Township · Hamilton County
Anderson Township homes, from the roof down
Anderson Township fills the wedge of Hamilton County between the Little Miami River and the Ohio, and almost none of it is flat. Beechmont Avenue runs along the spine and the housing steps off it into ravines on both sides. The stock is mostly 1960s through 1990s: split-levels and two-stories on sloped lots, with older homes toward the river and larger newer construction on whatever ground stayed open on the eastern side. Heavy tree cover is the rule rather than the exception.
Hillside building makes roofs complicated. A split-level cut into a slope has a roof that nearly meets the ground on one side and stands two stories high on the other, and its valleys carry a great deal of water to one corner. Shaded slopes toward the ravines dry slowly, which is where moss and lifted granules appear, and the north-facing eaves hold ice through much of the winter. Runoff has nowhere to go but downhill, so gutters and downspouts that discharge onto a neighbor's slope or against a foundation are a common finding. Wood siding and T1-11 panels from the 1970s are nearing the end of their useful life on many of these houses. Windows on the ravine side have the same shade problem as the shingles above them: the wood frames of 1960s and 1970s casements stay damp and the sills go first, while the sliders on the newer eastern houses mostly need seals rather than frames.
Anderson is a township, so the permit comes from Hamilton County's building department rather than a city office. We handle that. The free inspection covers the roof, the walls and the drainage together, because on this ground they are one system.