The old town
South of the freeway and around downtown are the citrus-era houses: Victorians, Craftsman bungalows, and Spanish revival homes, many with steep pitches, multiple gables, dormers and original details. Some still carry old shake under a later overlay; most have been re-roofed in shingle, and a few in tile or metal. Every one of them is a flashing puzzle.
Work on these houses is slower and needs care with the trim, the gutters and the look.
The trees
Redlands is famous for its mature trees, and they drop leaves, seed pods and branches onto roofs year-round. Gutters fill, valleys dam, and moss can even take hold on shaded north slopes, which is rare in the rest of the valley. Trimming and twice-yearly clearing is not optional here.
I do more gutter and debris work in Redlands than in any other town.
The hillside south
Houses on the slopes toward the Crafton Hills and along the ridges get strong sun and steady wind exposure, and many are larger custom homes with tile or luxury shingle. Access can be tight and the roofs are often cut up with hips and valleys. Inspections here take longer and turn up more.
Fire hazard zoning applies to some of this area too.
The north side
North of the freeway are the 1950s to 70s ranch houses and the later tracts, on flatter lots, with shingle on the older streets and tile on the newer ones. These are straightforward roofs with the usual valley problems: brittle underlayment under tile, sun-cooked shingle, split pipe boots.
Re-lays and shingle replacements are the bread and butter here.
What I do in Redlands
Careful repairs and re-roofs on the historic houses, gutter and debris maintenance under the big trees, tile re-lays on the tracts, and inspections for the steady turnover of homes near the university. Cool-roof products and ventilation upgrades on the sun-facing hillside houses.
Redlands is a short run east along the 10 and a regular stop for me.
What to check yourself
On the older houses, look up at the dormer sides and the chimney base after rain for dark streaks, which mean the flashing there has opened. On any Redlands house, look in the gutters after the first fall wind; if they are full, the valleys probably are too, and that needs clearing before the storms.