Roofing Services
Roofing Contractors in Bergen County, NJ — Repair & Replacement
The short answer
NJ Gold Star Construction repairs and replaces asphalt shingle, flat and metal roofs across Bergen and Passaic County. Most repairs are completed in a single visit and full replacements in one to three days. Estimates are free and written, and we answer emergency leak calls 24/7.
Your roof is the one system on the house that fails invisibly. Water finds a gap at a flashing joint or a lifted shingle, travels along the sheathing, and shows up as a ceiling stain three rooms away. By then the repair is no longer a roofing job — it is drywall, insulation and sometimes framing.
We inspect the whole assembly before quoting: shingle condition and granule loss, valleys and step flashing, chimney counterflashing, pipe boots, ridge and soffit ventilation, and the deck itself where we can see it. Then we tell you plainly whether a repair holds or whether the roof has reached the end of its service life.
Every roof we install is built for North Jersey weather — ice-dam protection at the eaves, synthetic underlayment, properly nailed architectural shingles, and balanced attic ventilation so the deck stays dry through freeze-thaw season.
What the work includes
- Roof repair for leaks, missing shingles, flashing failures and storm damage
- Full roof replacement with tear-off, deck inspection and new underlayment
- Attic intake and ridge ventilation to stop condensation and ice dams
- Flat and low-slope roofing for additions, porches and dormers
- 24/7 emergency tarping and leak containment
Roofing services we provide
How New Jersey weather actually takes a roof apart
Roofs here rarely fail in one dramatic event. They fail from repetition. North Jersey spends the winter crossing back and forth over the freezing point, and every crossing drives water into a seam, freezes it, widens the gap, and thaws it again. A shingle that would last three decades in a stable climate loses granules faster, and a nail that was slightly proud on day one works its way further out every season.
Three failure patterns account for most of the leaks we are called to:
- Ice dams. Heat escaping into the attic melts snow on the upper roof. The meltwater runs down to the cold overhang, refreezes, and builds a ridge of ice that ponds water behind it. That standing water goes under the shingles, which were never designed to resist standing water — only to shed it.
- Flashing fatigue. Metal and masonry expand and contract at different rates. Chimney counterflashing, step flashing along a wall, and pipe boots are where that difference concentrates. Most “roof leaks” on an otherwise sound roof are flashing leaks.
- Wind uplift at the edges. Nor’easters load the rake and eave hardest. Once the sealant strip on one course lets go, the next storm has a handhold.
None of these are fixed by adding shingles. They are fixed by treating the roof as an assembly — covering, underlayment, flashing, ventilation and deck together — which is why our inspection covers all five before we quote.
What the code requires on a New Jersey re-roof
New Jersey does not write its own residential construction rules from scratch. The state enforces the Uniform Construction Code (N.J.A.C. 5:23), which adopts the International Residential Code for one- and two-family homes. Your permit is issued by your own municipality’s construction office, and the inspection is done by that town’s inspector — which is why a Ridgewood job and a Clifton job can run on slightly different schedules.
Three requirements matter most on a typical replacement:
- Ice barrier at the eaves. In regions with a history of ice forming along the eaves — which includes all of North Jersey — the IRC requires a self-adhering polymer-modified bitumen membrane (or two cemented layers of underlayment) running from the lowest roof edge to a line at least 24 inches inside the exterior wall. On a low-slope or deep-overhang roof that is more than one course of membrane.
- Limits on layering. The code caps how many roof coverings may be stacked and requires complete tear-off in defined conditions, including a deck that is water-soaked or deteriorated. This is the honest reason we push tear-off over an overlay on most older homes: you cannot inspect or repair a deck you have just covered.
- Attic ventilation. Covered in its own section below, because it is the requirement most often skipped.
A written, itemised contract is not a courtesy here either — New Jersey’s home improvement regulations require home improvement contracts above a low dollar threshold to be in writing, and require the contractor to be registered with the Division of Consumer Affairs. Our registration is NJ HIC #13VH13359900, and it belongs on every estimate you receive from anyone.
Attic ventilation: the ratio that decides how long the roof lasts
A roof deck fails from underneath more often than homeowners expect. Warm, moist indoor air rises into the attic, meets a cold deck, and condenses. Over a few winters that shows up as darkened sheathing, rusted nail points, compressed insulation and — eventually — a deck that will not hold a nail.
The IRC sets the target as a ratio of net free ventilating area to the area of the space being ventilated: 1 to 150. That can be relaxed to 1 to 300 in two situations — where a Class I or II vapour retarder is installed on the warm-in-winter side of the ceiling, or where the venting is balanced, with roughly 40 to 50 percent of the required area up high (ridge or near-ridge vents) and the rest at the eaves as soffit intake.
The word doing the work in that sentence is balanced. A ridge vent with no intake below it does not ventilate an attic; it pulls conditioned air up out of the house. We see it constantly — a ridge vent added during a previous re-roof, soffits still stuffed with insulation, and a deck quietly rotting above it. If your roof is being replaced, the intake is the cheapest part of the job and the one that decides the outcome. See attic ventilation for how we balance intake and exhaust.
Repair or replace: how we decide
The short version: repair isolated damage on a roof with life left in it, replace a roof that is failing in several places at once. What follows is the actual test we apply on site.
| What we find | Repair | Replace |
|---|---|---|
| One leak, one cause, roof under ~15 years | Yes | No |
| Flashing failure, shingles otherwise sound | Yes | No |
| Storm damage confined to one slope | Usually | Sometimes |
| Granule loss across multiple slopes | No | Yes |
| Curling, cupping or brittle shingles | No | Yes |
| Two or more layers already on the deck | No | Yes |
| Soft or water-stained decking | No | Yes |
If you are in the middle column, a repair is a real answer and we will quote one. Contractors who only ever find the right-hand column are worth a second opinion. Read more about roof repair and roof replacement, or book an annual inspection before you need either.
Reading a shingle spec sheet without the marketing
Two designations tell you most of what you need to know, and both are published standards rather than brand claims.
- ASTM D3462 is the specification for asphalt shingles made with a glass felt mat. A shingle that does not claim compliance with it is not competing in the same category.
- ASTM D7158 and ASTM D3161 describe wind resistance. D7158 Class H is the top rating in common residential use; D3161 Class F is the equivalent on the older test. Either is appropriate for North Jersey.
Both are maintained by ASTM International. Installation guidance we follow beyond the manufacturer’s instructions comes from the National Roofing Contractors Association. Worth knowing: nearly every shingle warranty is conditional on nailing pattern, ventilation and underlayment. A warranty is only as good as the install that has to survive a claim inspection.
Where we work
We roof across Bergen and Passaic counties and the surrounding towns from our Totowa shop, including Paramus, Hackensack, Ridgewood, Teaneck, Fort Lee, Clifton and Wayne. The full list is on our service areas page.
Sources and standards referenced on this page
- NJ Department of Community Affairs — Codes and Standards, administering the Uniform Construction Code (N.J.A.C. 5:23)
- International Code Council — International Residential Code, including ice barrier and attic ventilation provisions
- NJ Division of Consumer Affairs — Home Improvement Contractor registration
- ASTM International — D3462, D7158 and D3161 shingle standards
- National Roofing Contractors Association — installation guidance
Frequently asked questions
How much should you expect to pay for roof repair in NJ?
Small repairs — a pipe boot, a section of step flashing, a dozen blown shingles — typically fall in the low hundreds. Larger repairs involving valleys, chimney flashing or deck replacement run higher. We quote in writing before any work starts, with the scope itemized so you can see what you are paying for.
Is it better to repair my roof or replace it?
Repair when the roof is under roughly fifteen years old and the damage is isolated. Replace when there are multiple leak points, widespread granule loss, curling or cupping shingles, or a second layer already on the deck. We give you the honest call either way, in writing.
How long does a typical roof replacement take?
Most single-family homes in Bergen County are torn off and re-roofed in one to three days, weather permitting. Complex rooflines, multiple old layers, or deck repairs can add a day.
Do I need a permit to replace a roof in New Jersey?
In almost all cases, yes. Roof replacement is regulated work under the New Jersey Uniform Construction Code, and the permit comes from your own municipality’s construction office rather than from the state. We pull the permit as part of the job and meet the inspector. If a contractor offers to skip the permit, that is a decision that follows the house to closing.
What causes ice dams, and does a new roof stop them?
Ice dams are a heat problem before they are a roof problem. Warm air escaping into the attic melts snow on the upper slope; the water refreezes at the cold overhang and ponds behind the ridge of ice. A new roof with a proper eave membrane protects the structure from that standing water, but the dam itself only goes away when you fix the heat loss and the ventilation. We look at insulation depth, air sealing and soffit intake at the same time as the roof.
How long should an asphalt roof last in North Jersey?
Architectural shingles carry long manufacturer warranties, but the practical life here is shorter than the number on the wrapper, because freeze-thaw cycling and summer deck temperatures are harder on the assembly than the test conditions. Ventilation is the biggest single variable: two identical roofs on the same street will not age the same way if one attic breathes and the other does not.
Will my insurance cover storm damage to the roof?
Sudden, identifiable storm damage is usually a covered peril; gradual wear, and damage traced to deferred maintenance, usually is not. What helps a claim is documentation from before the storm — which is one practical reason to have an annual inspection on file. We photograph what we find and give you the report whether or not you hire us for the repair.
What are the black streaks on my roof?
Almost always Gloeocapsa magma, an algae that feeds on the limestone filler in asphalt shingles. It is cosmetic rather than structural, it is worse on north-facing slopes that stay damp, and it does not mean the roof is failing. It can be cleaned, and algae-resistant shingles reduce the recurrence. It is not a reason on its own to replace a sound roof.
Updated September 2026 · Reviewed by Edgar Lopez Gonzalez, owner · NJ HIC #13VH13359900