Questions and answers

An independent roofing contractor that serves your area, or a referral service that connects you with one. This site does not employ roofers. The contractor quotes its own price and stands behind its own work.

No. Ask questions, have the roof looked at and take your time. Getting more than one written price for a replacement is normal.

Home improvement contractors must register with the Office of Attorney General and put their registration number on contracts, estimates and ads. Check it at attorneygeneral.gov or call 1-888-520-6680. Registration is not an endorsement, so check references too.

It is set up for roof replacements and new roofs. If you are unsure whether your roof can be repaired, read repair or replace? and ask for both prices.

No. This site doesn't help with insurance claims or refer claim work. Contact your insurer directly about any claim.

Calls are answered Mon–Fri 8:30am–7pm, Sat 9am–4pm, Eastern time.

The roofing itself is often a few working days on a typical house; slate, steep roofs and rowhome rears take longer. Permits, material orders, weather and, in a historic district, the approval process add time before work starts. Ask for the whole timeline.

Sometimes, but most contractors in the area recommend a tear-off, because it is the only way to see and fix the deck. A second layer also adds weight and can shorten the life of the new shingles. Ask the contractor what they propose and why.

Usually not, but someone should be reachable. Move cars away from the house, take pictures and fragile items off upstairs walls, and keep pets and children clear of the work area.

The addition is normally permitted as one project with the roof included. In the City of Bethlehem that goes through the Bureau of Code Enforcement, (610) 865-7091; townships and boroughs nearby run their own permit offices.

Often closely, sometimes not exactly. If the old roof is near the end of its life, some owners replace the whole roof at the same time so it all matches and ages together.

Either can work. What matters is that one party answers for the tie-in, and that whoever does the work is registered as a home improvement contractor with the Pennsylvania Attorney General.

Curled or cracked shingles across the roof, bare spots where the granules are gone, granules piling up in gutters, repeated leaks and daylight or damp boards in the attic. Age matters too. A contractor can tell you whether a repair still makes sense.

Most homeowners choose them now: they are heavier, handle wind better and carry longer warranties. Three-tab shingles are uncommon on replacements.

Usually algae, which thrives on shaded, damp roofs. It is mostly cosmetic. Algae-resistant shingles help on a new roof; on an old one, avoid pressure washing, which strips the granules.

If the slates are sound and only a few are broken or missing, repair is often sensible, and the historic guidelines encourage it. If slates are delaminating, nails have failed across the roof or the flashing is gone, replacement is usually the better investment. Ask for both options in writing.

Outside the historic and conservation districts, yes. Inside them, the replacement material needs approval and the boards look for a match to the original. Synthetic slate and slate-look shingles have been proposed there; ask the contractor what has been approved on similar houses.

Slate can outlast lesser metals. Copper flashing, valleys and snow guards last closer to the life of the slate, and the Bethlehem guidelines favor traditional details such as half-round gutters.

Over a solid deck with underlayment, rain noise is usually close to that of a shingle roof. It is louder on open framing, such as a barn or an unlined porch roof.

Some systems allow it, but most contractors prefer a tear-off so they can check and repair the deck. Ask what is proposed and why.

Yes, more readily than off shingles. Snow guards above entrances, walkways and lower roofs hold it in place to melt gradually.

Water that stands for days, blisters, splits, soft spots underfoot and repeated leaks at the same place point to a membrane at the end of its life. A contractor can check whether the deck below is wet.

A coating can extend the life of a membrane that is still sound. It won't fix a wet deck, failed seams or poor drainage.

Both are common. EPDM is a rubber sheet with glued or taped seams; TPO is a thermoplastic sheet with heat-welded seams. The right one depends on the roof and on what the contractor installs well.

A new roof with membrane at the eaves stops most of the leaking. Stopping the ice itself means cutting heat loss into the attic and improving ventilation, which should be part of the plan.

They can keep a channel open at a problem spot, but they treat the symptom. Ventilation and air sealing deal with the cause.

Hacking at ice can damage shingles and gutters and is dangerous from a ladder. If ice is a yearly problem, plan the fix into the next roof.

It depends on its condition more than its age. A sound roof with one problem area may be worth a repair. A roof worn all over usually is not, and money spent patching it is money not spent on the replacement.

Often, as long as the patch is a real repair and not hiding a wider problem. It is fair to ask for a repair price and a replacement price at the same visit.

Slate is a special case: the slates can outlive the nails and flashing, so targeted repair can buy many years. The historic district guidelines in Bethlehem and Easton encourage it. Replace when failures are spread across the whole roof.