Roof Replacement in Staten Island, NY

Staten Island houses carry more roof than most of the city. It’s mostly detached and semi-attached homes, a lot of them on hills, so when a roof is done, it’s a big job and it has to be done right. I’m Stavros Latos, I own REVMA Roofing, and I come out to every Staten Island estimate myself, so the guy who looks at your roof is the guy who writes the price.

What happens from the first call to the last nail

First, I look at the roof with you. We go over the material you have, what you want, and the details that drive the price: pitch, dormers, valleys, the chimney, how many layers come off. Then you get one written price for the scope we agree on. No three-prices routine, no “sign tonight” discount.

Before the crew shows up, we plan staging. On the hills in St. George, Grymes Hill and Todt Hill, the driveway is steep or there isn’t one, so we figure out where the container goes and how the old roof comes down safely. On the semi-attached rows down on the South Shore, we talk to the neighbor before tear-off.

On the day, we strip it down to the deck, check every sheet of plywood, and replace what’s soft. Three to five sheets are already in your price, and extra sheets are $110 each, so there’s no surprise. Then ice and water shield in the valleys and at the eaves, synthetic underlayment over the whole field, drip edge, starter strip, the shingles, new flashing at every wall and chimney, and a ridge vent. Most shingle roofs are done in one day, two on a really big house. Before we leave, we sweep for nails and walk the job with you.

Built for the wind off the bay

From Midland Beach and New Dorp Beach down to Tottenville, the houses take wind and salt air off the Lower Bay and Raritan Bay. Nor’easters push rain sideways, and shingle damage starts at the edges. That’s why the starter strip, the drip edge and the ridge get the most attention on a South Shore roof, and why ice and water shield goes along every eave, not just in the valleys.

Older roofs on the North Shore

St. George, New Brighton and Stapleton have older houses with steep pitches, dormers and a lot of intersections, and every one of those is flashing that has to be done right. Parts of St. George and New Brighton are in a designated historic district, so visible work there also goes through Landmarks Preservation Commission review. We plan that in before any material is ordered.

Why we never lay a new roof over the old one

The reality is an overlay hides problems. If there’s rot in the deck, a second layer just traps it. NYC code also prohibits a recover over two or more existing layers. So we rip it off and do it from scratch, every time. It’s the only way to do a roof once, the right way.

What it costs

For architectural shingles, figure about $875 to $1,100 a square installed. A lot of Staten Island houses have more than 20 squares of roof, so a detached house often lands above the $17,500 to $22,000 range you’d see on a smaller Queens house. My pricing usually runs 25 to 35% less than the big companies because I don’t carry their overhead, and if you have a competitor’s written quote for the same roofing system, we’ll price match it. You get a written workmanship warranty on top of the GAF manufacturer warranty.

How to compare Staten Island roof quotes

Don’t compare the bottom line first. Compare what’s in them: which underlayment, how much ice and water shield, whether the old roof comes all the way off, how many sheets of plywood are included, and whether flashing is new or reused. Then compare prices for the same roofing system. That’s the honest way to do it.