Ways Station Roofing | Richmond Hill Historic Core

The Ways Station Core — Henry Ford's Richmond Hill

Ways Station is the original name for the Richmond Hill historic core — a rail-stop community that Henry Ford rebuilt during the 1920s and 1930s as part of his Richmond Hill estate work. The remaining Ford-era buildings along Ford Avenue and through the surrounding historic core carry the architectural fingerprint of that era: brick and clapboard residential stock, deliberate roof pitches, and detailing meant to last. We work this stock with period-correct scopes — architectural shingle profiles that read right on the era and standing-seam metal in heritage profiles where the building permits it.

Ford Avenue Historic District — What the City Ordinance Requires

There is no Bryan County historic overlay: the county has no historic preservation commission and no historic overlay district. What governs exterior work in this part of Richmond Hill is the city's own Ford Avenue Historic District, established in Article 11 of the City of Richmond Hill Unified Development Ordinance and effective 6 August 2025. Article 11 draws the boundary east from the Highway 17 and Ford Avenue crossroads, taking in the parcels that share a boundary with the Ford Avenue right-of-way plus four individually listed parcels, and it expressly excludes properties associated with The Ford Plantation, Inc. Section 11.2.C reaches every building in both of the city's overlay districts — changes to the exterior color, material, and/or roof of a building or structure shall fully comply with the applicable requirements of the article — but which requirements apply depends on how the district classifies your building. Section 11.1 records 76 buildings in the district, 20 of them erected between 1925 and 1947 and counted as contributing. The in-kind roof standards sit in Section 11.3.A, which governs material changes to contributing resources: original roof materials, shapes and pitch preserved; historic roof materials replaced in-kind to match texture, color, design and composition as closely as possible; only asphalt or metal shingles used as replacement roofing material. Non-contributing buildings and new construction fall under Section 11.3.C instead, which requires roofs between 4:12 and 8:12 in standing-seam metal or asphalt shingles and does not permit flat roofs. Do not read that 4:12 as the floor everywhere: it is the Ford Avenue figure taken on its own, and the Highway 17 end of the district also sits inside the city's Gateway Overlay District. Section 11.2.D says that where any part of the two districts overlap the standards of both apply — Ford Avenue takes precedence for rehabilitation of contributing structures, additions to contributing structures and demolitions, and otherwise the more stringent standard governs. The Gateway schedule at Section 11.4.D.1.b sets a slope between 6:12 and 8:12 for footprints of 10,000 square feet or less, so a non-contributing home in the overlap whose footprint is within that threshold is working to 6:12 rather than 4:12 unless the architectural review board allows a lower pitch because the overall design still meets the intent. Article 11 classifies every building on the Ford Avenue Historic District Contributing Resources Map and places that map in Appendix E, so the City of Richmond Hill is where you find out which set of rules is yours. We write the scope and document material, profile, and color to whichever standard applies; confirm your parcel's boundary and classification with the city before planning a visible change.

• City of Richmond Hill designation — Bryan County has no historic overlay district
• Boundary follows the Ford Avenue frontage; The Ford Plantation is excluded by ordinance
• Section 11.3.A in-kind rule — asphalt or metal shingles only — applies to contributing resources: 20 of the district's 76 buildings
• Section 11.3.C covers non-contributing buildings and new construction: 4:12 to 8:12 pitch, standing-seam metal or asphalt shingles, no flat roofs
• Where the Gateway Overlay also applies, Section 11.2.D makes the more stringent standard govern and Section 11.4.D.1.b sets 6:12 to 8:12 on footprints of 10,000 sq ft or less
• Major changes go to the Historic Preservation Commission; Article 11 allows staff review of minor changes and leaves the Ford Avenue split to Appendix E
• Material samples, profile drawings, and color codes documented before visible work starts

Coastal-Adjacent Bryan County — Salt, Wind, and Period Detailing

Ways Station sits roughly 18 miles from Talya HQ, and the City of Richmond Hill's residential permit packet requires plans designed to meet the 130 mph wind zone. The salt-exposure tier here is medium — not the extreme of the Ogeechee waterfront a few miles away, but enough that standard galvanized fasteners corrode visibly inside a decade. On every Ways Station period roof we spec stainless ring-shank nails, aluminum or stainless drip edge, copper or terne flashing where the building demands it, and 6-nail patterns as the floor — not the upgrade.

• Stainless steel ring-shank nails on every period asphalt and metal job
• Aluminum or stainless drip edge — never galvanized
• Copper or terne flashing on chimneys and valleys where original detail called for it
• 6-nail fastening pattern as the floor specification on every period roof scope