FAQ

Because they are describing their own process, not the law. New Jersey has a statewide Uniform Construction Code enforced locally, so the code is identical in Passaic, Clifton, Garfield, Lodi, Elmwood Park, Hawthorne, Totowa and Rutherford. What each town has of its own is a construction office, a fee schedule and an inspection diary.

Most New Jersey repairs run $350 to $1,800, with minor work from $150 to $600. A full replacement is $9,500 to $26,000 and most 2,000 square foot houses land at $12,000 to $18,000. Gutters are $8 to $16 per linear foot and a skylight replacement $500 to $1,500.

Because of the building and the access, never the rules. A narrow Garfield plot with nowhere to stage, a Totowa house with a driveway, and a Victorian Rutherford roof with four valleys and a turret are three different jobs. Detail work and access are labor, and they do not scale with roof area.

It depends on the building. Replacing a roof covering on a DETACHED one- or two-family dwelling is ordinary maintenance under N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.7 -- no permit, no inspection. An attached house, three or more units, or anything structural is permitted work. We confirm which office and what it needs before the work is booked.

A physical inspection at $150 to $250 for most situations, including buying a house. A drone survey at $200 to $400 where a roof cannot be walked safely -- steep, fragile or very large. Infrared at $400 to $600 only where a flat roof leaks repeatedly with no visible cause, because wet insulation is invisible from above.

Usually yes, and it is the part of a gutter quote worth arguing about. A five-inch gutter on a large steep roof overflows in a downpour however well it is hung; six-inch with three-by-four downspouts costs a little more per foot and actually works. Material matters far less than size and fall.

Often not. Almost every skylight leak is a flashing leak rather than a glass or seal failure: the unit sits on a curb and the covering has to be dressed up and over it. A fogged, failed unit does need replacing. A sound unit on a badly flashed curb does not, and we will tell you which you have.

No. The inspection is free, the written quote is free, and neither carries an obligation. A paid inspection is a different product -- a written report with photographs and an estimate of remaining life -- and we will say which one you actually need. What we will not do is give you a price at the curb.