Brownstone and rowhouse roof repair in Jersey City

Roofer Jersey City is an independent referral service, not a roofing company. When you call or send the form, an independent local roofer can contact you about your job; that roofer gives any quote and does any work.

The rows of Downtown

Downtown Jersey City grew around three squares: Paulus Hook, Hamilton and Van Vorst. Van Vorst Park is lined with ornate brick and brownstone rowhouses from the late 1800s. These houses were built to share walls, with the roof of each one meeting the roofs on either side, and that is still how they work today. Many owners never see their roof; they know it by the cornice from the street and the ceiling of the top floor.

The cornice

The cornice is the projecting crown along the top of the front wall. Whatever it is made of, its top surface acts as a small roof that sheds water away from the facade, and it needs flashing where it meets the main roof or the parapet. When that top fails, water soaks into the cornice, rots or rusts what holds it, and drips onto the stoop or runs down the front.

Signs to watch from the sidewalk: drips from the cornice after rain, stains on the brick or brownstone below it, paint peeling on the cornice, pieces that look loose or out of line. Any of these is worth a roofer’s look, and a loose piece over a sidewalk is worth it soon.

Parapets and coping

The parapet is the part of each wall that rises above the roof. On a row there may be a parapet at the front behind the cornice, low dividing parapets between houses, and one at the rear. Each one has two jobs to do: the flashing on its inner face keeps water from running behind the roof covering, and the coping on its top keeps rain out of the brick. When either fails, water can travel down inside the wall and show up far below the roof. The article on parapet wall leaks goes into detail.

Shared walls and the neighbors

On a row, your roof meets your neighbor’s at the party wall. A leak at that line can start on either side. A roofer working on your roof needs to tie the new work into the neighbor’s roof or flash it against the dividing wall without damaging theirs. Talk with your neighbor before work starts, and ask the roofer to explain what they will do at each shared edge. Sometimes neighbors on a row have their roofs looked at together, which can make the shared edges easier to deal with.

Chimneys, skylights and the hatch

Old rows often carry several chimney stacks, some still in use and some closed. The stair skylight and the roof hatch are also breaks in the roof. Each needs sound flashing. If a chimney is no longer used, ask whether capping it makes sense, and whether the roofer works with a mason for repointing near the roof line.

The flat roof itself

Behind the parapets, most rows have a flat or low-slope roof covered with modified bitumen, EPDM, TPO, built-up roofing or a coating. Water drains to the rear, to a scupper through a parapet or to an interior drain. The flat roofs in Jersey City page explains each covering and what goes wrong.

Historic districts

Parts of Downtown, such as Paulus Hook and Van Vorst Park, are historic districts: ask the city before changing roofing material or anything visible from the street. On a row, the cornice and the front edge are the parts most often visible. A repair that matches what is there is a different conversation from a change in material or shape, but ask either way, before work starts. See roof work in a historic district.

Permits on a row

New Jersey’s ordinary-maintenance rule lets owners repair or replace existing roof covering on detached one- and two-family dwellings without a permit. A rowhouse is attached, so that roof item does not cover it. For an attached rowhouse, a multi-family building, or any structural work, ask the Jersey City construction code office whether a permit is needed before work starts. The Jersey City building permit guide explains the rule.

Questions for a roofer on a row

• How will you get up, and will anything come through the house?
• What will you do at each parapet and at the coping?
• Does the cornice need anything, and is that your work or a specialist’s?
• How will you handle the shared edges with my neighbors?
• Is a permit or city approval needed for this building?
• Can you show me photos of what you found?

For the common fixes, see roof repair in Jersey City. For checking the contractor, see roofing contractors in Jersey City NJ.

Questions people ask