Roofing questions, answered straight

No. The inspection is free, and so is the report. We look at the whole roof system, photograph what we find, and give you a written assessment with a plain recommendation: repair, replace, or leave it alone. You keep the report whether or not you ever hire us, and nobody will lean on you to book work.

Montgomery is our main service area, including Skillman, Belle Mead, Blawenburg and Harlingen. We also work across Hillsborough, Bridgewater, Warren, South Brunswick, Princeton, West Windsor, Bernards, Branchburg, East Brunswick, Franklin Township, Edison, Hamilton, Piscataway and East Windsor, plus the surrounding Somerset, Mercer and Middlesex County towns. We run two offices with our own crews, so most of the area is a short drive either way. If you are not sure whether your street is in, tell us the address and we will give you a straight answer.

Yes. Skylight Roofing & Restoration is a licensed and insured New Jersey contractor, registered with the NJ Division of Consumer Affairs under Home Improvement Contractor licence #13VH11268000. That number is on our paperwork and at the bottom of every page here, and you can check it yourself on the state register. We are also an Owens Corning Roofing Platinum Preferred Contractor.

No. Our own crews do the work. The people who quote your roof are the people who turn up to do it, which is how the detailing stays consistent from tear off to the last shingle. It also means there is one company answerable for the result, not a chain of them pointing at each other.

We agree a time, a roofer comes out, and the inspection takes roughly 45 to 90 minutes depending on the size and shape of the roof. You do not need to be home for the outside part, though it is worth being there for the walkthrough at the end. The written report follows, with photos. If work makes sense you get an itemised quote you can read line by line.

Asphalt shingle roofs, both architectural and older 3 tab, which is the large majority of homes here. Also cedar shake, slate and tile, standing seam metal, and low slope or flat sections over porches, dormers and additions. Skylights are in our name: we install, replace and repair them, including VELUX units, as part of a roof or on their own.

3 tab shingles typically last 15 to 20 years here and architectural shingles 22 to 30 years. New Jersey weather works against the top of those ranges. Nor’easter wind, summer heat cycling, ice dams and humidity all shorten real world life compared with the number on the wrapper. Insurers start getting strict well before the shingles actually fail, often past year 15.

Cedar shake runs 20 to 35 years with real maintenance and much less without it. Slate and tile last 50 to 100 years or more, and on those roofs the flashing and the fixings usually fail long before the material does. Standing seam metal runs 40 to 70 years at a higher upfront cost. Around the Sourlands and the older parts of our area we still see all three.

There is no single right answer, and anyone who gives you one is selling. Architectural asphalt is the New Jersey standard because it balances cost, wind rating and lifespan, and it is what most quotes here are built on. Cedar and slate are about matching an older house. Metal is a long horizon choice. What matters more than the material is the installation, the flashing details and the ventilation underneath it.

Yes. Porch roofs, dormers, additions and rear extensions often have a low slope section that cannot take shingles and needs a membrane system instead. Where a low slope section meets a pitched roof is one of the most common places we find leaks, because it is the join that gets detailed badly.

It takes an inspection to answer honestly, but the line usually falls in a predictable place. A repair fits when the damage is in one area, the roof is not near the end of its life, and the decking and underlayment are sound: a few lifted shingles after a wind event, a failed pipe boot, flashing that has pulled away. Replacement is the honest answer when wear is spread across the whole roof, the decking is soft, repairs are stacking up, or the cost of fixing it is approaching a real fraction of doing it properly.

Often, yes, and on a sound roof that is exactly what we recommend. The caveats are honest ones. Shingles discontinue, so an exact colour match on an older roof is not always possible and the repair may be visible. And if the roof is already near the end of its life, patching one slope buys less time than it looks like it will.

Most of what ends a roof is invisible from the ground. Flashing separating at a chimney or wall, nail pops, granule loss, a soft patch of decking, blocked ventilation, a skylight seal starting to go. By the time it shows on your ceiling the water has usually been getting in for a while. Once a roof passes 15 years, or after any serious wind, it is worth a look.

Yes, and it happens often. Plenty of roofs that get called finished can be repaired and serve for years more. When a repair is the smarter move that is what we put in writing, even though it is the smaller job for us. We would rather be the company you call in five years than the one that oversold you today.

Yes, and this is the most common reason people call us. New Jersey carriers have been reviewing roof age at renewal and asking for evidence of condition, sometimes threatening non renewal on roofs that are not actually leaking. We provide a photo documented roof condition report written so you can send it straight to your carrier. In our experience a good number end there, or with a targeted repair, rather than a full replacement. We cannot promise a carrier will change its mind, and if the decision was about roof age alone or about the company pulling back from New Jersey, no report will move it.

Yes. We document the damage properly with photographs, put the scope in writing, and can be there when the adjuster inspects so that the same roof is being discussed by everyone. What we will not do is tell you that you have a claim when you do not, because a denied claim still goes on your record.

No, and be careful with anyone who offers to. Absorbing a homeowner’s deductible means the claim is being inflated to hide it, which is insurance fraud, and it is your name on the claim as well as theirs. We collect the deductible, and our quote is the real price of the work either way.

It depends on what actually happened. Insurance is for sudden, identifiable damage: gusts that stripped shingles, a limb that came through, storm driven water. It is not for wear, age or deferred maintenance, and filing for those tends to produce a denial rather than a cheque. Around here the threshold worth knowing is roughly 60 mph, which is where gusts start doing the kind of damage carriers recognise. We inspect first and tell you honestly whether a claim is worth opening.

A first denial is not always the end of it. Adjusters miss damage, particularly on the slopes they could not see well, and a re inspection with proper documentation sometimes changes the outcome. We can photograph the roof thoroughly and give you evidence to go back with. Sometimes it works and sometimes the denial was right, and we will tell you which one we think you are looking at.

Most asphalt shingle replacements on a single family home here are a one to three day job once the crew starts. Size, pitch, how cut up the roof is, the number of skylights and chimneys, and whatever we find under the old shingles all move that. Cedar and slate work take considerably longer. You get a realistic window before we start, not an optimistic one.

Yes, where one is needed, and it is worth knowing that often it is not. Since March 2018 a straight shingle replacement on a one or two family home in New Jersey counts as ordinary maintenance under the state rules and does not require a permit. Structural work, decking replacement beyond a certain point, and most skylight and low slope work still do. We tell you which side of that line your job falls on before we start.

No. We arrange access ahead of time and keep you updated as the job moves. Plenty of our customers are at work through the whole thing. If you would rather be there for the tear off or the final walkthrough, that is easy to arrange.

We do not tear off a roof with rain in the forecast. Weather here turns quickly, especially through nor’easter season, so the schedule is built around it and we would rather move a start date than open a roof we cannot close. If conditions change mid job the exposed area gets covered and secured before anyone leaves.

Roofing is loud and it is dirty, and pretending otherwise helps nobody. Tear off is the worst of it: hammering, nail guns, and old shingles coming off into a container. We protect plantings and the driveway, run magnets over the ground for nails at the end of each day, and do a proper sweep before we call it finished. If you work from home or have a baby sleeping, tell us and we will plan the noisy hours around it.

Most asphalt shingle replacements on single family New Jersey homes land between $10,000 and $24,000. Roof area, pitch, complexity, tear off conditions, material choice and details like skylights and chimneys all move the number. We publish full ranges by roof size on our roof replacement cost page, with no form to fill in first. What we will not do is give you a firm price over the phone without seeing the roof, because that number would be fiction.

Usually because they are not quotes for the same job. One may include full underlayment, ice and water shield at the eaves and valleys, new flashing and ventilation work, while another covers the shingle layer and leaves the rest as it is. Materials differ too, as does whether the crew is in house or subcontracted, and what the warranty actually covers. Ours are itemised line by line so you can hold them side by side and see what is missing.

Yes. A roof rarely fails at a convenient moment, so there is a quick application and most approvals come back in minutes. Plenty of homeowners would rather spread the cost than defer a roof that is already costing them in leaks, heat loss or insurance trouble.

Two separate things. Our workmanship warranty covers the installation, which is where most roof problems actually originate. The manufacturer’s warranty covers defects in the materials themselves. Because we are an Owens Corning Roofing Platinum Preferred Contractor we can offer extended Owens Corning coverage that standard installers cannot. The exact terms go in your written quote, not just in conversation.

Only for things nobody can see until the old roof is off, and only with your agreement first. Rotted decking is the usual one. We put a per sheet price in the quote up front so that if we find it, you already know what it costs. It should never appear as a surprise line on a final bill.

Once a year is a sensible baseline, and again after any serious wind event. Early autumn is the best window here, because it puts you ahead of nor’easter season with time to fix anything found. Past 15 years it is worth looking more often, both for the roof itself and because that is when carriers start asking questions.

Keep the gutters and downspouts clear, particularly through leaf fall, because water backing up at the eaves is what starts ice dams in January. Cut back limbs that overhang or rub the roof. After a big blow, look from the ground for anything obviously missing or lifted. And keep the attic ventilation clear, which is one of the cheapest ways to add years to a roof.

We would rather you did not. Falls aside, walking a roof damages it: shingles lose granules underfoot, especially in heat, and older ones crack. Cedar and slate are worse. Whatever you are trying to see from up there, we will photograph it for free and send it to you.

Nobody is coming out to a roof at three in the morning, and we would rather tell you that than have you ringing a phone nobody answers. What does happen: we read messages seven days a week, evenings and weekends included, and an active leak goes ahead of the quotes and the checkups. A person answers the phone Monday to Friday, 9 to 5, and outside those hours an automated assistant picks up and takes your details so we can get back to you. Overnight is the one real gap, and those are answered first thing. If water is coming in tonight: move what you can out from under it and put a bucket down, and if a ceiling is sagging with water in it, a small hole at the lowest point drains it into that bucket instead of bringing the whole ceiling down. Keep clear of light fittings while you do it.