Home repair in St. Louis, MO

St. Louis homes at a glance

Median year built

1938

Built before 1960

75%

Built since 2000

8%

Owner-occupied

45%

Median home value

$197,500

Main heat

Gas, 67%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 1-year estimates

What St. Louis’s housing means for repairs

St. Louis has one of the oldest housing stocks of any large U.S. city. The median home was built in 1938, about 75% of homes predate 1960, and only about 8% were built since 2000. Solid red brick is the signature material: two-story flats, shotgun houses and large brick homes with flat or low-slope roofs, parapets and box gutters.

That age means soft brick and mortar that need tuckpointing, knob-and-tube wiring, cast iron drains, lead paint, plaster walls and basements with stone or brick foundations. Only about 43% of homes are single-family detached and 45% are owner-occupied, so many owners rent out the other unit in a two-family flat. Gas heats about 67% of homes.

Weather that wears on St. Louis homes

St. Louis has hot, humid summers and cold winters with frequent freeze-thaw cycles. Water that gets into brick joints freezes and pushes mortar out, which is why tuckpointing is a routine expense here. Flat roofs and box gutters on brick homes leak when seams fail or drains clog. Spring thunderstorms dump heavy rain and can overwhelm the city's older combined sewers, pushing water into basements. Summer humidity makes basements damp and feeds mold. Tornadoes and severe storms pass through the region, and big trees in older neighborhoods drop limbs on roofs and power lines.

Common repairs in St. Louis

• Tuckpointing and brick repair

  Freeze-thaw and soft historic brick mean mortar joints in St. Louis homes need regular repointing.

• Flat roof and box gutter leaks

  Older brick homes have low-slope roofs and built-in gutters that leak into top-floor ceilings.

• Knob-and-tube and panel replacement

  Many St. Louis houses still have original wiring that insurers and buyers flag.

• Basement drain backups

  Older sewer laterals and heavy rain push water up through basement floor drains.

• Plaster ceiling repair

  Old plaster loosens from lath and sags, with or without a leak above.

What these repairs cost

The middle half of Runhome repair estimates nationwide for each kind of job. Your price depends on the scope of the work.

Fix guides for St. Louis homeowners

• Ceiling is sagging or coming loose with no leak above it

  Old plaster ceilings in St. Louis homes can sag when the keys holding them to lath break, even without a leak.

• Sewage backs up into the basement floor drain

  Heavy storms can push sewage up through basement floor drains in older St. Louis neighborhoods.

• Bricks on the porch steps are loose, missing or crumbling

  Brick steps and stoops across St. Louis loosen and crumble after years of freeze-thaw.

• Porch support column is crumbling at the base

  Porch columns on older St. Louis brick homes rot or crumble at the base where water collects.

• Half the house has no power and no breaker is tripped

  Aging service and panels in century-old St. Louis homes can drop half the circuits when one leg fails.

Seasonal checklist

Spring

Clear flat roof drains and box gutters, and test the basement floor drain backflow valve if you have one.

Summer

Run a dehumidifier in the basement and check brick walls for crumbling mortar.

Fall

Have the furnace or boiler serviced and clean gutters after the leaves drop.

Winter

Keep heat on in vacant units of two-family flats so pipes on exterior brick walls do not freeze.

Common questions

How often does a St. Louis brick house need tuckpointing?

It depends on exposure, mortar type and how well gutters work, but most brick homes need some repointing on the weather side every couple of decades. Use soft, lime-based mortar on old St. Louis brick, since hard modern mortar can crack the brick itself.

Do I have to replace knob-and-tube wiring in my St. Louis house?

There is no rule that it must go, but insurers often refuse to cover it and it has no ground for modern devices. Price depends on how many circuits are still active and how much plaster must be opened to run new cable.

Why does my flat roof keep leaking in the same spot?

St. Louis flat roofs usually leak at seams, parapet flashing, or where the roof meets a box gutter. A patch can hold for a while, but repeated leaks in one spot often mean the membrane or flashing has reached the end of its life.

Neighborhoods served

• Soulard
• The Hill
• Lafayette Square
• Tower Grove South
• Central West End
• Dogtown
• Benton Park
• Shaw

Other Missouri cities

• Home repair in Kansas City
• Home repair in Springfield