Roofing for North Bergen row houses and multi-family homes
Attached row houses, two- and three-families and small apartment buildings on top of the Palisades.
A roof you share with your neighbors
North Bergen sits on top of the Palisades, running from the Hudson River cliffs down to the Meadowlands. Along Bergenline Avenue, Kennedy Boulevard and the streets around James J. Braddock North Hudson Park, much of the housing is attached: row houses sharing party walls, two- and three-family frame houses set a few feet apart, and small apartment buildings. Most of those buildings have a flat or nearly flat roof behind a parapet or cornice. North Bergen is about twelve miles east of our office in the City of Orange.
What goes wrong on North Bergen flat roofs
- The party-wall seam. On attached houses, your roof meets your neighbor's roof along the party wall. That seam, and whatever each owner's last roofer did to it, is one of the most common leak points on the block.
- Cornices and parapets. The decorative cornice at the front and the parapet walls take the wind coming up over the Palisades. When their caps and flashing loosen, water gets into the wall below.
- Everything that goes through the roof. Roof hatches, skylights, vent pipes and the stands for air conditioners each need proper flashing, and each is a common leak on a flat roof.
- Ponding. A flat roof that doesn't drain to its scupper or drain holds water after every rain, and ponding water wears out the roof years early.
How we handle a North Bergen roof
For a leak, we find the source (party wall, parapet, hatch or seam) and repair it. When the roof is worn out, we tear it off and install a new low-slope system with proper drainage and flashing; see flat roofing. On attached houses we tie the new roof into the neighbor's roof so the seam is watertight on both sides, and we plan the dumpster, the materials and street access before the job starts. Two- and three-family houses with pitched roofs get the same shingle roof and siding work we do anywhere else, and owners of larger buildings can see our multi-family roofing page.
Around North Bergen
We work across Hudson County, including Union City, West New York, Guttenberg and Secaucus, and in Bergen County towns such as Fairview, Cliffside Park and Hackensack.
Common questions
My neighbor's roof is newer than mine. Does that matter?
It does. Your new roof has to be sealed to theirs along the party wall. We look at both sides of that seam and tie in without damaging their roof.
Can you fix a leak at a roof hatch or skylight?
Yes. Hatches, skylights and pipe vents are common flat-roof leaks, usually fixed by reflashing the curb or the boot.
Do you need a street permit for the dumpster?
Often, when the dumpster has to sit in the street. We plan it with you before the job is scheduled.
Flat roof in North Bergen leaking?
Call (973) 625-7663 and tell us the street.