Compact lots, close neighbors
Houses here stand a driveway's width apart. Siding and gutter work means protecting the property next door and routing downspouts so they do not discharge onto it. We plan that before the first section is hung.
Central Bergen · Bergen County · 07407
Roofing & exteriors in Elmwood Park, NJ
Elmwood Park was East Paterson until 1973 and ninety-five percent built out by 1970, so its streets are post-war capes, small colonials, splits and bi-levels on compact lots between the Passaic and Saddle rivers. Simple gable roofs under asphalt, aluminum or vinyl over the original siding, five-inch gutters on flat ground: that is the work here.
In detail
The borough sits on the western edge of Bergen County, with the Passaic River as its boundary and Paterson and Clifton on the far bank. It incorporated in 1916 as East Paterson, a mill-worker town of 2,440 people, and grew slowly until the 1940s, when defense-worker housing and then large subdivisions pushed the population toward 16,000. A golf course and country club along Broadway gave way to houses and about a thousand garden apartments, and the streets still show it.
For an exterior contractor that means consistency. Most roofs are simple gables and hips on one-and-a-half and two-story frames, now on their second or third asphalt roof, over attics finished into bedrooms with little thought for ventilation. Walls were re-clad in aluminum and later vinyl, usually straight over the original wood or asbestos-cement boards. Gutters are five-inch aluminum on lots where the downspout has nowhere to go but the driveway.
Nearer the river, in the pre-1916 core around Dundee Lake and Broadway, the stock is older: frame houses from the mill years, with steeper roofs, wood windows and a century of patched flashing. The Van Houten–Hillman House of about 1782 shows what was here first. We approach each era on its own terms — roofing, siding, windows & doors, gutters — and write up what we find before anything is priced.
Conditions
What is different in Elmwood Park
Siding over siding
Aluminum and later vinyl were hung over the original cladding on much of the post-war stock, and the sheathing underneath has not been seen in decades. We open a test section before quoting a re-side, so the price reflects the wall you actually have.
Highway corridors, open exposure
The Garden State Parkway, Interstate 80, Route 46 and Route 4 all cut through the borough. Houses along those rights-of-way sit in the open, not under street trees, and take full sun and wind. We specify shingles by wind rating and nail pattern, not by color chart.
Low, flat river-valley ground
Elmwood Park lies in the Passaic valley and the land is flat, so water leaving a downspout goes nowhere on its own. We extend leaders to daylight, set splash blocks where grading allows, and on the riverfront blocks ask about flood history before recommending anything below grade.
Materials
What this housing stock actually needs
01
Architectural shingle, with the attic ventilated
A heavy laminated shingle with a high wind rating, ice-barrier membrane at the eaves, and intake plus ridge ventilation — the piece earlier roofs skipped. A finished attic with no airflow is where ice dams and curled shingles begin; we explain why.
02
Low-slope membrane on the flat sections
Bi-level entries, porch roofs and attached garages are often near-flat and were shingled anyway; shingles on a low slope leak at the laps. Those sections get a fully adhered membrane, flashed into the main roof.
03
Siding that fixes the wall, not just the color
Fiber cement or insulated vinyl over a fresh water-resistive barrier, sheathing repaired where it has failed, and every opening re-flashed. It is also the right moment to replace tired 1950s and 1960s windows and doors, so the two trades leave no seam for water to find.
04
Six-inch gutters sized to the roof
Five-inch gutters were the default here and overflow in a heavy rain where two roof planes meet in one corner. We size gutters and downspouts to the actual roof area and route the leaders so water leaves the foundation.
Central Bergen
Tight lots and post-war roofs ask for drainage first, then everything else.
Central Bergen is among the county's most closely built parts: capes, splits and colonials from one building boom, on flat river-valley lots where the neighbor is a few steps away. The job here is getting water off the roof and away from two foundations at once, before the finishes are chosen.
Where we work
Neighborhoods and streets we work in Elmwood Park
ZIP code served: 07407.
- Dundee Lake — the community's pre-1916 name and oldest section, by the Passaic, mill-era frame houses among later infill
- The Passaic riverfront blocks near the former Marcal plant site — low, flat ground where downspout routing matters as much as the roof
- Broadway — where a golf course once ran, now post-war houses and garden apartments alongside the commercial strip
- Market Street and the streets around Borough Hall — capes and small colonials at the borough's center
- Cherry Hill, Passaic Junction and Rosemont — the borough's other historic neighborhood names, served like the rest of 07407
- Around Artesian Fields County Park and Elmwood Park Memorial High School — post-war houses on flat interior lots
In short
Elmwood Park response, anywhere in 07407. Call (201) 446-5941 or request a free written estimate online.
Nearby
Adjacent Bergen towns
Questions
Does Johannemann & Sons serve Elmwood Park, NJ?
Yes — all of Elmwood Park, ZIP 07407, from the Passaic riverfront blocks near the old Marcal site to the streets around Broadway and Market Street. The borough was ninety-five percent built out by 1970, so most of what we see is post-war: capes, small colonials, split-levels and bi-levels on compact lots. We replace and repair shingle roofs, re-side over or in place of aluminum and vinyl, replace windows and doors, and size gutters to the roof that drains into them. Every estimate is written, with photographs.
My split-level has aluminum siding over the original boards. Should it come off before new siding goes on?
Usually, yes. Aluminum and vinyl were often hung straight over the original wood or asbestos-cement cladding on Elmwood Park's 1950s and 1960s houses, and what is underneath has been out of sight for decades. We open a test section at a window sill and a bottom course first. If the sheathing is sound, a full strip lets us add a proper water-resistive barrier, flash every window correctly and get the walls flat. If we find rot, you want to know before it is covered again.
What roof makes sense on a 1950s cape in Elmwood Park?
For a simple gable under asphalt: a heavier architectural shingle with a high wind rating, ice-barrier membrane at the eaves and valleys, and real intake and ridge ventilation. Capes of this era often have finished attics with almost no airflow, which is where ice dams and premature shingle wear start. A low-slope porch, breezeway or garage roof gets a membrane, not shingles. We specify the whole assembly in writing so you can compare quotes line by line.
Free assessment
Roofing for the homes of Elmwood Park, NJ.
A free written estimate with photographs and the materials named by product, from a Bergen County exterior crew based in Edgewater.