A close look before something fails
Getting a Harrison roof looked over
Not every Harrison roof visit begins with a leak: a house sale, a rough winter or plain curiosity about age can start one too. Next step: call (862) 418-5296 and explain what made you want the roof looked at.
Back away and get help if
- Power lines near the roof edge, or a service wire into the house: keep ladders ten feet or more away, and do not lean one against the house there at all.
- Wet, frosty or icy shingles: do not climb. Study the roof from the ground and wait for it to dry.
- A top-floor ceiling that sags or bulges as you check it: leave the room, keep others out and dial 911.
- A buzzing light or a drip at an outlet on a damp ceiling: move everyone to a dry room and dial 911 from there.
What gets looked at, in order
Roofing trade guidance puts the ground first: the roof from the yard or an upstairs window, then the attic side of the roof, then the weak points. Flashing comes up early on every list. The asphalt roofing trade group calls it the most vulnerable part after a storm, and the National Park Service recommends looking at it once a year.
After that a roofer can go up, and the findings can be explained in plain words: what is sound, what is worn and what is leaking.
Around Harrison and next door
Roofs here do not share one story. The Census Bureau's median year built is 1951 in Kearny (give or take 3 years) and 1990 in Harrison (give or take 8), so a street in one town and a street in the other can hold roofs from different eras.
A two-family house means two ceilings and two sets of tenants who see different signs. Asking the people on every floor what they have noticed gives a roofer more to work with.
After winter, before the next one
March at Newark Airport averages 42.5 degrees, with 4.13 inches of precipitation and 5.6 inches of snow in the 1991-2020 normals. Late winter shows what the cold did to a roof. The airport is the station behind these figures, so a given block can differ.
What to look at with feet on the ground
Everything here can be done from the ground or through a window. A job that needs a ladder belongs to the roofer.
- Walk once around the house with binoculars and note dark streaks, bare patches and any ridge line that dips or sags.
- Pop the attic hatch on a dry day and scan the rafters and the underside of the boards for stains, daylight or damp insulation.
- Look at the gutters and downspouts for sections pulling away, rust streaks or water that stays put.
- Write down the roof's age, any past leaks and who did earlier work. A roofer starts from that history.
Check the name before the ladder goes up
New Jersey's License Verification System has a business search that includes home improvement contractors. The lookup is for verification only. A 2012 consumer-affairs news release lists 800-242-5846 for checking registration and complaint history.
Checking a contractor explains what a registration number does and does not prove.
Ready to describe the roof?
Ready for the call: the street address, where the damage shows and a guess at the roof's age. Dial (862) 418-5296. Renters: the dated photo goes to your landlord or property manager at the outset. Covered: Harrison, Kearny, East Newark and Newark.
Call (862) 418-5296