the job takes a little longer than a simple gable.