Choosing a roofing company 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 first visit

A good first visit starts inside. The roofer looks at the stain, the top-floor ceilings, the stair hall under the hatch or skylight, and any wall that shows damp. Then they go up, usually by the roof hatch on a row or by ladder on a detached house, and look at the whole roof, not just the area above the leak.

Expect questions too. When was the roof last done, and do you know what it is? Does it leak in every rain or in wind-driven rain? Has the neighbor had work done recently? Is the building in a historic district? A roofing company that asks these questions is building a picture of your roof rather than selling the same job to everyone.

The written scope

After the visit you should get a written estimate, and for any job of $500 or more New Jersey requires a written contract. The contract must include the company’s legal name, business address and registration number, a start date, a completion date, a description of the work and the total price. On a Jersey City job, the description should go beyond the roof surface:

• Whether the old covering is torn off or the new one goes over it
• The covering to be installed, named: modified bitumen, EPDM, TPO, built-up roofing, a coating, asphalt shingle or slate
• What happens at each parapet: flashing, coping, any masonry
• What happens at the cornice, if anything
• Drains, scuppers, gutters and leaders: cleared, repaired or replaced
• Chimneys, skylights, the hatch and vent pipes
• The shared edges with the neighbors on each side
• How rotten decking found during the job is handled and priced
• Cleanup and debris removal

Once you sign, you can cancel for any reason before midnight of the third business day after you receive your copy. The roofing contractors in Jersey City NJ page covers registration, insurance and payments in full.

The permit question

New Jersey’s Uniform Construction Code treats the repair or replacement of existing roof covering on detached one- and two-family dwellings as ordinary maintenance, with no permit filing. That roof item does not cover attached rowhouses, larger buildings, or work on the deck, rafters or other structure, and the rowhouses around Downtown’s squares are attached. For a rowhouse, a multi-family building, or any structural work, ask the Jersey City construction code office whether a permit is needed before work starts.

Ask the company who will handle that. A company that says it will check with the city, and tells you what it found, is doing what New Jersey consumer guidance asks: making sure all applicable permits are obtained from the municipality. More in the Jersey City roofing permit guide.

Historic districts

Downtown Jersey City grew around three squares: Paulus Hook, Hamilton and Van Vorst. 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. For most flat roofs hidden behind a parapet, the visible parts are the cornice, the front edge and anything that rises above the parapet line. Raise it with the roofing company early, before the scope is final. The article on roof work in a historic district has more.

Getting on and off a tight row

On an attached row there is often no side yard, no driveway and no room for a ladder anywhere but the front or the rear. Materials have to go up and old roofing has to come down through a narrow gap. Ask the company how it plans to do that on your street:

• Where the ladder or hoist goes, front or rear
• Whether any material comes through the house to the roof hatch, and how floors and stairs will be covered
• Where the dumpster or truck will stand, and whether the street needs any city permission for it
• How the sidewalk and the stoop are protected while debris comes down

The neighbors and the shared wall

On a row, your roof meets your neighbor’s at the party wall. Sometimes a low parapet separates them; sometimes the coverings simply join. Either way, the edge is part of the job. The roofer should explain how they will tie the new roof into the neighbor’s, or flash against the dividing wall, so that water cannot run between the two.

Talk with your neighbor before work starts. They may hear and see the work, they may have their own leak at the same line, and occasionally the cleanest fix involves both roofs. A roofing company used to rows will raise this itself.

Tear-off or overlay

On a replacement, the company will either strip the old roof down to the deck or install new covering over what is there. A tear-off lets the roofer see and replace soft decking and start clean at every edge. An overlay leaves the old layers in place. Ask which the company proposes, why, and what it means for the flashing at the parapets. The page on roof replacement in Jersey City goes through the options.

During the job

A roof that is open is a roof that can take rain. Ask how the company protects an open roof if weather turns, and how it covers the top floor if water gets in during the work. Ask who the person in charge on site will be and how to reach them. If something unexpected turns up, such as rotten decking or a damaged parapet, the company should stop, show you, and agree the change in writing before going on.

Cleanup and the final walk-through

At the end, the old material should be gone, the drains and gutters clear, and the sidewalk, stoop and yard free of nails and scraps. Walk through with the roofer, or ask for photos of every edge, the drains and the flashing. Keep the contract, the photos and every receipt together. If the next heavy rain shows a problem, call the company and describe it with photos.

What kinds of roofs a roofing company works on here

Roof	Where you see it	What the work often involves
Flat roof behind parapets	Downtown rows and brownstones, many attached homes	Membrane or built-up covering, parapet flashing, coping, drains and scuppers
Wide low-slope roof	Walk-ups and multi-family buildings	Large membrane areas, several drains, rooftop equipment curbs
Pitched shingle roof	Detached houses and some two-family homes	Shingles, underlayment, valley and chimney flashing, gutters
Slate roof	Older pitched houses	Slate repair by someone who works with slate; flashing and valleys
Cornice	The front of brownstone and brick rows	Its top surface and flashing; ask the city first in a historic district

How to compare roofing companies

Put the written estimates side by side and compare the descriptions, not just the totals. Does each one say what happens at the parapets and the shared edges? Does each name the covering? Does each say tear-off or overlay? A lower total that leaves out the coping, the drains or the cornice is not the same job. Ask each company to explain anything you do not follow, and check each one’s registration and insurance policy the same way.

If you are not yet sure whether you need a repair or a replacement, start with roof repair in Jersey City, or with roof leak repair if water is coming in now.

Questions people ask