New roof for a brick church in Elizabeth, NJ
Church roof replacement · Elizabeth, NJ · completed October 2024
Herts Roofing & Construction did a church roof replacement on a brick church in Elizabeth, NJ. We stripped the old shingles down to the wood decking and got the deck ready. Then we laid new underlayment and put on Owens Corning architectural shingles.
The problem
Water was getting in through the old roof. Inside the church, the ceiling plaster by a light fixture had peeled and broken off, and other parts of the ceiling were damaged too. Once we pulled the old shingles, we found the original wood plank decking had patches of old tar paper on it and a mix of older repairs.
What we did
First we tore the old asphalt shingles off the main roof, right down to the plank decking. On a lower section, we laid new plywood over the old planks so the shingles would sit on something solid. Next the whole roof got synthetic underlayment, plus a separate layer of underlayment along the upper edge near the ridge. After that came the starter strip and the new architectural shingles. Where the roof meets the brick bell tower, we ran metal flashing. It's the kind of roof replacement in New Jersey we see a lot on older buildings, where the decking tells you more than the shingles do.
Materials
Owens Corning TruDefinition Duration shingles (Driftwood), Owens Corning ProStart starter strip, ABC Pro Guard 20 synthetic underlayment, RhinoRoof underlayment, galvanized coil roofing nails, plywood decking
Common questions in Elizabeth
- How do I know if a ceiling stain in my Elizabeth home is coming from the roof?
- If it's on a top-floor ceiling, it probably is. Stains, bubbling paint or peeling plaster up there usually mean water is coming in from above. A roofer can check the shingles, flashing and decking to find where it's getting in before it does more damage.
- Do you tear off the old shingles or roof over them?
- On this job we tore them off down to the wood. That let us see the decking, put new plywood over the weak spots, and lay fresh underlayment before the new shingles went on.
- Do you work on churches and larger buildings in Union County?
- Yes. This church in Elizabeth had a steep main roof, a bell tower and a lower rounded section. Not all roofing contractors in NJ take on buildings like that. Our crew wore safety harnesses and stayed tied to roof anchors the whole time.
- How do I get a roof estimate in Elizabeth, NJ?
- Call Herts Roofing & Construction at (610) 772-8384 and we'll set up a free estimate.
Need church roof replacement near Elizabeth?
Free estimates from Herts Roofing & Construction.
