A few postwar decades built most of it
Streets that went up together age together: most roofs have been recovered once or twice, and a second layer hides the flashing. We count layers at the eave, probe the deck, and price the tear-off first.
North-west Bergen · Bergen County · 07446
Roofing & exteriors in Ramsey, NJ
Ramsey is a railroad village turned commuter borough in the Ramapo Valley foothills, 5.57 square miles split by Route 17, with the Main Street village and its 1868 station on the west side. Berry farms became house lots after the highway came through in the 1950s, so most roofs, walls and gutters here date from the same postwar decades. We roof, side, re-window and re-gutter those houses.
In detail
This was Dutch farm country; the Old Stone House, a rubble-stone farmhouse of the early 1700s, was a Revolutionary War tavern and a stagecoach stop. In 1848 the Paterson and Ramapo Railroad named its stop for landowner Peter J. Ramsey, and the village grew into a strawberry-shipping hub that sent about a million baskets to New York in 1851. The Main Street station dates from 1868, the borough from 1908, and in the borough's own words, “the homes of commuters have displaced our berry patches and orchards.”
The ground matters. Ramsey sits at roughly 351 feet of elevation in the foothills below the Ramapo Mountains of neighboring Mahwah, higher and more wooded than eastern Bergen County. There is no river inside its borders, only small ponds like Suraci Pond and Garrison Pond, and no documented flood zone; water here is a lot problem, not a floodplain problem. Route 17 was pushed through in the 1950s, the best marker for when the farmland turned into streets of colonials, split-levels, capes and ranches. A house of that era usually means an asphalt-shingle gable roof on its second or third covering and clapboard under a later skin of aluminum or vinyl. Add single-pane wood sash and 5-inch gutters under trees that have had decades to grow.
If the ceiling is stained, start with roof repair and where leaks come from; if the trouble is at the eave or the foundation, start with gutters.
What is different here
Roofing in Ramsey: what the borough asks of us
Higher, colder, under the trees
Elevation and canopy mean leaf load in the gutters, moss on north-facing pitches and ice at the eaves when attic heat escapes. We fit guards that shed rather than trap, add ice-and-water membrane at eaves and valleys, and fix the ventilation.
No river, so the lot decides
With no floodplain to blame, wet basements here trace back to the roof edge: a gutter overshooting in heavy rain, a downspout emptying at the foundation. We size to the roof area, run downspouts to daylight, and keep siding and trim clear of grade.
Two towns in one borough
Route 17 divides the Victorian-era village around Main Street and the station from the postwar streets. Village houses carry steeper roofs, wood trim and original sash that deserve cedar, standing seam or restoration; the splits and capes want a well-detailed shingle roof and gutters that fit.
Materials
What Ramsey's houses actually need
01
Architectural shingle, cedar and metal where the house earns it
On the postwar gables, a GAF or CertainTeed architectural shingle, ice-and-water membrane at eaves, valleys and walls, and a working ridge vent. On the village houses, cedar shake or standing seam where the roof was built for it; see our metal roof cost guide.
02
Siding that replaces the skin, not just covers it
Aluminum or vinyl over the original clapboard with no weather barrier behind it is common at this age. We open a test area, photograph what is under it, and re-clad in fiber cement or quality vinyl over a proper weather-resistive barrier, flashed at every opening.
03
Windows and doors sized to the opening
A replacement sash in a sound frame keeps the trim and the look of the street; a rotted frame gets a full-frame unit flashed into the siding. On village houses we look at restoring original wood sash first. Prices are in our window cost guide.
04
Gutters and guards for a wooded lot
Seamless aluminum, 6-inch where the roof area calls for it, downspouts to daylight, and a guard chosen for broad leaf; our gutter guard guide explains which types clog. Decks round out the list.
North-west Bergen
Larger lots, higher ground, roofs that live under the trees.
North-west Bergen is the county's hill country, climbing toward the Ramapos: bigger lots, older estates beside postwar subdivisions, deeper canopy and longer winters on north-facing slopes. Roofs here shed more leaf, hold snow longer and freeze harder at the eave, so ventilation, membrane and gutter sizing decide how long a covering lasts.
Where we work
Neighborhoods and streets we work in Ramsey
ZIP code served: 07446.
- Main Street and Central Avenue — the Victorian-era village core around the 1868 station; steeper roofs, wood trim and original sash.
- Franklin Turnpike — the historic north–south route, with houses of several eras along it.
- Either side of Route 17 — the postwar colonials, splits, capes and ranches that make up most of the borough, and the 2004 Route 17 station.
- Around Finch Park and the Ramsey Municipal Pool — lots under mature trees, where gutter guards and attic ventilation earn their keep.
- Suraci Pond and Garrison Pond — the low spots on high ground, where downspouts must reach daylight and grade must fall away.
In short
Ramsey response, anywhere in 07446. Call (201) 446-5941 or request a free written estimate online.
Nearby
Adjacent Bergen towns
Questions
Does Johannemann & Sons serve Ramsey, NJ?
Yes — every street in 07446, on both sides of Route 17, from our Edgewater base. Ramsey is a commuter borough in the Ramapo Valley foothills that filled in on farmland after the highway came through in the 1950s. The work is what those houses need: architectural shingle roofing and leak repair, siding over the original wall, window and door replacement, gutters sized for a wooded lot, and decks. The older village houses around Main Street get cedar, standing seam or slate where the house was built for it.
My gutters fill with leaves every fall and I get ice at the eaves every winter. What actually fixes it?
Two problems, one roof edge. Leaf load is a gutter problem, and Ramsey is higher and more wooded than eastern Bergen. We size gutters to the roof area, usually 6-inch on a full-width pitch, and fit a guard that sheds leaves without clogging the downspout. Ice at the eave is an attic problem: heat escaping through a thin ceiling melts snow that refreezes over the cold overhang. We measure insulation and ventilation, add ice-and-water membrane at the eaves on any reroof, and correct the airflow so the roof stays cold.
Do I need a permit to replace a roof or siding in Ramsey, and do you handle it?
In New Jersey, like-for-like roofing and siding on a one- or two-family house is generally treated as ordinary maintenance and does not need a construction permit. Decks, new window openings and structural repair to the roof deck or framing do, and the borough issues them. We tell you which applies before we price the job and file anything that must be filed. On a postwar Ramsey house we also count shingle layers at the eave: code allows two, and a third means the roof comes off, which changes the price.
Free assessment
Roofing for the homes of Ramsey, NJ.
A free written estimate with photographs and materials named by manufacturer and line, from a Bergen County exterior crew.