Morgan’s Point, where the Ship Channel meets Galveston Bay
With 273 residents at the 2020 census, Morgan’s Point is a very small town and one of the oldest settled places on the bay. Surveyor Nicholas Rightor settled it in 1822, and James Morgan bought the point in 1834 and started the short-lived colony of New Washington.
Working in Morgan’s Point
In the early 20th century the point became a resort for wealthy Houston families, with summer homes built along Bayridge Road. The town incorporated in 1949, and today its National Historic District includes the Carriage House that serves as City Hall and the Sterling Mansion, a former governor’s residence. That history matters to a contractor. Older bay houses were built with different materials and framing than anything going up today, and a repair should match what is there rather than fight it. Old-growth lumber, plaster walls and hand-cut rafters each have their own rules, and the first one is to find out what you have before anything gets torn out.
The other neighbor is industrial. The Barbours Cut shipping terminal opened here in 1977, and the inlet to the Houston Ship Channel sits at the town’s edge, about 30 miles southeast of Houston. A house on open water takes wind from more directions than an inland house sheltered by its neighbors, so the roof edges, the ridge and every pipe or vent need to be fastened and sealed for that exposure. Those are the first details we look at on any roof on the point. After a blow we also check the attic for daylight and wet insulation, because wind-driven rain off the bay gets into places a normal storm never reaches.
Authority here is simple. Morgan’s Point is its own incorporated city, so the City of Morgan’s Point handles permits for work inside its limits. Schools are part of La Porte ISD, and La Porte is the closest larger city, with Baytown, Deer Park and El Lago also nearby. If your property is in the historic district, ask the city early whether an exterior change needs review; any review time goes into the schedule from day one.
The jobs that come up here
For a house that faces Galveston Bay, the roof choice comes down to wind and water. Standing seam metal roofing has concealed fasteners and long continuous panels, which suits an exposed site and a long ownership. Architectural shingle replacement fastened to the high-wind pattern is the other sound option and costs less up front. Wind damage roof replacement and emergency roofing are what you call after the bay has already had its say. Whichever you pick, the underlayment matters as much as the top layer here: a fully adhered membrane at the eaves, valleys and every wall keeps water out of the house when a gust lifts the edge of what sits on top.
If your house dates from the resort years, the inside probably needs care too. Luxury home renovation fits a large older house where the goal is to update finishes without losing the character of the rooms, and luxury bathroom remodeling fits a main suite that has not been touched in decades. Kitchen remodeling makes sense when an old service kitchen at the back of the house needs to become a room people actually gather in. On a lot with water on one side, composite deck replacement swaps a weathered wood deck for boards that stand up to sun and wet, and we set the framing under it with stainless or coated hardware, because plain steel connectors do not last long in bay air.
- Architectural shingle replacement Plenty of older Houston subdivisions were built with three-tab shingles, and many of those roofs are at the end of their run.
- Emergency roofing When a limb comes through the roof or a storm opens it up, the first job is keeping more water out.
- Luxury bathroom remodeling Higher-end bathrooms fail in the same places builder-grade ones do: water behind the tile and steam inside the walls.
Plenty of roofs we look at need a repair or nothing at all. If that is yours, you will hear it from us first.
Does the historic district limit what I can do to my roof?
It might, and the city is the one to ask. Morgan’s Point’s National Historic District includes City Hall in the old Carriage House and the Sterling Mansion. If your property falls under any review, we want the answer in writing before ordering material, so the roof you pick is one you can actually install.
How do you roof a house that takes wind straight off the bay?
We start at the edges, because that is where wind gets under a roof. That means starter strip and drip edge fastened properly, sealed ridge and hip caps, and extra attention at every penetration. On metal, it means the right clip spacing for the exposure.
Is a town of 273 people too small for you to drive out to?
No. A single house on the point gets the same inspection, photos and written scope as a house anywhere else in our area. We make the drive from Cypress and plan the day around your job.
Can you secure an open roof before the next front comes in off the bay?
That is what Emergency Roofing is for. We cover the opening with a fastened tarp or temporary dry-in, photograph the damage first, and come back for the permanent repair once the weather allows. A tarp that is only weighted down with blocks will not last a night of bay wind, so we fasten ours.
Can you update an older bay house without stripping its character?
Yes, if we plan around what makes the house what it is. We keep original trim, doors and floors where they are sound and replace what has failed with materials that match. The scope spells out what stays and what goes before any demolition starts.
Close by
We also work in La Porte, Shoreacres, Baytown, Deer Park, El Lago. The whole list is on the Harris County page.
We are based in Cypress and work across twelve counties around Houston. Leland Cannon retired from the Army as a First Sergeant; Geoff Schardien served in the Air Force. The scope you get is in writing, and the person who wrote it answers the phone.