Shingle Roof Repair & Replacement in Union City, NJ

Do Union City homes have shingle roofs or flat roofs?

Both — and often on the same building. Union City is one of the most densely built places in New Jersey, and most of its housing is two-, three- and four-family buildings and attached row homes packed close together. Many of the brick and larger frame buildings have flat or low-slope roofs. But a good share of the frame houses, especially the older two-family homes, have a pitched front or main roof covered in asphalt shingles, with a flat or low-slope section over the rear.

That mix matters when you call a roofer. A shingle roof and a flat roof are built in completely different ways, and the leak is often right where they meet. We repair and replace both, so one crew can look at the whole roof instead of sending you to two companies.

• Pitched shingle roofs — gable or hip fronts, dormers, mansard-style faces on some older buildings.
• Flat and low-slope roofs — rear sections, whole roofs on brick buildings, porch and bay roofs. We install EPDM, TPO and modified bitumen. See flat roof replacement.
• Party walls and shared edges — on attached homes, your roof edge may butt directly against a neighbour's, which changes how flashing has to be done.

Why shingles blow off Union City roofs

Union City sits on top of the Palisades ridge, high above the Hudson River and the Meadowlands, so wind reaches roofs here with very little to slow it down. Shingles fail in wind for a few predictable reasons:

• The seal strip lets go. Each shingle is glued to the one below by a strip of sealant. Old, brittle shingles — or shingles installed in cold weather that never sealed — can lift, crease and tear off.
• Edges are the weak spot. Wind pulls hardest at eaves, rakes and ridges. A missing or loose drip edge and poorly fastened starter course make edge blow-offs much more likely.
• Nailing was off. Nails placed too high, too few, or driven crooked don't hold the shingle the way the manufacturer intended.
• Ridge caps crack. Ridge caps take the full wind and sun, and on older roofs they split and come loose first.

One or two missing shingles is a repair. A roof that keeps losing shingles every windy season usually means the shingles have aged past the point where they'll reseal — that's when replacement is worth talking about. After a big storm, see storm damage roof repair.

How a shingle roof replacement works on a tight Union City lot

Replacing a shingle roof in Union City is the same job as anywhere else — but with houses a few feet apart, little or no driveway and street parking, the planning matters more. Here's how the work runs:

1. Protect the neighbours. Old shingles and nails can land on the house next door. We cover adjoining roofs, windows and walkways where we can reach them, and we tell you if we need a neighbour's permission to set a ladder.
2. Plan the debris. Where a dumpster can go — and whether the street allows one — is part of the estimate. On narrow lots, debris may come down by chute or be hand-carried.
3. Tear off to the deck. Every old layer comes off so we can see and replace rotted boards. Many older Union City roofs have more than one layer, which adds tear-off time.
4. Waterproof the details. Drip edge at the edges, ice & water barrier at the eaves, valleys and around chimneys and pipes, synthetic underlayment across the rest.
5. Flash the walls and chimneys. New step and counter flashing where the roof meets brick, siding or a taller building next door.
6. Shingles and ventilation. Shingles installed to manufacturer specs, with the right intake and exhaust so the attic doesn't trap heat and moisture.
7. Clean up and walk through. Daily cleanup, a magnet sweep for nails along the sidewalk and yard, a final walkthrough, and the manufacturer warranty registered where it applies.

Full step-by-step: the roof replacement process.

3-tab, architectural or designer shingles?

We'll show you samples and explain the wind rating and warranty terms of the specific line you choose. See asphalt shingle roof replacement for more.

Roofing near Union City: West New York, Weehawken & Hudson County

We work across Hudson County and the rest of North Jersey from our base in Garfield. Nearby pages:

• Roof repair in Union City
• Instalación de techos en West New York
• Emergency roof repair in Weehawken
• Roof replacement in Hudson County
• Roof replacement in New Jersey
• Exterior work in Union City

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