Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Roof replacement in Pawtucket
The American textile industry started at the falls of the Blackstone River here in 1793. The city's housing grew up around the mills that followed.
Slater Mill and what came after
Samuel Slater’s mill on the Blackstone River in Pawtucket, completed in 1793, is recognized as the first successful water-powered cotton spinning mill in the United States. Its historic district joined the Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park in 2014, and the National Park Service took over its operation in 2021. The site also preserves the 1758 Sylvanus Brown House, an early skilled worker’s home, and the 1810 Wilkinson Mill.
The mills that followed through the 1800s and early 1900s filled Pawtucket with housing for the people who worked in them: closely spaced single-family houses, two-families and three-deckers, many within walking distance of the river.
What that means for roofs today
- Mixed roofs on one building. A gable main roof with low-slope porch roofs, or a fully low-slope three-decker roof behind a cornice.
- Old decking. Board sheathing, past patches and occasional rot at the eaves.
- Tight lots. Little room for a dumpster and ladders, and neighbors close on both sides.
- Chimneys. Many old chimneys no longer serve a furnace. Taking an unused one down below the roof line removes a leak point.
Pawtucket house or multi-family due for a new roof? Call a roofer who works in the city.
Mon–Fri 8:30 am–7 pm · Sat 9 am–4 pm (Eastern)
Pawtucket roof questions
+My Pawtucket two-family has a different roof over each porch. Can it all be done together?
Yes. Many older two- and three-families have a pitched main roof plus low-slope porch and addition roofs. Replacing them together lets the roofer flash every junction at once.
+Who issues the permit for a roof in Pawtucket?
The city's building department. Agree in writing with your roofer on who will pull it, and keep a copy of the closed permit.