Roofing Contractors in Garrison, ND

Garrison is the walleye town on the north side of Lake Sakakawea, and that lake changes the roofing work here. Besides year-round homes in town, there are cabins and second homes out toward Fort Stevenson State Park, about four miles south. Many of those places sit empty for months in winter. A small leak in January can run for weeks before anyone walks in and sees the stain. So in Garrison, we spend as much time on how a roof fails when no one is watching as on how it looks from the road.

Lake places that sit empty in winter

A cabin roof has a harder life than people think. Snow piles up, the heat is turned down or off, and ice builds at the eaves. When the sun hits the roof, meltwater runs down and freezes at the cold edge, and the water behind it finds a way in. On a seasonal place, that water can soak insulation and drywall for a long time before you know.

Here is what we focus on for lake homes near Garrison:

• Ice and water shield run past the interior wall line, plus in every valley.
• Attic intake ventilation checked, so the deck stays cold and even.
• Pipe boots, skylights and chimney flashing, the usual spots a slow leak starts.
• A photo report you can look at from home before you drive up.

One more thing on cabins: mice, wasps and birds love a cold attic. Chewed vent screens and nests in soffit vents block the airflow that keeps the deck cold. We look for that too, because a blocked vent on a lake place often shows up later as an ice dam over the bedroom.

Our roof inspection with photos takes about 45 minutes, and the report comes the same day. That works well if you live in Bismarck or Minot and only get to the lake on weekends.

Why steel shows up on so many cabins

Steel sheds snow, does not mind sitting cold and does not need much attention. For a place you are not at every week, that matters more than the up-front price. Here is how the options compare:

Roof	Installed price	Notes for a lake place
Architectural shingles	$9,000 to $22,000	Lowest cost; needs good ventilation
Exposed-fastener steel	$12,000 to $22,000	Common on cabins, garages and boat sheds
Standing seam steel	$24,000 to $45,000	Hidden fasteners; few spots for water to get in

Shingles still make sense on plenty of lake homes, especially ones that are heated all year. If you go that way, a Class 4 impact-resistant shingle adds roughly $1,100 to $1,900 on an average home and holds up better when a summer hail storm comes across the water.

Prices are 2026 installed pricing and depend on size, pitch and access. More details are on our metal roof installation page, or get a rough number from the roof price calculator tool.

Year-round homes in town

Garrison has been around since 1905, and the town peaked at about 1,890 people in 1950. That means a good share of the houses in town are older homes. Expect the usual on those: a second layer of shingles, some soft decking and gutters that pull ice off the eaves in the wrong direction. Tear-off of an extra layer adds about $800 to $1,800, and decking runs $70 to $130 a sheet.

We put those numbers in the quote as separate lines, so you know what each part costs before the crew pulls a single shingle. If the house also needs new siding, we can look at that on the same visit. A full re-side runs about $12,000 to $30,000, and doing it with the roof means one round of scaffolding and cleanup instead of two.

Gutters matter more than people expect on a lake town roof, because homes near the lake catch a lot of wind-driven rain. New seamless gutter installation runs about $1,400 to $3,800, and guards are $8 to $14 a foot if trees drop leaves on the house.

Permits at Garrison City Hall

The City of Garrison handles building permits and inspections for work inside city limits. Their process is simple: read the requirements, pick up a permit application and return it to City Hall at 1 West Central Ave. You can find the details on the Garrison building permits page. Cabins outside city limits fall under McLean County, and we check which office applies before the job starts.

Getting a crew to Garrison

Garrison is about an hour from our Minot shop, so non-urgent work is booked in blocks with other jobs south of town. Asphalt shingles need temps above about 40 F to seal, so fall work at the lake fills up early. Storm calls are answered 24/7, and hail season runs May to September. To get on the schedule, ask for an estimate and tell us if the property is seasonal.

Driving directions from Minot to Garrison

It is roughly 50 miles and takes about an hour.

1. From downtown Minot, take US 83 (Broadway) south out of town.
2. Follow US 83 south to its junction with ND 37 and ND 1804, east of Garrison.
3. Turn west on ND 37 and drive about six miles into Garrison.

You can also open the route in Google Maps.

Areas and ZIP codes we cover around Garrison

• Garrison townsite
• Fort Stevenson State Park area
• Lake Sakakawea north shore
• ND 37 corridor
• Rural McLean County

ZIP codes: 58540. Just outside these? Call (380) 247-5157 and ask.

Questions from Garrison homeowners

Other towns we cover

• Burlington
• Surrey
• Berthold
• Velva
• Kenmare
• Stanley
• Minot AFB