Water coming through the ceiling? The emergency line is answered by a person, 24 hours a day, every day of the year — we tarp and make safe first, and estimate in daylight. Call 000-000-0000
A roof replacement is a small construction project, not a product you buy. The shingles or the membrane are perhaps a third of what you are paying for; the rest is tear-off and disposal, whatever the deck needs, the flashing at every edge and penetration, the ventilation, and a crew who set it out properly before the first bundle goes up. Two quotes for the same house can differ by eight thousand dollars and both be honest, because they are not describing the same job.
So our estimates are written to be compared. You get the measured roof area in squares, the exact build-up we propose from the deck upwards, every flashing and ventilation detail called out by name, the disposal and permit costs included rather than added later, and a stated price per sheet if we open the roof and find rot. That last line is the one that stops the day of the job turning into a negotiation.
We also say when you do not need this. A roof with ten years left in it is worth ten years, and the honest answer on plenty of visits is a repair and a maintenance plan rather than a replacement. It costs us a sale and it is the reason people call us back.
What a full replacement actually includes
Every line here is in the written scope, priced. If a competing quote is missing three of them, that is usually where the difference in the number is hiding.
Tear-off to the deck
Every existing layer removed and disposed of. Roofing over an existing layer is quicker and cheaper, we will do it where it is sound and legal, and we will tell you plainly what you give up: you cannot see the deck, and the new roof runs hotter and ages faster.
Deck inspection and repair
With the roof open, every sheet is walked and sounded. Soft, delaminated or rotted sheathing is replaced. The price per sheet is in your quote from the start, so the day we find four bad ones is not the day we renegotiate.
Ice and water barrier
A self-adhered membrane at the eaves, in every valley, and around every penetration. In this climate the eave detail is what stands between you and an ice-dam leak in February.
Underlayment across the field
A synthetic underlayment over the remaining deck — a genuine secondary water barrier, and the thing keeping the building dry between tear-off and the finished surface.
New flashing everywhere it matters
Step flashing at every wall, counter-flashing at chimneys, new valley metal, new drip edge on every eave and rake, and a new boot on every pipe. Re-using old flashing is the single most common corner cut in this trade.
Ventilation, corrected
Intake at the soffits and exhaust at the ridge, balanced. Without it a thirty-year shingle behaves like a fifteen-year one, and the manufacturer's warranty on it is usually void anyway.
The finished surface
Shingle, membrane, metal, tile or slate, installed to the manufacturer's specification and to the wind ratings this coast needs.
Disposal, protection and clean-up
A container on site rather than your neighbour's kerb, landscaping and cars covered, and a magnet run over the ground twice a day and again at the end.
How we know when a roof is genuinely finished
Age alone proves very little. These are the findings that actually end a roof, and any of them on your report will be photographed.
Widespread granule loss
Bare black mat showing across the field and granules filling the gutters. The shingle has lost its UV protection and the countdown is short from there.
Brittle, cracking shingles
If a shingle snaps rather than flexes when it is lifted on a warm day, nothing can be repaired without breaking its neighbours.
Cupping, curling or clawing
Edges lifting off the deck. Usually a ventilation problem that has been cooking the roof from below for years, and by the time it is visible the shingle is spent.
A deck that moves underfoot
Sponginess when walked is water already in the sheathing. This is the finding that turns a maintenance conversation into a replacement one.
Two layers already on
Where a second layer exists, a third is not permitted and would not be wise. A tear-off is the only route, and the quote should say so.
Leaks in more than one place
One leak is a repair. Three separate entry points in a season means the system has failed rather than a detail.
What the week looks like
For a typical Woodside row house this is one to two days of noise and one day of preparation. We tell you which days, and we turn up on them.
Before the day
Materials delivered and placed, the container sited with your neighbours in mind, permits filed where the job needs them, and a call from Yvette confirming access and start time.
Protection first
Tarps down the walls, plywood over anything fragile, cars and plants covered, and a walk of the perimeter with you before anything comes off.
Tear-off and deck
The old roof comes off in sections rather than all at once, so the building is never open more than it has to be. You are shown any bad decking before it is replaced, with a photograph.
Dry-in the same day
Whatever comes off in a day is underlayment-covered by the end of that day. We do not leave a deck open overnight, and we watch the forecast rather than the calendar.
Finish, flash and vent
The surface, then every detail — and the details are where Hector slows the crew down deliberately.
Walk it, clean it, hand over paper
A final walk with photographs of the details you cannot see from the ground, then the warranty, the material documentation and any permit sign-off as documents.
Roof Replacement in western Queens
A complete tear-off and rebuild with a fixed price, a written scope, and the decking priced before we ever open the roof.
Every job of this kind starts the same way: somebody climbs it, photographs it, and writes down what is actually wrong before anybody quotes a price. The survey is free, the report is yours, and you are under no obligation to use us for the work it recommends.
Questions
Roof Replacement — the questions we are asked most
How much does a new roof cost in Woodside, NY?
For a typical Woodside row house or small two-family, an architectural shingle replacement usually lands between $9,000 and $18,000 including tear-off, disposal, new flashing and ventilation. Flat roof recovers run $7,500 to $16,000. The number moves with roof area, how many existing layers have to come off, and what the decking looks like underneath — which is why the survey and the written quote are free.
How long does a roof replacement take?
A straightforward row-house shingle replacement is one to two working days. A flat roof of similar size is two to three. Slate, copper, significant carpentry or a complicated parapet run longer. Your written scope gives a duration rather than a vague answer, and whatever comes off in a day is watertight again by the end of that day.
Can you roof over my existing shingles instead of tearing off?
Sometimes, and we will tell you honestly when it is a reasonable saving. It requires the existing layer to be flat and sound, only one layer already in place, and a deck we have some other way of trusting. What you give up is the chance to see and fix the decking, and a roof that runs hotter and therefore ages faster. On most Queens houses the tear-off is worth the extra.
What happens if you find rotted decking?
You are shown it, photographed, before anything is replaced — and the price per sheet is already in your quote, agreed before we started. Most roofs need none or a couple of sheets. A roof that has been leaking quietly for years can need a dozen, and knowing the number in advance is what stops that being an unpleasant surprise on the day.
Do I need a permit to replace my roof?
Like-for-like re-roofing frequently does not, while a change of roof type, structural work, or certain building classes and occupancies do. We establish which applies to your building before you sign anything, and where a permit and inspection are required we file for them and see the job through to sign-off.
What warranty do I get?
Two separate things: the manufacturer's warranty on the material itself, and our written workmanship warranty covering the installation. Both are handed to you as documents at the end of the job. Be wary of anyone who describes a warranty on the phone but never puts one in your hand.
Should I replace the gutters at the same time?
If they are more than about fifteen years old, almost always — the ladders, the crew and the access are already there, so doing it together costs meaningfully less than doing it separately. It is also the only moment when the drip edge, the fascia and the gutter can be detailed as one system rather than three.
Is spring or autumn better for a replacement?
Spring and early autumn are ideal — mild, dry and predictable. Summer works but heat slows a crew and softens shingle. Winter is possible for emergencies but adhesives and sealants need care below about 40°F. The genuine argument for booking early is that a roof replaced in May is a roof that never became a November emergency.
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Get a roof quote, or call the 24-hour line
Tell us what you are seeing and we will tell you honestly whether it needs somebody tonight or whether it will keep until the morning. Surveys and written quotes are free, and leak diagnostics are $145, credited in full against any repair you approve.