Roof Replacement for Somerville homes and buildings
Replacing a roof on a Somerville Victorian or foursquare is detail work. Steep pitches, dormers, a porch roof, sometimes a turret or a cross gable, and one or two brick chimneys all need to be flashed from the deck up. The plank decking under the old roofing usually needs some repair, and houses that have been converted to two-family use often have added vents and penetrations that must be properly flashed.
Asset Roofing & Chimney replaces steep-slope roofs with architectural asphalt shingles and replaces flat roofs on porches, additions and downtown commercial buildings with membrane systems. On a home that still has slate, we assess its condition and discuss whether to keep and repair it or convert to shingle. Each replacement includes full tear-off, deck repair, ice-and-water protection, synthetic underlayment, new flashing and a ventilation plan.
Somerville housing
Somerville's housing is predominantly Victorian and early-1900s single-family construction: Queen Annes, foursquares, colonials and gable-front houses with steep roofs, dormers, front porches and brick chimneys, many of which have been converted to two-family use. Mid-century capes and ranches fill in around the edges, and newer apartment and condominium buildings have been added near downtown. Main Street carries an extended run of flat-roofed commercial buildings.
Weather & exposure
Somerville's mature street trees drop heavy leaf and branch loads onto roofs and into the gutters and built-in gutters of its older homes. Winters are colder than Bergen County with ice dams on homes with original attic insulation. The Raritan River lowlands at the edge of town add humidity and are known for flooding during major storms. Summer thunderstorms bring heavy rain that tests downtown flat-roof drainage.
When replacement is the right call in Somerville
Replacement makes sense when shingles are brittle or shedding granules across the roof, when leaks appear in several unrelated places, when there is more than one layer, or when ice dam or gutter damage has reached the decking. On a two-family conversion, a replacement is also the time to properly flash the added vents and penetrations that accumulated over the years.
We inspect the attic first and set expectations about decking repair. If your home is in an older part of the borough, confirm with the municipality whether any review applies to visible exterior changes. The work on a large Victorian takes several days; a commercial flat roof depends on size and the amount of wet insulation to remove. We clean up each day and protect plantings and neighboring property.
