Roof replacement starts with a full tear-off. We strip the old asphalt shingle, pull every fastener, and check the roof deck for rot. A pry bar and roofing shovel clear the courses; a dumpster in the driveway hauls the debris off the same week.
Under the shingles we install synthetic underlayment and a self-adhered ice-and-water shield along the eaves and valleys, which stops ice dams from backing water up under the field. Drip edge protects the fascia, and ridge vents let attic heat escape.
You save money by doing this once. A failing roof lets water wick into the sheathing, trusses, and insulation, and a patch on a twenty-year-old roof rarely outlasts the shingles around it. Proper ventilation and a hand-sealed chimney flashing keep the whole assembly dry.
Soft sheathing gets replaced, not covered. We swap rotted plywood or OSB panels, sister in new rafter tails where the eave has pulled away from the truss, and check the deck is flat before the starter course goes on.
Asphalt shingles are a fiberglass mat coated in bitumen; tar and pitch were the old sealers, and they are one reason we replace instead of adding another layer. If the eave has sagged, we check the joists and soffit before anything else.
Hip and gable roofs shed water differently, and the verge at a gable end needs the same starter course and drip edge as the eave. Waterproofing lives in the details — edge metal, flashing, and a flat substrate — not in the shingle itself.
Most homes here take two to four days from tear-off to final walkthrough. We register the manufacturer warranty, and every detail meets New Jersey building code for fastening, ventilation, and ice-and-water protection.
- The roof deck — plywood or OSB sheathing nailed to the trusses — is the part you never see and the part that decides how long the new roof lasts.
- Drip edge goes down before the underlayment, folding over the fascia so runoff leaves the eave cleanly instead of curling back under the shingles.
- Ridge cap shingles cover the peak, and ridge vents above the soffit vents pull hot attic air up and out.
- Valley flashing is cut or woven where two roof planes meet, which is where most of the leaks we find on older homes begin.
- Step flashing, counter-flashing, apron flashing, and boot flashing seal the joints at sidewalls, chimneys, and plumbing vents, where a pipe boot fails first.
- Starter course along the eave and rake, then staggered courses across the field, with ring-shank nails, screws, and other fasteners set at the right depth by nail gun.
- Architectural shingles — GAF Timberline, Owens Corning Duration, CertainTeed Landmark — carry longer warranties than the three-tab shingle they replace.
- Cedar shake and wood shake suit the older farmhouses and historic homes nearby, but they need more upkeep than asphalt.
- Slate, clay tile, and concrete tile are heavy, long-lived, and often the only honest match for a genuine historic roofline.
- Standing-seam metal panel and corrugated panel shed Nor'easter rain and snow well, and a metal panel roof holds up where tree limbs fall.
- Low-slope sections over a dormer, porch, or commercial parapet take torch-applied modified bitumen, a built-up roof, or a single-ply membrane such as TPO, EPDM, or PVC membrane.
- Tar paper and roofing felt were the old underlayments; synthetic underlayment replaced them because it resists tearing and UV before the shingles go on.
- Sealant, caulk, roof cement, and mastic close the small gaps at flashing beads, and a coating or vapor barrier goes on flat sections to keep moisture out.
- Gutters and downspouts get re-hung or replaced so the water leaving the roof actually leaves the house, and soffit vents keep intake air moving.
- Mansard and gambrel rooflines, parapet walls with coping and scuppers, and a small canopy or awning over an entry all get detailed by hand.
- On a standing-seam or tile roof we run battens and counterbattens over the substrate so the panels can move with the temperature.
- A skylight, attic fan, snow guard, or roof anchor gets set into the new system rather than patched into the old one.
- Scaffold, ladder, and safety harness come out for anything above a single story, and a roofing square and air compressor ride on the truck for every job.
Call 732-466-1707 to schedule a roof inspection and a free roof estimate. We are licensed and insured, and we will tell you plainly when a repair is the better call.
