Leak repair, new shingle roofs and free inspections on both sides of the Saluda River, from the old mill village to the subdivisions near I-85.
Piedmont is split between Anderson County and Greenville County by the Saluda River, and Bulldog Roofing Upstate covers houses on both banks. The work we do here is roof leak repair, shingle roof replacement and free roof inspections, plus repairs of every size in between.
The river drops over a dam through the middle of the community, and that fall of water is why Henry Pinckney Hammett chose the spot for a cotton mill. His Piedmont Manufacturing Company was organized in 1873 and started running in 1876, a second mill went up on the Anderson County bank in 1888, and company housing followed the mills across the river. Manufacturing ended in 1977, and most of the original mill burned in 1983. The village that grew up around the mills is still part of the community, alongside newer neighborhoods.
Piedmont is not an incorporated town; it is a census-designated place of 5,411 people as of 2020, about 12 miles south of downtown Greenville, with I-85 Exit 35 two miles west of the center on SC 86. If you would like a roofer to look at your house, call (864) 702-2478 or request an inspection online.
On a mill village house, a leak at the ceiling often comes from a chimney, a vent stack or an old addition rather than the field of the roof. We follow the water stains along the rafters and decking in the attic to where they start, then repair that spot properly instead of smearing sealant over the symptom.
Many of these houses have board decking that has carried several roofs. A tear-off is the time to check each run of boards, since split or rotten ones, and gaps too wide to hold nails, all need dealing with before new shingles go on. The agreed scope says what gets replaced, and underlayment, drip edge, flashing, ventilation and architectural shingles follow.
If you are buying one of the old village houses, or are not sure how long the current roof has left, start with an inspection. We start on the roof, and check inside and in the attic where there is a stain or access, then tell you what is sound and what is not. We go over what we found with you before any price comes up.
Storm damage repair and smaller roof repairs are available in Piedmont as well, so all six services cover both sides of the river. The services page has the full list.
Mill company housing across the South was usually built in numbers to a handful of plans, and a typical village house has a familiar shape: a modest footprint, a gable or hip roof, a chimney or two, and a porch across the front. After a century or more, few houses like these still have their original roof untouched. Owners have added rear rooms, closed in porches and raised or lowered roof lines, so two neighboring houses that started identical can have very different roofs today.
Rafters on houses of that age can be smaller or spaced wider than a modern builder would choose, and some roofs have a slight sag along the ridge or between rafters. A sag does not always mean a failure, but it does mean the deck should be checked closely, and it affects how the new shingles will lie. We point out anything like that during the inspection so it is not a surprise on replacement day.
Before it was Piedmont, the spot was known as Big Shoals of the Saluda, and later Garrison Shoals after David Garrison set up a grist mill there around 1850. Houses close to the water and under heavy trees are worth a damp-attic check, because moisture that hangs around the decking is what turns a small, slow leak into soft boards and a bigger repair.
Many older chimneys were built for stoves or fireplaces that are no longer used. An unused chimney still needs sound flashing and a cap, and sometimes the better fix is to have it taken down below the roof line by a mason and the roof closed over it. That is a conversation worth having before a re-roof, not after.
Because Piedmont is not a town with its own government, building permits go through the county, and which county depends on which bank of the Saluda your house is on. Confirm with the county office for your side before any re-roof starts.
On the river, the mills ran on water power from the start, and the village grew up within walking distance of the work. That means houses packed fairly close together on hilly streets, and on a tight lot, ladders, tear-off debris and material deliveries all need some planning so neighbors are not boxed in. That is worth sorting out before work begins.
Newer subdivisions on both sides, especially toward the interstate, have larger roofs with more valleys and roof-to-wall joints. Those houses have their own patterns of wear, mostly around flashing, pipe boots and ridge vents. Our roof repair page goes through the common ones.
Ventilation is worth a word on the older houses too. Many village attics were never vented at the ridge, and a hot attic shortens shingle life and can leave condensation on the underside of the decking in cold weather. Adding soffit intake and a ridge vent when the roof is replaced is one of the more useful upgrades on a house like this. Our roof leak repair page explains how a stain is traced to its source when the cause is not obvious.
Yes. Piedmont sits on both banks of the Saluda River and we serve addresses on either side. The roofing work is the same; the county that handles permits is what changes.
A roofer who will find where the water actually gets in, not just where it shows up on the ceiling. On older Piedmont houses that often means checking the attic, the chimney and any add-on rooms, since leaks travel along the rafters and decking before they drip.
That depends on your policy and on what caused the leak, and your insurance agent is the right person to ask. What we can do is inspect the roof and tell you what we found and where the water is getting in.
A house with 2,000 square feet of living space can have quite a different roof area depending on its pitch, overhangs and shape. The price comes from that roof area, the number of layers to remove, how much decking needs replacing, and the shingle you pick. The price comes from the actual roof area, measured on the roof.
It is a good idea. A free roof inspection tells you where the roof stands, including any sagging between rafters, old chimneys and add-on roofs. It is not a home inspection, so it covers the roof only.
In most cases, yes. The key is the deck underneath: board decking that is split, rotten or widely gapped needs repair or new sheathing so the shingles have something solid to nail into.
