Union roughly doubled in population between 1940 and 1960, and a lot of today's housing went up in that stretch. Drive through Five Points, Battle Hill or the streets around Union Center and you'll see the results: Cape Cods with dormers, colonials, split-levels and raised ranches, most with simple gable roofs. Those roofs are mid-sized and walkable, which makes them good candidates for a clean roof replacement. As roofers in Union, NJ, that's most of our work in the township, along with new gutters and gutter guards.
Cape Cods have a habit worth knowing about. The finished upstairs rooms sit right under the roof, often with little attic space to vent, so heat escapes straight into the roof deck. In winter that melts snow, which refreezes at the cold eaves and builds ice dams. A new roof won't fix that on its own. We put ice-and-water shield along the eaves and improve roof ventilation where the framing allows, but insulation in those sloped ceilings and knee walls is the real cure.
Most of these houses are now on their second or third roof. If there are already two layers on, the International Residential Code as enforced in New Jersey rules out another, so the job is a full tear-off down to the deck. Split-levels add their own detail: several roof planes at different heights, each meeting a wall that needs proper step flashing. That mix is typical of the housing across this part of Union County, and our roof replacement page explains how we approach it.
Around Union
We regularly work near:
- 📍Kean University
- 📍Liberty Hall Museum
- 📍Union Center
- 📍Connecticut Farms Presbyterian Church
Roofing Company in Union — Local Notes
- •Cape Cod dormers create valleys and wall joints where leaks start. On a replacement, the joints where dormer walls meet the roof get new step flashing.
- •Ice dams on Capes come from heat loss into a shallow roof space. Gutter guards won't stop them; ventilation, insulation and ice-and-water shield at the eaves are what help.
- •Replacing the roof covering on a detached one- or two-family house needs no construction permit. Attached homes, larger buildings and structural work go through the Township of Union Building Department at Town Hall.
- •Many lots have large street trees out front. Gutter guards cut down on clogs, but the guard type should match the debris your trees drop.
Nearby cities we serve