Roof repair in Ho-Ho-Kus, NJ
Most roofs in Ho-Ho-Kus sit on colonials, capes and Tudors under a heavy tree canopy, and they leak at their junctions long before the open slopes wear out. We trace where the water is really getting in, photograph it for you, and mend it in whatever the roof is made of.
Five junctions that let water into a Ho-Ho-Kus roof.
The open slopes of a steep gable shed rain well. The trouble sits wherever that surface is interrupted, and on the borough’s house types those places are predictable.
Valleys packed with leaves
A cross-gabled colonial or Tudor funnels two slopes of rain into each valley. Under old trees, leaves settle there every fall and pack into a wet mat that holds water against the lining and pushes it sideways under the courses. A worn valley, or one sealed with cement, has to be rebuilt.
The break in a Dutch Colonial roof
A gambrel changes pitch partway up, and many Dutch Colonials add a long shed dormer across the lower slope. Both put a nearly flat joint in the middle of the roof, where water slows down and finds any lap cut short or nailed too high.
Tudor walls rising out of the roof
Where a stucco or half-timbered wall meets a roof slope, the step flashing should run up behind the wall finish under a counter-flashing. Where the stucco was simply brought down onto the shingles, water gets behind it and shows on the wall below, sometimes a story from where it entered.
Masonry chimneys
A tall brick or stone chimney can let water in past its flashing, through a cracked crown, or through mortar joints worn open. New flashing on a chimney with open joints still leaks, so the masonry is checked on the same visit.
Shaded north slopes and overhanging limbs
A slope that barely sees the sun holds its wetness long after the rain stops. Moss pries up shingle edges, and the fastenings on older slate or wood details corrode faster. A branch resting on the roof or rubbing it in the wind scours off granules and wears through the laps beneath.
We trace the water first, then we price the repair.
On a steep colonial or a Tudor, water that slips past a flashing can run along the underside of the deck and drop into the house well down the slope. So where there is an attic, we start there, with damp boards, rusty nail points and wet insulation, and work back up the roof to the detail that failed.
Plenty of capes and Tudors have rooms built into the roof and no attic to climb into. There we test with water instead, wetting the roof a section at a time from the eaves upward until the leak shows.
Not every stain is the roof. An overflowing gutter, a window head in a stucco wall or an open siding joint can each pass for one, and when that is the cause we say so. The walls have a page of their own: siding in Ho-Ho-Kus.
The inspection is free and ends in a written report with photographs of the entry point and an itemized repair price. The same visit can cover the whole roof: see roof inspection.
Shingle, slate or wood, repaired in kind.
Most houses in the borough carry architectural shingle; some older houses and Tudors keep slate or wood shingle. Each fails in its own way and is repaired in its own material.
| Roof | What usually fails | How it is repaired |
|---|---|---|
| Architectural asphalt | Cracked vent boots, lifted or creased shingles, worn valleys, flashing bedded in cement | Boots and shingles replaced with the same product if it is still manufactured; flashing rebuilt in formed metal |
| Slate | A piece slipped off a rusted nail, a cracked slate, worn valley or chimney metal | Matched slate on copper nails or slate hooks; valleys and flashings renewed in metal. More on slate roofing |
| Wood shingle and cedar | Split or cupped shingles on damp slopes, corroded fasteners, moss | Single shingles replaced at the same exposure with stainless fasteners. More on cedar shake |
Roofing cement over a slate or cedar detail is only ever a stopgap for the day, and when we use it, we call it one.
Plenty of leaks here begin in the gutter.
A gutter packed with leaves backs water up over its lip and down behind it, soaking the fascia and the top of the wall; from inside, that looks exactly like a failed roof. Under the canopy on most Ho-Ho-Kus streets that is a fall and spring event, so the gutters are part of every leak we trace.
Then there is where the water goes. The low ground along the Ho-Ho-Kus Brook, through the downtown and past the Warren Avenue Bridge, is the borough’s flood-prone corridor, and a downspout emptying beside a foundation there adds roof water to ground already holding plenty. On those lots each downspout’s outlet gets as much attention as the roof, and one feeding a wet foundation is extended or rerouted.
More on gutters in Ho-Ho-Kus and on gutter care under heavy trees.
What a repair usually runs.
Replacing a plumbing or vent boot costs $150–$600. Chimney re-flashing or re-pointing is $500–$2,500, and a valley rebuild $800–$4,000+. Lifted or missing shingles or slipped slate come to $400–$1,500, and a slate repair covering 5–20 slates and a valley to $1,500–$6,000. Across most leaks, the bill lands at $400–$3,000. You pay nothing for the inspection that sets the price, and the repair price is on paper before anyone lifts a shingle.
Phone (201) 446-5941 and skip the email. We get someone to an active leak within 24 hours, year-round, to find the source and close the roof up. What to do while you wait is on urgent leak repair.
If the roof needs more than a repair.
How fast can someone look at a roof leak in Ho-Ho-Kus?
We assess an active leak within 24 hours, at any time of year. That visit finds the entry point and makes the roof weathertight if it is open; the permanent fix comes on a dry day. If water is falling into a room right now, ring (201) 446-5941; email is the slow route.
My house has a slate roof. Can it still be repaired?
In most cases, yes. Slate usually leaks because a nail has rusted through and let a piece slide, because one has cracked, or because valley or chimney metal has worn out. Broken pieces are replaced with slate matched in size, thickness and color. If a large share of the slates are flaking or splitting, we tell you the roof is past repair and show you why.
Why does the same spot keep leaking after it was patched?
Usually because the patch went where the stain was rather than where the water enters, or because roofing cement was spread over a flashing that needed replacing. Cement cracks as the roof heats and cools. We follow the leak back to its entry point, repair that detail in formed metal or matching material, and photograph the finished work.
Will you tell me if the roof needs replacing instead?
Yes, with the evidence. When the shingles are brittle and shedding granules across whole slopes, or the deck is soft underfoot, a repair only buys a little time, and the inspection report says so with photographs. When one failed detail is the whole problem, we repair that and leave a sound roof alone.
Is it worth having the roof looked at before it leaks?
Yes, and the inspection is free. Flashings, valleys, chimney, gutters and the open slopes are all looked at, and the written report keeps what needs doing now apart from what can wait. Under trees like these, late fall, once the leaves are down, is a good time for it.
A Ho-Ho-Kus roof, repaired where it actually leaks.
Traced, photographed and priced in writing first, then fixed in matching material by our crews from Edgewater.