Roof Repair for Garfield homes and buildings
Many Garfield homes have two roofs in one: a pitched shingle roof over the front of the house and a flat or nearly flat roof over a rear addition or the back of a two-family. The joint between those two sections is one of the most common leak points in the city, along with the old flashing at chimneys and the edges where a low-slope roof drains into a narrow gutter.
On frame houses of this age, roof decks are usually board sheathing, and leaks that go unnoticed for a season can rot boards and soften plaster ceilings below. A lot of Garfield houses have also been re-roofed over the original layer, which hides old damage and makes small leaks travel. We open up what needs to be opened and find the actual entry point.
On the city's commercial and former industrial buildings, flat-roof repair means seams, drains, parapet coping and the many penetrations left from decades of changing use. We handle those as well.
Garfield housing
Garfield's housing is old and dense. Much of it was built before 1950: frame two-family and three-family houses, many with low-slope or flat rear roofs and pitched front sections, single-family homes on narrow lots, and small apartment buildings. Former mill and factory buildings, warehouses and commercial blocks with flat roofs stand along the river and main corridors, some converted to other uses.
Weather & exposure
Low-lying parts of the city along the Passaic and Saddle rivers have a history of flooding, and the blocks near the water deal with high ground moisture and damp basements even in normal years. Houses are close together, so roofs drain onto neighbors and alleys, and gutters on tight lots are easily overwhelmed in heavy rain. Freeze-thaw works steadily on the many old brick chimneys and foundation walls.
Repair or replace? What we tell Garfield homeowners
For a Garfield house with a leak at one detail and a roof that is otherwise sound, repair is usually the right call. The exception is the low-slope rear section: if it is covered in old roll roofing that is cracking everywhere, patching it is a short-term fix, and replacing just that section with a proper membrane is often the best value.
On commercial buildings, sectional flat-roof repair can work for years if the deck is sound and the membrane is still pliable. Widespread ponding, soft areas or multiple layers point toward replacement. We give you photographs and a written estimate either way.
