Nearly half of Newark's homes were built before 1960, and roughly four out of five housing units are in multi-family buildings. On many residential blocks in the North Ward, Vailsburg and the Ironbound, that means two- and three-family frame houses set close together on narrow lots, often with a lower roof over a back porch or rear addition. As roofers in Newark, NJ, most of our work here is roof replacement on those pitched roofs, along with gutters that actually carry the water away from the house.
Tear-off isn't optional on most of these houses. New Jersey enforces the International Residential Code, which doesn't allow a new layer of shingles over a roof that already has two. Plenty of older Newark homes already carry two or three, sometimes with old roll roofing at the bottom. Once everything is off, we can see the condition of the sheathing, replace boards that have gone soft, re-flash the walls and penetrations where leaks usually start, and lay ice-and-water shield along the eaves before the new roof goes on.
Paperwork depends on the building. Replacing the roof covering on a detached one- or two-family house counts as ordinary maintenance under the New Jersey Uniform Construction Code, so no construction permit is needed. A three-family, an attached house, or a job that involves rafters or framing is different, and that goes through the city's own construction office, not Essex County. If clogged gutters are the recurring problem on your street, gutter guards are worth adding once the gutters themselves are sound.
Around Newark
We regularly work near:
- 📍Newark Penn Station
- 📍Prudential Center
- 📍Newark Museum
- 📍Branch Brook Park
- 📍New Jersey Performing Arts Center
- 📍Newark Liberty International Airport
Roofing Company in Newark — Local Notes
- •Expect a full tear-off on most older frame houses. Two or three existing layers are common, and the IRC as enforced in New Jersey won't allow another layer on top of two.
- •No construction permit is needed to replace the covering on a detached one- or two-family home. Three-family houses, attached homes and structural work go through Newark's Building Division / Office of Uniform Construction Code.
- •Newark has seven local historic districts, including Forest Hill and Lincoln Park. If your house is in one, check with the city before changing roofing materials or colors.
- •Ida in September 2021 flooded streets in the Ironbound and Ivy Hill. On low-lying blocks, downspouts should send roof water away from the foundation, not onto a shared driveway or into a basement stairwell.
Nearby cities we serve