Roof Replacement in Lawnside, NJ

How we tell a tired roof from a dead one

Three things decide it, and all three are visible on the day. Whether the granule layer is still doing its job or sitting in the trough at ground level. Whether the mat underneath has gone hard, which you can feel through a boot. And how many times the same slope has already been opened up. A roof that fails two of the three is a replacement. One out of three is usually a repair with a few years left in it, and we would rather sell you that and come back later than take the bigger invoice today.

What comes off and what goes back

• Everything down to the boards

  No new covering goes over an old one, whatever the previous roofer did.

• Boards made good

  Soft or sprung sheets swapped while the deck is open, counted in front of you.

• Barrier at the vulnerable parts

  Self-adhering membrane along the eaves and up every valley before the field goes down.

• Metalwork renewed, not reused

  Step, counter and valley flashing made new rather than bent back and sealed.

• Every penetration re-collared

  Boots, vents and anything else through the deck replaced while access is free.

• Air balanced top and bottom

  Air coming in low and leaving high, in proportion, since getting that wrong cooks a roof from beneath.

The number, and when it can move

You get the figure in writing before the first bundle is lifted, broken out so you can see what is covering, what is metalwork and what is labour. The one item that can change is the decking, because nobody knows what is under a roof until the roof is off. So the sheet rate sits on the estimate from the start. If we find eleven bad sheets you pay for eleven, counted with you standing there, and if we find none you pay for none.

How long you are living with it

Two days covers most houses around here, start to finish. Add one where the roof is cut about with several changes of plane, or where the boards beneath turn out to be soft. Nothing is opened in the morning that cannot be closed by the evening. If the forecast turns against us you hear about it the night before, not at eight the next day.