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Overhead view of a fully stripped roof covered in synthetic underlayment, with around twenty shingle bundles staged in a row along the ridge and tarps below catching the torn off shingles
Sussex County, NJ

Roof replacement in Sussex County, NJ

Sussex County averages 40 to 50 inches of snow a year, and a roof here holds a lot of it. We strip the old one to the boards, photograph what is under it, and plan the new one from the eaves up.

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Modern Home Roofing & Chimney replaces roofs on houses across Sussex County, NJ, including Sparta, Vernon, Franklin and Hardyston. The whole county sits in the State Climatologist's Northern Zone, so the eaves and the attic get the hardest look before we price a new roof. You see any rotted board before it is replaced. NJ HIC 13VH13268400.

Sussex County roofs

Old borough houses and newer lake houses, all under heavy snow

40+Inches of snow in an average Sussex County winter, 40 to 50 by the State Climatologist.
40%Of Franklin Borough homes went up before 1940. Statewide: 17%.
1985Median year built in Hardyston, where 31% of homes are from this century.
82%Of Sussex County homes are lived in by their owners. Statewide: 64%.

All 24 towns here are in the Northern Zone, where small mountains reach 1,800 feet and winters can run more than ten degrees colder than the shore. Snow sits on a roof longer in that cold. When heat from the house warms its underside, the melt water slides down to the overhang, which hangs out past the warm walls, and freezes there.

The houses themselves split two ways. Franklin Borough's median home dates to 1955 and Newton's to 1962, and in both close to four in ten were built before 1940. A roof on a house that old has often been redone before, and the boards under it may be planks instead of plywood.

Out in the townships, the houses are younger. Hardyston's median is 1985 and Hamburg's 1983. A house from the late 1980s or 1990s may still be wearing its original shingles, and by now those are often close to worn out.

A 1950s roof in Franklin and a 1980s roof in Hardyston can look alike from the car. We get up when it is safe, go into the attic, and only then write the price.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 (B25003, B25024, B25034, B25035); Office of the New Jersey State Climatologist.

Before we price it

What sets the price of a Sussex County roof

Square footage gives us a starting number. The deck, the eaves and the attic move it, and none of them show from the ground. We check each one and send you the photos.

Roofer laying the first courses of new shingles over synthetic underlayment while two crew members work further along the roof

From Vernon to Byram, we write down

  • How many layers of shingles are on the roof now.
  • Plank boards or plywood under them, and any soft spots underfoot.
  • The overhang at the eaves, where melt water freezes.
  • Attic boards above the eaves, for dark stains left by past ice.
  • The chimney where it comes through the roof. Almost half the homes here still send oil exhaust up it.
  • On an attached house in Hardyston or Hamburg, the seam with the roof next door.
Roofer nailing down a patched section of a shingle roof, with the old shingles cut back around the repair and a roll of underlayment beside it

Not every worn roof is finished. If a repair gets yours through a few more winters, we price the repair. Roof repair in Sussex County

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Boroughs and townships

Old village houses, and the lake and farm country around them

Roof stripped to new plywood decking with a continuous slot cut along the ridge and crew members working near the peak
The old boroughs and Newton

Franklin, Newton, Sussex, Branchville, Andover Borough

Sussex Borough and Branchville both have a median house from 1948, and in each close to half the homes predate 1940. In Sussex Borough and Andover Borough about one home in seven is a two-family house. Expect more than one layer of shingles and plank boards under them. In Newton's historic district, the Historic Preservation Advisory Commission reviews exterior work, though in-kind roof repair does not need its review, so we check with the town before a roof there comes off.

Hand at the ridge of a shingle roof lifting a bundle of loose low voltage wires that run across the shingles beside a vent
Lake and farm townships

Vernon, Sparta, Wantage, Byram, Hopatcong and the rest

Out here almost every home is a detached house: 97 percent in Byram, 98 in Fredon, 99 in Green. Median years run from 1963 in Sandyston to 1985 in Hardyston. A big detached roof with valleys, dormers and a chimney holds snow in a lot of places, so the eaves and the valleys get planned first. In Hardyston and Hamburg about a quarter of homes are attached, and a new roof on one of those goes through the town's construction office.

A tear off usually brings the gutters down. If yours were overflowing anyway, that is the moment to replace them. Gutter installation

How it works

How a roof replacement works in Sussex County

Most houses take one or two days once work starts, weather permitting. All seven steps are on the roof replacement page.

  1. Free inspection

    We get on the roof when it is safe to, check the attic and take photos. You see them before we talk about price.

  2. Written estimate

    Scope, materials, number of days and the price, on paper. Any permit goes on it too.

  3. Tear off and deck check

    Every layer comes off down to the wood. If we find rotted boards, we stop and show you before we replace them.

  4. New roof and clean up

    New underlayment and shingles go on. Then we haul the old roof away and run a magnet over the lawn and driveway for nails.

Skylight set into an asphalt shingle roof with metal flashing around the frame and a stone chimney behind it
Low slope roof covered in black membrane, with a skylight set into it and rolls of membrane laid out
Aerial view of a completed architectural shingle roof on a two storey house
Crew member standing on a finished shingle roof with a ladder set to the ridge, surrounded by neighbouring houses and driveways

Do you need a permit for a new roof in Sussex County?

On a detached one- or two-family house, no. New Jersey's construction code treats a new roof covering on a detached one- or two-family house as ordinary maintenance, so there is no permit and no notice to the town. A townhouse or other attached house usually goes through the town's construction office. Newton has a historic district, where the Historic Preservation Advisory Commission reviews exterior work, though in-kind roof and siding repair does not need its review. We check with your town before we start, and any permit goes on the estimate.

Before you hire anyone

What you can check on us first

  • Our New Jersey Home Improvement Contractor license is 13VH13268400. Look it up with the Division of Consumer Affairs.
  • We carry insurance and can send you the certificate before work starts.
  • The inspection is free, and the estimate comes to you in writing.
  • We are open 24 hours.

GAFOn roofing work, we are also GAF Certified. What GAF Certified means

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FAQ

Roof replacement questions in Sussex County

Still not covered? Call 732-682-9251 and ask.

If it is in Sussex County, yes. We cover all 24 municipalities, from Andover to Wantage. Put your ZIP code in the estimate form and we confirm it when we call you back.

The size and pitch of the roof come first, then how many layers come off, how many boards need replacing and which shingle you pick. A long ranch by a lake and a steep two-story house in Newton are different jobs. We do not quote over the phone. The written price follows once we have stood on the roof.

On a detached one- or two-family house, that work needs no construction permit. State code treats a new roof covering there as ordinary maintenance. Attached houses, about a quarter of homes in Hardyston and Hamburg, and buildings with three or more homes go through the town's construction office. In Newton's historic district we also check with the town about Historic Preservation Advisory Commission review first.

It might. Plenty of houses from that period are still on the shingles they were built with, and shingles that old are often near the end. The shingles, the attic and the eaves decide it, not the date. If there is life left in the roof, you hear that from us.

Yes, mostly at the edges. With 40 to 50 inches of snow in an average winter, ice tends to form where the roof hangs past the wall. We spend the most time at the eaves and in the attic right above them, and we photograph both.

Call us, but check with your association first. In most condos the roof and the siding belong to the association, and the board hires the contractor. Townhouses vary. Your association documents say who owns what.

Aerial view of a roof replacement near completion, with crew members setting the final courses

Find out how many winters your roof has left

Tell us your town and what you are seeing. We call you back shortly. The inspection costs nothing, and the photos and a written price are yours. If a repair makes more sense, we tell you.

Or call 732-682-9251

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