Roof Inspection Clifton NJ

Flashing is the first thing we pull apart on paper, because it is the first thing that leaks. The pre-war colonials near Botany Village often hide old tin flashing under layered shingles, and a chimney that has been repointed but never reflashed is a slow drip waiting for the next storm. On a skylight job we quote from the roof, the way a customer named John described his own visit: three custom skylights measured and priced before a shingle moved.

The post-war capes through Allwood grow ice dams at the eaves nearly every hard winter. During an inspection we read the eave for the signs before the ceiling shows them: worn starter courses, thin attic insulation at the exterior wall, blocked soffit venting. Catching that in October is a different bill than catching it in February when the stain is already on the bedroom ceiling.

A large share of Clifton housing is two-family, with a flat-roofed addition off the back that is usually newer and lower quality than the main roof. The pitched-to-flat transition is where water collects and the original flashing was often an afterthought. We document which plane the failure sits on and, on shared roofs, note what crosses the property line before anyone talks price.

After a wind or hail event, an inspection is also a paperwork job. We photograph lifted and creased shingles, dented vents, and torn flashing in the detail an adjuster expects, and we date the file. Whether the claim goes forward is between you and the carrier, but you go into that call with evidence instead of a memory.

Before you close on one of the older colonials or split-levels, a roof inspection tells you how many years are left and roughly what the next roof costs. We put that in writing so it can sit next to the rest of your inspection reports, no pressure to hire us for the work.