Shingle Roofing in Bayside, NY

Most of the roofs in Bayside are asphalt shingle, especially on the postwar Capes and split-levels around Oakland Gardens and Auburndale. A lot of them have already been replaced once, and some were done as a hack job over the old layer. When we replace one, we start from the deck.

The layers under a shingle roof

The shingle you see is the last layer, not the most important one. So here’s what goes underneath, in order. First we strip it down to the deck and check every sheet of plywood. Three to five sheets are already in the price, and extra sheets are $110 each. Then ice and water shield in the valleys, at the eaves and around every chimney and vent. Then synthetic underlayment over the whole field. Then drip edge and a starter strip at the edges, the architectural shingles, step and counter flashing at every wall, and a ridge vent so the attic breathes.

You’ll see rolls at $100, $200 and $300 for underlayment and ice and water shield. They’re not all the same, and that’s one of the places a cheap quote saves money. I’ll tell you exactly which products go on your roof and put it in writing.

Built for wind off the bay

North of Northern Boulevard and up in Bay Terrace, Bayside roofs take wind straight off Little Neck Bay. Shingle damage starts at the edges, so the starter strip, the drip edge and the nailing pattern at the eaves and rakes matter more here than almost anywhere in Queens. We’re GAF certified, and we install to the manufacturer’s spec so the warranty actually holds.

One day on most Bayside houses

Most shingle roofs in Bayside are done in one day, sometimes two on a really big house. We plan the dumpster and staging before the quote, because a lot of driveways here won’t take a full-size container. At the end of the day we sweep for nails, clean the gutters of granules and walk the roof with you.

What a shingle roof costs in Bayside

Architectural shingles run about $875 to $1,100 a square installed, so most Bayside houses with around 20 squares of roof come in near $17,500 to $22,000. My pricing usually runs 25 to 35% less than the big companies, we’ll price match a written quote for the same roofing system, and you get a 10-year workmanship warranty from us on top of the GAF manufacturer warranty.

How to tell a cheap shingle quote from a real one

So you’ve got a quote that’s $5,000 under everybody else. Before you get excited, ask what’s missing. Is it a full tear-off, or are they going over the old layer? Is it synthetic underlayment over the whole roof, or felt? Is there ice and water shield in the valleys and at the eaves? Are they replacing the flashing, or reusing the old stuff with a bead of caulk? Is the plywood allowance written down, and what does an extra sheet cost? Is there a ridge vent? Who’s actually on your roof?

Usually the cheap number comes from cutting exactly those things, and you don’t see it until the first winter. I’ve torn off plenty of Queens roofs that were “new” five years earlier. Granules gone, nails popping, flashing pulling away. That homeowner paid for the roof twice.

You get what you pay for at the end of the day. But that doesn’t mean you have to pay big-company prices. Because I don’t carry the overhead, we usually come in 25 to 35% under the big companies with everything in writing.