A working waterfront community on the river, low to the water and open to the bay. Different exposure than the beach, not a gentler one.
Bon Secour sits west of Gulf Shores where the Bon Secour River runs down into Bon Secour Bay, and it remains one of the genuinely working communities on this coast — a seafood and fishing town rather than a resort one, with the Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge protecting a stretch of land nearby.
It is a different exposure than the beachfront. There is no direct Gulf fetch, but the property here is low-lying and close to open water on the bay side, and a tropical system pushing water and wind up the bay does real damage. Salt is present in the air year-round.
The housing is also older on average than the resort developments to the east, with a good number of homes that predate the current wind code entirely. Those roofs are frequently the most valuable ones to get looked at.
If a house here was roofed before the current Baldwin County requirements — 130 mph rated materials, ASTM D7158 Class H or D3161 Class F, six nails per shingle, synthetic underlayment — then it was built to a standard that has since been superseded for good reason.
That does not mean it needs replacing today. It does mean an inspection is worth more here than in a subdivision where everything went on in 2015. We look at the deck, the fastening and the edge detail rather than just the shingle surface, because on an older roof the covering often outlives the attachment.
When one of these roofs does come off, it is also the moment to ask about FORTIFIED. Going from a pre-code roof to a sealed-deck FORTIFIED assembly is one of the largest single improvements you can make to an older coastal home, and Alabama will fund up to $10,000 of it on an eligible owner-occupied property.
Older home, low-lying lot, open water on the bay side. That combination is exactly what the FORTIFIED standard was designed around — a sealed deck keeps the building dry even if the covering goes. How the grant works.
Bon Secour has commercial waterfront structures as well as houses — seafood operations, docks, workshops and storage buildings. Those roofs take salt from the water and abuse from the work happening under them, and they are frequently low-slope. See flat and TPO roofing and commercial roofing.
Most of our Bon Secour work is roof replacement and storm damage repair, along with roof repair, FORTIFIED roofing and the $10,000 grant that goes with it, metal roofing specified for salt exposure, commercial and condo roofing, gutters and siding. Start with a free inspection if you are not sure what you need.
Every roof we install meets Baldwin County’s requirements: rated for 130 mph or greater, ASTM D7158 Class H or D3161 Class F shingles, high-wind installation with a minimum of six nails, and synthetic underlayment — asphalt felt is not permitted on new installations anywhere in the county.
Bon Secour is just west of Gulf Shores. We also serve Gulf Shores, Fort Morgan across the bay, Magnolia Springs and Foley north, and Orange Beach and Elberta east.
Older roof, low-lying lot, open water nearby — worth a free look before the next season.
📞 Call (251) 313-4853 Request an Estimate