Service area · Milwaukee County
Wauwatosa roofing, siding, windows and painting
C&L Property Improvements, a family-owned company based in Muskego, works on Wauwatosa houses from the pre-war blocks to the 1950s streets. In this city the permit question is rarely about size. It is about whether you are changing the style of what is already there.
- Population
- 48,387 (2020 Census)
- Median year built
- 1954 (±1 year)
- Units built before 1940
- 29.0%
- Units built before 1980
- 81.6%
- Owner-occupied
- 60.8% of occupied homes
- From Muskego
- About 18 road miles, ~26 min
Pre-war houses and a 1954 median
Nearly three in ten Wauwatosa housing units were built before 1940, not far behind Milwaukee's own 34%, and the median home dates to 1954. The pre-war houses are the ones that set the agenda for a contractor: original wood trim and window casings under decades of paint, lath-and-plaster walls, and porches that take the weather.
Plaster deserves a word, because it is often torn out when it could be kept. The National Park Service's guidance on historic plaster explains that walls usually fail when the plaster loses its “keys,” the grip on the wood lath behind it, and that the damage is often less than it first looks. Re-attaching loose areas and filling cracks keeps the walls, the trim that is set to them and the dust of demolition out of the house. Where walls do have to open for wiring or plumbing, the patch should be built up in layers to match the plaster's thickness.
Almost everything here, 81.6% of units, predates 1980, and most of it predates 1978, the cutoff for Wisconsin's lead-safe renovation rule. Paint on those houses is best assumed to contain lead until tested. That affects interior work as much as exterior: sanding a stairwell or cutting into a plaster wall is regulated once more than 6 sq ft of paint in a room is disturbed.
What homeowners in Wauwatosa most often need
Windows: same style, or a new one
Wauwatosa requires a permit “to replace windows where a different style window is utilized.” A matching replacement does not need one. If you are weighing, say, casements in place of double-hung sashes, ask the City whether that counts as a style change before you order. Any window swap on a pre-1978 house is regulated lead work either way. See windows and doors.
Windows & DoorsChanging roofing material
Asphalt shingles over asphalt shingles need no permit here. Going to a different material is another matter: the City's own example is metal roofing in place of asphalt, which requires a permit. If you are considering the switch, build the permit into the schedule. Our roofing page covers underlayment, eave protection and ventilation for either choice.
RoofingPlaster and drywall repair before paint
Cracked ceilings, bulging plaster and patchwork from old wiring jobs are common in the pre-war stock. Repair usually beats replacement for cost, mess and fit with existing trim, and it gives painters a flat surface to work on. See drywall and plaster repair.
DrywallBathrooms and the open-wall permit
Wauwatosa lists kitchens and baths among the altered living space that needs a building permit, and it offers an “open wall permit” for smaller kitchen or bath work. Once a wall is open, it is the time to add an exhaust fan ducted outdoors; the state code requires one in newer homes, and older baths benefit just as much. More on bathroom remodeling.
Bathroom RemodelingWauwatosa's style rule
Wauwatosa's Building & Safety division states that for re-roofing “a permit is not required as long as the same style roofing material is utilized.” The same test runs through siding and windows: horizontal siding replaced with horizontal needs no permit, while vertical siding in place of horizontal, or a switch to EIFS, does; and a window of a different style needs one. Interior work that alters living space, kitchens and baths included, needs a permit.
The City adds that “any alteration to the exterior of a residential property must be reviewed by the Building & Safety Manager,” and its Historic Preservation Commission reviews work on locally designated properties under Title 24. Whether a particular change counts as a new style is the City's call, not ours, so describe the job to Building & Safety before materials are ordered. Applications go through the City's EnerGov self-service portal.
City of Wauwatosa Building & Safety (opens in a new tab)
Sources
- 1.City of Wauwatosa, Re-roofing (opens in a new tab)
- 2.City of Wauwatosa, Residential construction permits (opens in a new tab)
- 3.City of Wauwatosa, Historic preservation (opens in a new tab)
- 4.NPS Preservation Brief 21, Repairing Historic Flat Plaster (opens in a new tab)
- 5.Wisconsin DHS, Lead-safe renovation FAQ (opens in a new tab)
- 6.Wisconsin Historical Society, Washington Highlands Historic District (opens in a new tab)
- 7.Encyclopedia of Milwaukee, City of Wauwatosa (opens in a new tab)
- 8.2020 Census, P.L. 94-171 (opens in a new tab)
- 9.ACS 2020–2024 5-year, tables B25034/B25035/B25003 (opens in a new tab)
- 10.OSRM route from Muskego City Hall (opens in a new tab)
An early planned suburb
Wauwatosa planned early. The Wisconsin Historical Society describes Washington Highlands as “the first large subdivision in Milwaukee County,” designed in 1916 with homes built between 1918 and 1940, and the Encyclopedia of Milwaukee records that in the 1920s Wauwatosa became the second city in Wisconsin to adopt zoning. If you own a house that may be locally designated, ask the City before choosing exterior materials. The rest of Milwaukee County handles these questions differently, city by city.
Questions from Wauwatosa
Do I need a permit to re-roof in Wauwatosa?
Not if the new roofing is the same style as the old. A permit is required when the material changes style, and the City's example is metal roofing over or in place of asphalt.
Does switching from vinyl to fiber cement siding need a permit?
The City's rule turns on style, and its examples are vertical siding in place of horizontal, or EIFS. Whether a new material in the same horizontal lap counts as a change is a question for Building & Safety. Ask before ordering. The paint or replace siding guide helps with the choice itself.
My plaster walls are cracked. Do they have to come out?
Usually not. Most plaster problems come from lost keys, the grip on the lath, and loose areas can be re-attached and cracks filled. Tear-out is the messiest option and, in a pre-1978 house, a large lead-regulated job.
How far is Wauwatosa from Muskego?
About 18 miles by road, roughly 26 minutes without traffic. C&L serves the whole city, and estimates are free.
Free estimates · Mon–Fri 8 a.m.–6 p.m. · Sat 9 a.m.–6 p.m.
A free estimate in Wauwatosa.
What needs doing, roughly how old the house is, and when you would like it done. C&L will set up a time to look at it in person.