Roof Replacement in Queens, NY

REVMA Roofing replaces roofs on detached, semi-detached and attached houses across Queens and the Bronx, from our base in Bayside. I'm Stavros Latos, the owner, and I come out for every estimate myself. We strip every roof down to the deck, we put the whole scope in writing, and you get one price for the work we agree on. 64 Google reviews at 5.0, NYC DCWP licence 2126882-DCWP.

When a Queens Roof Actually Needs Replacement

Age alone doesn't decide it. A 20-year-old asphalt roof on a south-facing slope in Oakland Gardens can be finished, and a 90-year-old slate roof in Douglaston can still have years in the stone. So the first thing I do is get on the roof and look at what's actually there, and then I tell you what I see.

The signs that push a roof toward replacement: granules piling up in the gutters, shingles curling or lifting along the edges, the same leak coming back after two or three patches, flashing at the chimney or the wall pulling away, and soft spots when you walk the deck. Up north of Northern Boulevard, roofs take wind off Little Neck Bay, so edge damage shows up first. Inland, under the big street trees, the valleys pack with leaves and hold water. One of these on its own is often a repair. Most of them together, and you're paying for patches on a roof that's done, you got what I'm saying?

What's Included in a Queens Roof Replacement

The only way to do a roof is to rip it and do it from scratch, so every replacement we price runs through the same steps:

• Full tear-off to the deck. Every layer comes off. Under NYC Building Code BC 1511.3.1.1 you can't recover over two or more layers, slate or tile anyway, and I won't put a new roof over an old one even where it's allowed.
• Deck check and plywood. We walk the deck once it's open. Three to five sheets of replacement plywood are included, and the quote shows the price for any extra sheet.
• Ice and water shield at the eaves, in the valleys and around every opening: chimneys, vent pipes, skylights.
• Synthetic underlayment over the full deck, under the finished roof.
• Drip edge and starter strip so the edges are finished and the first course is locked down, which matters on the windy side of Bayside.
• The roofing you chose: architectural shingle, slate, cedar, composite or metal.
• New flashing at walls, chimneys and dormers. Old, rusted metal doesn't go back on.
• Ridge vent and ridge cap so the attic breathes.
• Cleanup and a magnet sweep of the driveway, walks and yard for nails.

Most shingle roofs are done in one day, sometimes two for a really big roof. Slate, cedar and flat roofs run longer, and you get the schedule in writing before we start.

Choosing the Right Roofing System in Queens

Queens has every kind of roof. Capes and split-levels in Oakland Gardens and Fresh Meadows mostly carry architectural shingle. Tudors and Colonials in Douglaston, Jamaica Estates and Forest Hills still have slate or cedar. Rowhouses in western Queens have low-slope roofs in back. So the material conversation starts with your house, not with what I want to sell.

Let's say you love the look of slate but the budget is a shingle budget. Composite slate gets you most of the look at a fraction of the weight and cost of natural stone. Let's say you're staying in the house for good. Then natural slate or standing seam metal can be the last roof you ever pay for. I'll walk you through slate, cedar, composite, asphalt shingle and flat roofing, and what goes under each one.

Cost Range for a Queens Roof Replacement

A roofing square is 100 square feet of roof. On a typical Queens house with about 20 squares of roof, architectural asphalt shingle runs $875–$1,100 a square, so roughly $17,500–$22,000 installed. Composite slate or shake is $1,200–$1,800 a square, cedar $2,000–$2,600, standing seam metal $1,300–$1,900 and natural slate $2,200–$3,500. A second layer coming off adds $1,500–$3,000, and steep pitches add 15–25% because the crew works slower and safer.

My pricing can be 25 to 35% less than the big companies because I don't carry their overhead. If you have a competitor's quote in writing for the same roofing system, we'll match it. For the full breakdown: How much does a new roof cost in Queens?

Insurance Claims for Storm-Driven Replacements

If a storm takes shingles off or puts a branch through the roof, the paperwork matters as much as the work. We photograph the damage, we measure it, and I'll meet your adjuster on the roof so they see it with their own eyes. Then we repair what the carrier covers. We don't negotiate your claim and we don't act as your adjuster, because in New York that's a licensed public adjuster's job. That's between you and your insurance company.

And if the roof is just old, I'll tell you that straight. Filing a claim for normal wear doesn't work and it goes on your record. You're better off pricing a replacement on your own terms.

Attached, Semi-Attached and Two-Family Homes

A lot of Queens and the Bronx is attached or semi-attached. On those houses the roof doesn't stop at your property line in any way the water cares about, so the tie-in to the neighbor's roof is part of the job. We tell the neighbor before tear-off, we protect their side, and we flash the joint so water has nowhere to go.

On two-family houses we work around the tenants, and access gets planned before the quote. In Bayside a narrow driveway may not take a full-size container, so we figure out staging and debris removal up front. That's part of the price, not a surprise on day one.

Service Areas for Queens Roof Replacements

We're based in Bayside and we work Queens and the Bronx only, so the crew isn't driving in from three counties away. Area pages: Queens, Bayside and the Bronx. Neighborhood deep dive: Roof replacement in Bayside. Around northeast Queens that means Bayside, Douglaston, Little Neck, Whitestone, Auburndale and Oakland Gardens, plus Forest Hills, Jamaica Estates and Fresh Meadows further in, and Riverdale, Fieldston, Throgs Neck and Country Club in the Bronx.

Roof Replacement Questions from Queens Homeowners