Piscataway Roofing has spent more than 20 years on roofing in Dover and across north Jersey, and most of the work here starts with a house that has been reroofed before, sometimes more than once. We repair leaks, replace worn shingle roofs, rebuild flashing and hang new gutters, and we approach every one of those jobs by first finding out what is really under the surface. A roof on an older house rarely fails for only one reason.
When you call about a leak, we look in the attic as well as on the roof, because water often enters a few feet from where the stain shows up on a ceiling. Once we know the source, we tell you plainly whether a repair will hold before anyone talks about replacement. If a new roof is the right call, you get a written scope that lists every part of the job on its own line, so you can lay our estimate next to another and compare them item by item.
That honesty matters most on the kind of house this town is full of. Old framing, close neighbors and owners who often rent the units below all change how a roof is planned, priced and staged, and the sections below walk through each of those in turn.
Pre-War Framing Under Dover’s Mill-Town Roofs
Dover grew as an iron and mill town, and a lot of its housing still dates from that era. The American Community Survey’s 2024 five-year figures count 2,142 homes built in 1939 or earlier, about 31.4 percent of the town’s 6,831 units, and 4,144 built before 1960, which is 60.7 percent. An 1879 encyclopedia entry describes the town with an extensive rolling mill, a planing mill and a sash, blind and door factory, so these neighborhoods filled in alongside working industry.
Old Rafters and Plank Decking
A house built before 1940 usually sits on sawn rafters and board sheathing rather than the plywood a newer home carries. Those boards can be sound for another century, or they can be split, rotted at the eaves, or spaced in a way that does not hold modern nails well. We cannot tell which until the old roof is off, and we say so up front instead of promising a number that ignores it.
When we do find damaged decking during a tear-off, we photograph it and show you before any sheet is replaced. The price per sheet is written into the contract ahead of time, so the cost of rot is never a surprise negotiated on the day. You see the board, you see the photo, and the math is already settled.
Layers From Earlier Reroofs
Many older Dover houses carry two or more layers of shingles from past jobs. New Jersey’s rehabilitation subcode calls for a full tear-off when a roof already has two or more layers, and when the existing covering is slate, wood shake or tile. Stripping to the deck also lets us inspect the framing directly and lay ice and water barrier at the eaves where an old roof often had none.
We check attic ventilation on every replacement as well. Older attics were often built with little or no intake at the soffit, and a roof that cannot breathe ages from underneath no matter how good the shingle is. Pairing a ridge vent with proper soffit intake is one of the simplest ways to get the full life out of a new architectural shingle.
Looking for roofing closer to Aberdeen? See Aberdeen Roofing.
Working Between Close-Set Houses Downtown and in North and South Dover
In 2020 the census counted 18,460 people on just 2.68 square miles of land, or 6,898.4 residents per square mile. That density shows up on the ground in Downtown, North Dover and South Dover, where houses are built close together and side yards can be narrow. On blocks like these, the logistics of a roof job take as much planning as the roof itself.
Staging, Ladders and the Container
Tear-off debris, a dumpster or trailer, ladders and material deliveries all have to fit somewhere, and on a tight lot that somewhere is often a few feet from a neighbor’s wall. We look at the driveway, the street frontage and both side yards before the job is scheduled, and we plan where each piece goes. Fall protection is set up for the crew on every roof, as federal safety rules require for residential work at six feet and above.
At the end of each work day we clean the driveway, the yard and the gutters, and we run a magnet sweep for roofing nails. On a dense block that cleanup covers the edge of the neighbor’s property too, because a loose nail does not respect a lot line. It is a small habit that keeps a close neighborhood on good terms with the project.
Drainage Toward the Next House
A roof that sheds water toward a side yard can send that water against the house next door when the two buildings sit close. We look at where each slope drains and where the leaders discharge, and we size and pitch the gutters with the new roof so water leaves your house without landing on someone else’s foundation. Sometimes that means moving a leader or adding a kick-out flashing where a lower roof meets a wall.
A Town Being Rebuilt Upward
Dover’s downtown along Blackwell Street is changing, with a six-story, 90-unit building at 80 East McFarlan Street breaking ground in June 2024 and other redevelopment plans before the Planning Board. That growth sits next to many older frame houses whose roofs still need ordinary care. Our work is on those existing homes, and we plan around busy streets and active neighboring sites when we stage a job nearby.
Roofs on Dover’s Two-Family and Small Apartment Buildings
Only 44.9 percent of Dover’s housing units are detached houses, according to the same ACS figures. The town also counts 1,061 units in two-unit buildings and 495 in buildings with three or four units, and renters occupy 54.0 percent of occupied homes. That means a large share of the roofs here are bought by a landlord rather than by the family living under them.
Detached One- and Two-Family Buildings
In New Jersey, replacing the roof covering on a detached one- or two-family dwelling is treated as ordinary maintenance, so no permit is needed for that work. That covers a great many Dover houses, including the classic two-family frame building. We still write the contract to New Jersey’s home improvement rules, including the three-day cancellation notice, so the owner knows exactly what was agreed and how to step back from it.
Three- and Four-Unit Buildings and Attached Homes
The ordinary maintenance rule stops at detached one- and two-family homes. A building with three or more units, or an attached townhouse, falls outside it, and Dover has 495 units in three-to-four-unit buildings and 977 attached units. For those properties we confirm what the town’s construction office requires before work begins, rather than assuming the simpler rule applies.
For attached homes in a townhouse or condominium setting, we also check the association’s documents to see who is responsible for the roof before writing any estimate. It avoids pricing a job for an owner who does not control that part of the building.
Scheduling Around Tenants
Landlords renting to families get repairs scheduled around the people living in the building, with photos sent after each visit. If you own a two-family across town, you can see the finished flashing or the patched valley without driving over. Tenants get notice of when the crew arrives and when the noise ends.
Dover does require a residential Certificate of Compliance when a home is sold or rented, but the application packet does not list roof items. If you are selling, we can provide a written roof condition report you can hand to the buyer’s inspector, which gives both sides a clear starting point.
Gutters, Chimneys and Flashing on Older Dover Homes
Dover sits on the Rockaway River and was once a port on the Morris Canal, whose old boat basin is now JFK Memorial Commons Park. The houses built in that canal and mill era tend to carry brick chimneys, several roof planes meeting at odd angles and gutters that have been patched many times. Those details are where most of the leaks we trace in older homes actually start.
Chimney Flashing and Crickets
We replace step, counter and chimney flashing with the roof instead of bending the old metal back down under new shingles. On a chimney wider than 30 inches, a cricket, or saddle, belongs on the uphill side to split water around the masonry, and many older chimneys never had one. We also look at the chimney crown and cap, since a cracked crown lets water into the brick from above no matter how good the flashing below it is.
Valleys, Pipe Boots and Edges
Older houses that have been added onto often have valleys and wall junctions where a newer roof meets an original one. We flash those with step and apron pieces, add drip edge at the eaves and rakes, and replace pipe boots rather than caulking around worn ones. Each of those items appears as its own line in the written scope, so nothing is buried in a lump sum.
Gutters and Leaders Sized for the Roof
Seamless aluminum gutters and leaders are hung and pitched with the new roof, not as an afterthought. On a tight Dover lot, the size of a gutter and the spot where its leader drops make a real difference to a basement and to the house next door. We plan both before the crew arrives.
If a storm damages your roof, we photograph it and write it up for your own insurance claim, and we will meet the adjuster on site when you ask. Whether the call is a storm, a stain on a ceiling or a slow drip by a chimney, the first visit always starts in the attic as well as on the roof.
- 20+ Years Roofing
- Itemized Written Estimates
- Attic-to-Ridge Leak Tracing
