Essex County, New Jersey
Roofing contractor in Essex County, NJ
ProTech Roofing & Exterior serves Essex County as part of our Paramus and North Jersey service area, and that means all 22 municipalities, from the Ironbound to the Watchung ridges. We are locally owned and operated. We have 12 years on North Jersey roofs, more than 3,000 completed projects, NJ HIC Reg. #13VH12667100, and general liability and workers’ compensation insurance.
- Registered & insured NJ HIC Reg. #13VH12667100
- Family-owned in Paramus, NJ
- Free written estimates, no obligation
Where we work
Roofing across Essex County
We repair and replace shingle roofs, repair slate, re-cover and replace flat roofs on commercial and multi-family buildings, and handle skylights, seamless gutters and chimney flashing. Every job gets a free written estimate with scope, materials and price spelled out, before-and-after photos and a written workmanship warranty. Financing is available, and customers rate us 4.9 stars on Google. For an active leak, call Monday to Saturday 7 AM to 8 PM or Sunday 8 AM to 4 PM.
We serve all 22 Essex County municipalities. Here is what roofs look like in some of them.
- NewarkIronbound rowhouses, Forest Hill mansions, downtown towers and port warehouses; four in ten units are two- to four-family.
- East OrangeDense blocks of older multi-family houses and large prewar apartment buildings near Central Avenue.
- IrvingtonAmong the densest townships in the state: two- to four-family houses, apartment buildings and Springfield Avenue storefronts.
- BloomfieldOlder two-family and single-family homes, close to 40 percent built before 1940, along the Parkway and Bloomfield Avenue.
- BellevilleFrame houses and two-families on small lots along the Passaic River and Route 21, about a third built before 1940.
- NutleyOlder frame houses on tight lots near Franklin Avenue and the Third River, roughly a third built before 1940.
- MontclairVictorians, Tudors and Colonial Revivals on First Mountain, about 60 percent built before 1940, and four local historic districts.
- Glen RidgeFour in five homes were built before 1940; the historic district covers over 90 percent of the borough.
- West OrangeVictorian, Jazz Age and Tudor houses on First Mountain, Llewellyn Park, garden apartments and Route 10 campuses.
- LivingstonPostwar ranches, splits and colonials, plus Eisenhower Parkway office parks and Livingston Mall.
- MillburnEstate-style homes in Short Hills, a downtown on the Rahway River and the Mall at Short Hills.
- MaplewoodPrewar Victorians, Colonial Revivals, Tudors and Foursquares, plus the Hilton section on Springfield Avenue.
- South OrangeWood-framed homes from brick English cottages to mansard-roofed mansions, the Montrose Park Historic District and Seton Hall.
- FairfieldPostwar single-family homes in the least dense town in the county, with Route 46, I-80 and a warehouse belt second only to Newark.
Residential roofing
Residential roofing in Essex County
Essex County has about 339,000 housing units. Roughly 30 percent were built before 1940 and another third between 1940 and 1969. Only a third are detached single-family houses; 28 percent sit in two- to four-family buildings. In Newark, East Orange, Irvington, Orange, Belleville and Bloomfield that means two- and three-family frame houses, many with flat or low-slope roofs, and Ironbound rowhouses that share side walls.
Up the Watchung slope, in Montclair, Glen Ridge, Maplewood, South Orange, West Orange and Short Hills, the stock is prewar Victorians, Tudors, Colonial Revivals and Foursquares with mansards, dormers, brick chimneys and plenty of slate. Old slate is often still sound; the nails, valleys and flashings under it often are not. Farther west, Livingston, Cedar Grove, the Caldwells and Fairfield filled in mostly after the war with ranches, splits and colonials: layered shingles, low attics with little ventilation, and dried, gapped plank decking.
Roof repair in Essex County usually starts at a chimney, valley, pipe boot or wall flashing. We fix the source and warrant the repair for at least two years, limited to the repaired area. Roof replacement in Essex County means a full tear-off, new wood where needed, and an Owens Corning or GAF architectural shingle system with a minimum 15-year written workmanship warranty, longer depending on the roofing product, plus the manufacturer’s warranty on materials. We also repair slate, put membrane on flat sections, replace and flash skylights, hang seamless gutters, and reflash chimneys. Start with residential roofing for roof repair and replacement on houses.
Commercial roofing
Commercial roofing in Essex County
Newark has the port, the airport, more than 9 million square feet of Class A office space downtown, and warehouses across the East and South wards along Route 1&9 and I-78. Fairfield adds warehouses and plants on Route 46 and I-80. Office parks line Eisenhower Parkway in Livingston and Roseland, and Bloomfield Avenue runs storefronts with apartments above from Newark to the Caldwells. Add hospitals, universities, schools and apartment buildings, and most of it sits under a low-slope roof.
For owners and property managers, commercial roofing in Essex County starts with an inspection and a photo report. We repair leaks and flashing on TPO, EPDM, PVC, modified bitumen and built-up roofs, and set up maintenance plans to clear drains and check seams before winter. A dry, sound roof can often take a recover instead of a tear-off; a wet one gets a new membrane from Carlisle, Elevate (formerly Firestone), GAF, Mule-Hide or Versico. Replacements and recovers carry a 5-year written workmanship warranty, plus manufacturer system warranties of 15 to 30 years where the roof qualifies.
Weather
What Essex County weather and terrain do to a roof
Newark averages 31.5 inches of snow a year, and the county climbs from sea level at Newark Bay to roughly 660 feet on the Watchung ridges. Climate Central rates the Newark heat island at 8.4 degrees, second of 44 large US cities, so dark flat roofs bake and seams open while white TPO or PVC runs cooler. On First Mountain in Montclair and West Orange and the ridges near Verona and Cedar Grove, wind hits harder, snow lingers on north slopes, and thinly insulated old houses grow ice dams. Trees around South Mountain, Eagle Rock and Mills reservations fill gutters. Dozens of freeze-thaw cycles a winter open small flashing gaps, so we put ice and water barrier at eaves, valleys and penetrations.
Permits and local rules
Roofing permits and local rules in Essex County
Under the state Uniform Construction Code, repairing or replacing the roof covering on a detached one- or two-family house is ordinary maintenance: no permit, notice or inspection, and the same goes for gutters and leaders. Replacing sheathing or framing, cutting a new skylight opening, or roofing any attached house, three-family, apartment building or commercial property needs a permit.
The Glen Ridge historic district covers over 90 percent of the borough, and changing the roofing material visible from the street needs a Certificate of Appropriateness, though in-kind asphalt replacement does not. Montclair reviews exterior changes in its four local historic districts and on 64 landmarks. Some towns also limit contractor hours or Sunday work, so we confirm the local rule before we schedule; your town construction office has the current version.
Services in Essex County
What we do for Essex County homes and buildings
Roof Replacement
Tear-off to the deck, new wood where needed, and a complete Owens Corning or GAF shingle system with a minimum 15-year workmanship warranty.
Roof Repair
Leaks at pipe boots, valleys, walls and chimneys, traced to the source and fixed, with a minimum 2-year warranty on the repaired area.
Emergency Repair
We take storm damage and leak calls Monday to Saturday 7 AM to 8 PM and Sunday 8 AM to 4 PM.
Commercial & Flat Roofs
TPO, PVC, EPDM and modified bitumen: repairs, recovers and full replacements for commercial and multi-family buildings.
Skylights
Replace tired skylights and flash them correctly, on their own or as part of a new roof.
Gutters & Chimneys
New seamless gutters, and chimney flashing.
Our work
Recent roofing projects
New plywood and underlayment going down on a home attached to a commercial building with a white flat roof. The same roof finished in gray architectural shingles, with the flat roof next door untouched. 
Mature trees keep a roof shaded and damp. On lots like this we look for moss, lifted shingles and packed gutters.
Questions
Essex County roofing questions
Do I need a permit to replace my roof in Essex County?
Not for a detached one- or two-family house when only the roof covering changes; the state code calls that ordinary maintenance. A rowhouse, three-family, apartment building or commercial roof needs a permit, and so does new sheathing or a skylight opening. We handle the paperwork when it applies.
Should I replace the slate roof on my Montclair or Glen Ridge house with shingles?
Usually not. Sound slate often has decades left, and the leaks are usually at flashings, nails or valleys, which we repair. Glen Ridge requires Historic Preservation Commission approval to change roofing material visible from the street and rarely approves removing slate; Montclair reviews the same change in its historic districts. We give you repair and replacement options in writing.
Do you work on two-family houses with flat roofs in Newark, East Orange and Irvington?
Yes. We put TPO, EPDM or modified bitumen on the flat and low-slope roofs common in eastern Essex County, and can shingle the pitched front on the same job. Many are attached or have three units, so a permit is usually required, and we pull it.
What happens when I call about a leak in Essex County?
Call Monday to Saturday 7 AM to 8 PM or Sunday 8 AM to 4 PM and we set a time with you. We handle leak calls across Essex County, from Newark and East Orange to Montclair and Livingston. On an active leak the first step is stopping the water. The permanent repair is priced in writing after that.
Need a roofer in Essex County?
Free inspection and written estimate. Paramus-based, serving all of Essex County.