Most 1950s–70s split-levels and colonials in Paramus, Teaneck, Ridgewood, and Dumont have asphalt shingles on a low- to moderate-pitch gable or hip. A porch, a bump-out, or a low addition often has a sheet membrane. A pre-war street in Ridgewood may still be slate or wood shake. If two parts of your roof look like different products, they usually are different systems. Stay off a steep or wet roof — we bring a ladder and a harness. This is roof repair read one plane at a time.
Asphalt on the main slopes
The usual repair and install are asphalt: thicker architectural shingles on most of these houses now, and older thin three-tab still on some. A leftover thin patch on a thicker roof lets go early, so we match the shingle that’s already up there — type, exposure, and as close a color as you can still buy.
Water usually travels from higher up — a rubber collar around a pipe, a valley, or the metal at a chimney. We pull the failed pieces, look at the wood, and slide new underlayment and flashing under the rows above so water runs over the patch. New shingles are nailed where the maker specifies, so the next row covers the nails. In cold weather we hand-seal the tabs so a nor’easter can’t lift them.
A small failed piece on a dry slope is often hours, sometimes a day, and commonly lands in the hundreds to low thousands. Several leaks, a soft deck, or a roof at the end of its life is a replacement conversation. A full asphalt reroof comes off to the wood so we can see rot, then goes back as underlayment, flashing, and shingles in one project — stacking a new layer over a soft deck just hides the rot. Full reroofs commonly land in five figures, priced by size, pitch, layers, and what we find. For that, start with roof replacement.
The low-slope addition
The porch or bump-out is often too flat for shingles. That’s a black rubber sheet (EPDM), a white sheet (TPO), or a rolled modified roof. We match whatever is already glued or welded up there for the flat-roof repair.
We find the failed seam, wall, or drain, clean the area, and let it dry. We cut back to a sound sheet, replace the insulation board if it’s soaked, and weld or glue a compatible patch with the overlaps that product needs. Standing water is its own problem, so we check whether the plane actually drains. A compatible patch often lands in the low-to-mid thousands, and wet insulation under the sheet makes it bigger — don’t patch this from the attic with a tube of cement.
Slate, shake, and metal
Some pre-war houses still have slate or wood shake. We repair slate piece for piece: lift the failed pieces, check the nails and the course beneath, and set matching slate so water sheds the way the rest of the roof does. Laying asphalt over or instead of slate is a different roof, and the framing has to carry that weight — a much bigger project.
If the plane is metal, we repair it as metal. Screw-down panels on a shed or garage are a different product than a standing-seam plane on the house; we re-fasten, re-seal, or replace panels within that system.
When two types meet
If the main house is asphalt and the addition or garage is a sheet, each plane is its own repair. We flash the joint so water runs into the gutter instead of the wall. We don’t shingle a porch that ponds, and we don’t smear tar on a white membrane. We do the work on a dry day so we can stand on the slopes and keep water out while the roof is open.
Bergen Restoration can inspect what’s up there, name the type on each part of your house, and repair or replace that system if it’s needed.