Aldine homes, post-Harvey roofs and the rooms under them
Over 60 percent of the houses in the Aldine area were damaged by Hurricane Harvey in 2017, so most homes here carry some repair history. We start every visit by finding out what was replaced after the water and what was only dried out and closed back up.
Working in Aldine
Aldine is an unincorporated census-designated place in central Harris County, home to 15,999 people at the 2020 census. It began on the International Great Northern Railroad and took its name from a local farm family. A post office operated here from 1896 to 1935, and a 1914 count found two general stores, a fig preserver, and several poultry breeders and dairymen. Today the Hardy Toll Road, the Union Pacific tracks and Farm to Market Road 525 cross the community, with George Bush Intercontinental Airport just up the road.
On an older home we count shingle layers, push on the decking from the attic side, and look at how the old flashing was tied into the walls before anyone talks price. Harvey is the other half of the story. Repairs made in the months after a flood were often made in a hurry, so we ask how high the drywall was cut, whether the subfloor came out, and whether the bathroom was rebuilt or only cleaned. Those answers decide whether a remodel starts at the finishes or at the studs. None of that is a reason to panic; it is a reason to look.
Aldine has no city government, so city permit rules never enter the picture. County rules on floodplain, septic, driveways and culverts can still reach a property here, along with state rules, and we check what applies to your address before a tear-off or a bathroom gut begins. Kids here attend the Aldine Independent School District, and Pep Mueller Park has a playground, a community building, a basketball pavilion and four ball fields. We run a magnet over the yard and the driveway after every tear-off, because nobody wants a roofing nail in a tire.
The farm community in that 1914 count, with its stores, its fig preserver and its poultry and dairy families along a rail line, is a long way from the Aldine of today. The 2017 storm is the line most houses here have in common. When more than 60 percent of the homes in an area are damaged at once, everyone competes for the same crews and the same drywall, and repairs often get done in stages. If you kept receipts, photos or an adjuster’s report from 2017, dig them out before we visit. They tell us which rooms were rebuilt and which were patched, and that changes a scope more than the age of the house does.
Worth knowing here
- Aldine saw renewed population growth in the 1970s.
The jobs that come up here
Most calls from Aldine fall into two groups. The first is roofs: an asphalt shingle replacement on an older house, or a roof replacement where the decking took water damage that nobody caught the first time around. On a house this age, a quote that skips the decking is a quote that is about to change. If spring hail has already bruised the shingles, hail damage roof replacement is a separate conversation with photos for your carrier, and we will tell you plainly if the damage does not justify a claim.
The second group is the inside of the house. A bathroom renovation keeps the layout and replaces what flood repairs left tired, while home renovation covers the bigger picture: floors, trim, doors and the rooms that were patched rather than finished. If a family member now needs a walk-in shower or wider doors, veteran ADA remodeling is built for that. Most of these jobs take days, and we tell you which days you will be without a toilet before we start. Where a flood repair left the old subfloor in place, a bathroom job may start with new plywood before any tile is chosen, and that goes on the scope as its own line. Every scope is written in plain language so you can compare it line by line against anyone else’s.
- Asphalt shingle replacement Replacing an asphalt roof is a day of controlled demolition followed by careful building.
- Bathroom renovation If the tub, toilet and vanity are already in the right places, nothing has to move.
- Hail damage roof replacement Hail damage on a shingle is a bruise in the mat, soft when you press it, usually with the granules knocked off in a rough circle.
Plenty of roofs we look at need a repair or nothing at all. If that is yours, you will hear it from us first.
Our Aldine house flooded in Harvey and was repaired. Should we worry now?
Not automatically. If the repair cut drywall above the water line, replaced wet insulation and let the framing dry before closing up, the house is likely fine. If you do not know what was done, a walk-through with a moisture meter and a look under the sinks answers most of it in an hour.
Does an Aldine re-roof need a city permit?
No, because Aldine is a census-designated place with no city government. Depending on the property and the scope, county requirements on floodplain, septic, driveways or culverts and state rules can still apply, so we look up your address before the job is scheduled and keep the paperwork with your file.
Does living near Bush Intercontinental change anything about an Aldine roof?
Not in any way we can measure. Airport traffic does not change shingle choice or the nailing pattern. What matters far more is the age of the roof, the condition of the decking and what spring hail has already done to it.
How long does an Asphalt Shingle Replacement take on an Aldine house?
Most single-story homes are torn off and dried in on the first day and finished on the second, weather allowing. Bad decking adds time, and we tell you how much once we have seen it from the attic. You get the written scope before the first shingle comes off.
Can you update an Aldine bathroom that was only patched after the flood?
Yes. We open the wall behind the tub if there is any doubt, check the subfloor at the toilet and the tub, and then rebuild with cement board and a proper waterproofing membrane. You pick the finishes. Nothing gets tiled over a soft floor on our watch.
Close by
We also work in Humble, Spring, Hilshire Village, Houston. The whole list is on the Harris County page.
Veteran Built is two veterans running a roofing and construction company out of Cypress. Every job starts with one of them walking it with you, and every inspection ends in a straight answer: replace, repair or leave it alone.