Built-up roofing, or tar and gravel, is the century-old system still protecting Melissa buildings that were roofed before single-ply existed, and still a legitimate choice for the right structure.
BUR builds a roof in redundant layers: alternating bitumen and reinforcing felts topped with gravel that shields the assembly from UV and traffic. Existing BUR in Melissa often earns maintenance and restoration over replacement, since the mass and redundancy that made it heavy also made it durable.
We install and service built-up roofing (bur) across Melissa and the surrounding DFW communities. That includes free written estimates, documented inspections, and honest guidance on whether this system actually fits your home and budget.
What is different in Melissa
Before the material talk, look at Melissa itself, because the housing stock sets the terms. Most of the housing went up in the last two decades, which means first-generation roofs aging out on the same schedule, block after block. For those roofs, single-ply is a systems conversation: attachment method, insulation, and flashing details carry more of the outcome than the membrane brand.
City paperwork in Melissa is ours to carry: permit filed, inspection booked, final documentation in your folder. The weather here is not hypothetical: single-ply shows bruise fractures that a chalk circle will not catch, and instrument surveys find what walking the roof misses. We work this system in Plano and Frisco as well; ask and we will point you at nearby examples with a few years of weather on them. Start with the free inspection; the material conversation is better once we have seen the deck.
THE SYSTEM
Built-Up Roofing (BUR), up close.
Flat / low-slope membrane. Single-ply and built-up systems chosen by what the roof actually does all day.
PUBLIC RECORD
The local record behind Built-Up Roofing (BUR) in Melissa
How a roof system holds up in Melissa depends on the storms it has to take and the houses it sits on. Here is what the public record shows.
20
Hail days, 1 in.+ since 2006
5
Golf-ball-size hail days
2 in.
Largest stone on record
2015
Median year homes built
Hail near Melissa
NOAA's Storm Events Database lists 20 days since 2006 with hail one inch or larger reported within 5 miles of Melissa. On 5 of those days, the stones were golf ball size or bigger. Hail that size was reported in 13 of the last 20 years. The largest stones on record nearby measured 2 inches (hen egg size) on September 21, 2025.
September 21, 2025: 2-inch hail (hen egg size)
May 7, 2008: 1.75-inch hail (golf ball size)
February 16, 2008: 1.75-inch hail (golf ball size)
February 5, 2008: 1.75-inch hail (golf ball size)
May 9, 2006: 1.75-inch hail (golf ball size)
How old Melissa homes are
Melissa is young by roofing standards: the median home was built in 2015, and 73% of its 6,266 housing units date to 2010 or later. Many of those homes still have the roof the builder installed, now working through its first hail seasons.
Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database (hail reports since 2006 within 5 miles of Melissa); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates. Data pulled September 2026.
Common questions about built-up roofing (bur) in Melissa
My Melissa building has tar-and-gravel. Replace it?
Not automatically. Sound BUR restores and maintains well; its redundancy is real. A moisture survey tells you whether the assembly beneath the gravel is dry, and that answer decides.
Why did BUR fall out of fashion?
Weight, installation labor, and odor during application. Single-ply installs faster and lighter. Neither of those points makes an existing sound BUR roof bad.
Is upgrading from builder-grade shingles worth it in Melissa?
Usually at the first replacement or claim: Class 4 impact-rated systems earn many Texas carriers' premium discounts, and newer communities' HOA standards generally approve them easily. The math works hardest on homes facing decades of DFW hail.
How often does hail hit Melissa?
NOAA's Storm Events Database lists 20 days since 2006 with hail one inch or larger reported within 5 miles of Melissa, including 5 days with golf ball size stones or bigger. Hail that size was reported in 13 of the last 20 years. The most recent report was 2-inch hail on September 21, 2025.
How old are most homes in Melissa?
The median home in Melissa was built in 2015, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey. 3% of the city's housing units predate 1980 and 73% were built in 2010 or later. Many homes here still have their original builder-installed roof.
