Roof replacement in Franklin Lakes, NJ
Many of the large houses built here after I-287 was completed are coming to the end of their first shingle roof, and it is a big roof to replace: steep, full of gables and dormers, on a landscaped lot. We scope that job properly, specify the valleys, membrane and ventilation it needs, and put every line of it in writing.
See our work before you contact us: a Franklin Lakes split-level re-roofed in GAF Charcoal, photographed by our crew. If you are dealing with an isolated leak, start with a roof-repair assessment.
Built in two waves, re-roofed in two ways.
Architectural shingle lasts roughly twenty to thirty years in North Jersey. A custom house finished in the mid-1990s or early 2000s is inside that window today, and a first tear-off on one of them is a different job from re-roofing a colonial or split-level from the years after Route 208 was extended to Oakland in 1959.
A first re-roof on a custom house
One layer to strip, but a great deal of it.
- Many planes, long valleys and steep pitches to stage and strip
- Sheathing checked panel by panel, hardest at eaves, valleys and skylights
- Skylights and flashing the same age as the shingles, due together
- Ventilation laid out by the builder, not balanced for the roof as built
A later roof on a post-Route 208 house
A smaller roof, and more history under it.
- Sometimes two layers to remove where a roofer went over the old one
- A deck nailed through at every previous re-roof
- Wall and chimney flashing that may have been reused last time
- Low-pitch sections that want membrane or metal, not shingle
A split-level whose roof had run out.
Our re-roof in the borough was a split-level, a house type from the older of those two layers. Its owner had only just closed on the house, and the roof had reached the end of its life. The job was a full shingle replacement and, alongside it, a partial deck replacement.
The new roof is GAF shingles in Charcoal, which sit easily over the gray siding, white trim and black shutters, and it carries our lifetime warranty on the workmanship. New gutters were the next item, so the roof and the water leaving it work as one system. The photographs are on the project page.
Five details that decide how long it lasts.
The shingle is the line every estimate agrees on. On a roof with this many planes, these are where two quotes part company, and ours names each one.
| Detail | Why it matters here | What our estimate specifies |
|---|---|---|
| Valleys | A long valley drains two big slopes and fills with leaves under the canopy. Laminated architectural shingle is not meant to be woven. | An open valley lined in formed metal over membrane, or a closed-cut valley to the manufacturer’s detail — named, not “as needed” |
| Ice barrier | Shaded north slopes hold snow, and ice forms at their eaves and in the valleys. | Membrane from the eave to at least 24 inches inside the exterior wall, the full length of every valley, and around each skylight, chimney and wall |
| Ventilation | A hip roof has little ridge to vent through, and dormers and vaulted sections break the airflow up. | Intake and exhaust balanced for the roof as built: ridge vent where there is ridge, other exhaust on short-ridged hips, soffits opened |
| Deck | Water reaches the sheathing first at eaves, valleys and skylight curbs. | Every panel checked after tear-off; damaged sheathing replaced and priced per sheet, in writing |
| Flashing | Step and wall flashing is as old as the shingles, at every dormer and chimney. | New formed metal throughout, with kick-outs where a roof ends at a wall; skylights re-flashed or replaced with the roof, not after it |
Planning a tear-off on a large wooded lot.
A roof this size produces a lot of old shingle, and on a long driveway the container rarely stands right beside the house. We settle at the estimate visit where it goes, how old roofing travels from each slope without crossing a planted bed, and where new material is landed.
The steepest planes are worked from roof jacks and staging. Trees that overhang the roof are noted too, because a limb brushing the new shingles wears them and keeps a patch permanently damp. Any permit the job needs is filed by us, and all of it is itemized on the written estimate before you sign anything.
Materials for a house of this size.
Architectural asphalt
The sensible default on most houses here. It suits their scale and runs $4–$7 per square foot for the roof itself, with tear-off a separate $2–$6 per square foot line. More on architectural asphalt shingle.
Synthetic slate
The look of slate on framing never designed to carry stone. It is priced as a whole roof: $50,000–$75,000 for a 2,500 square foot roof. The custom houses here tend to carry a good deal more roof than that, so theirs is priced once we have measured it.
Standing seam on the low sections
Porch roofs, shed dormers and low-pitched sections near the lower limit for shingle. Coated steel runs $12–$18 per square foot, and it sits comfortably beside shingle on the main slopes. See standing seam metal.
Natural slate or cedar, where the house was built for it
On the turn-of-the-century estates, or a custom house framed for stone, natural slate is usually what the architecture expects. Cedar is priced after we measure.
Each figure is a range; the number for your house arrives on an itemized written estimate after a free inspection, with the manufacturer warranty registered in your name at the end. Costs for each material, with whole-roof totals for different kinds of house, are set out in the roof replacement cost guide.
The rest of the roof, and what drains off it.
Roof repair
Valleys, dormer walls and skylights on roofs with years left in them.
Franklin Lakes →Gutters
Seamless runs sized for big roofs and wooded lots.
Franklin Lakes →Our re-roof in town
The split-level in GAF Charcoal, photographed by us.
Project →Franklin Lakes
Lakes, foothills and the houses built on them.
The borough →Our house was built in the late 1990s. Is the roof due?
Quite possibly. An architectural shingle roof here is good for about twenty to thirty years, so one laid in the late 1990s is inside that span. Age is not the test on its own, though: granules washing out of the downspouts, shingles curling across several slopes and leaks at unrelated spots say the field is done. A free inspection tells you which you have, with photographs.
How do you protect a landscaped lot and a long driveway?
The container goes where we agreed at the estimate visit, standing on boards so the paving is not marked. Planted beds, shrubs and walls close to the house are covered, old roofing comes down in chutes rather than being thrown into the planting, and the lawn and drive are gone over with a magnet before the crew leaves each evening.
Should the skylights be replaced along with the roof?
If they are as old as the roof, usually yes. A skylight's flashing kit is meant to be woven into the new courses, and replacing a tired unit a few years later means cutting into brand-new shingles to do it. A unit that is still sound is re-flashed with the new roof and the glass is left alone.
Can we change from asphalt to synthetic slate or standing seam?
Yes, once the framing has been looked at. Synthetic slate is far lighter than stone and suits most houses framed for shingle; standing seam is lighter still and is a good fit for porches and low sections while shingle stays on the main slopes. A new material changes how the house looks from the street, so we bring samples before you decide.
Who deals with the permit and the manufacturer warranty?
We do. Re-roofing a detached house is ordinary maintenance under New Jersey's construction code and needs no permit, but replacing sheathing does; when the job needs one, we file it and book the inspection. The manufacturer's system warranty is registered in your name before we close out, with the confirmation and photographs of the completed roof sent to you.
A Franklin Lakes roof, scoped in writing.
Measured, photographed and itemized line by line, from the valleys to the warranty paperwork.