In a Union County two-family house, water from the roof can come through the ceiling of the downstairs apartment. Before any repair, we follow it back to the spot where it enters.
NJ HIC 13VH13268400 · Licensed and insured · GAF Certified · Free inspection · Open 24 hours
Modern Home Roofing & Chimney fixes leaking roofs across Union County, NJ, including Elizabeth, Linden, Hillside and Roselle, where many homes are two-family houses. We follow the water from the stain back to the roof, checking both apartments with the tenant's permission, and repair the source. Open 24 hours, under NJ HIC 13VH13268400.
Union County roofs
Two households under one leaking roof
32%Of Elizabeth homes are two-family houses. New Jersey: 8.5%.
26%Two-family houses in Linden.
24%Two-family houses in Hillside and in Garwood.
1950Median year a Hillside house was built. The county's: 1957.
In Elizabeth about one home in three is a two-family house. In Linden it is about one in four, and Hillside and Garwood are close behind. When the roof over the top unit leaks, the water does not always stop there. It can run down inside a wall and come out in the apartment below.
Hillside's median house dates to 1950. On roofs that old, the open stretches of shingle usually hold up better than the places where something passes through or two planes meet: chimney metal, valleys, the collars on vent pipes. Plenty carry tar on tar from earlier patches. We tell you whether the metal under it is worth saving.
Union County is in the northern part of the Central Zone, where storms turn from rain to snow and back, and the slush freezes again overnight. Built-up areas like Elizabeth stay warmer at night than the towns around them, but a valley packed with slush still holds water against the shingles until it drains.
The stain tells us where to start looking, not where to fix. Photos come before any repair.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 (B25024, B25035); Office of the New Jersey State Climatologist.
Finding the source
How we track a leak on a Union County roof
Water rarely drips straight down. It runs along rafters and inside walls, and in a two-family house it can skip the upstairs unit entirely. So we go up top and into the attic first.
Places we check first
Metal around the chimney, and how many coats of tar are on it.
Valleys, where slush parks after a mixed storm.
Collars on plumbing vents, which crack as they age.
The lowest course of shingles, where an iced gutter can force water back.
Wet or darkened attic wood directly above the stain.
The upstairs and downstairs units, if your tenant agrees.
A roof patched over and over eventually stops taking patches. If yours is at that point, you hear it straight. Roof replacement in Union County
Water from the roof can travel down to the other apartment, and the tenant often spots it first. With their okay we go through both units, locate the entry point on the roof, and repair it there.
Westfield, Cranford, Summit
Older detached houses
Many of these houses went up in the early 1950s or before, with brick chimneys. Leaks here tend to start at the chimney or in a valley and show up in a top floor bedroom or the attic. There is one family and one attic, so the trail is usually short.
Finding the cause comes first, and your written estimate lists what we will fix and how long it will take. All six steps are on the roof repair page.
01
We find where the water gets in
We get on the roof when it is safe to, check the attic under the stain, and trace the water back to where it enters. You get the photos.
02
Written estimate
What is wrong, what we will fix and the price, on paper. If the roof is past repairing, we tell you that and show you why.
03
We fix the cause
New flashing, replaced shingles or a section of new underlayment. If the deck under it is soft, you get photos and a price before we replace it.
04
Seal, clean up and show you
New shingles get nailed and sealed to the ones around them. We run a magnet over the lawn for nails and go over photos of the repair with you.
Do you need a permit for a roof repair in Union County?
On a detached one- or two-family house, no. New Jersey's construction code treats repairing the 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. Westfield requires a certificate of appropriateness for exterior changes in its historic districts, though a repair that matches the old material and look is exempt. 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.
If it is in Union County, yes. We cover all 21 municipalities, from Berkeley Heights to Winfield. Put your ZIP code in the estimate form and we confirm it when we call you back.
Yes, call us. We are open 24 hours. In cold weather the first job is to stop the water and protect the rooms below. The permanent repair may need a milder day, and we spell out which is which.
Possibly. Upstairs plumbing, a window or a heating pipe can also put water there. Roofs are our trade, so the roof and the attic are where we look. A dry roof gets reported as dry, and then you know to call a plumber.
Cost follows the cause and how much surrounding roof we have to open. Replacing a cracked vent collar is quick. Redoing chimney metal buried under years of tar takes longer. We do not quote over the phone. Once the source is found, the price comes to you in writing.
Not for a detached one- or two-family house, where the state treats repairs to the roof covering as ordinary maintenance. Attached homes and buildings of three or more units need the town construction office. We call your town first.
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.
Stop the leak where it starts
Give us your town and tell us which floor the water is on. We call you back shortly, inspect for free, and send photos with a written price. If patching no longer makes sense, we say that plainly.
NJ HIC 13VH13268400 · Licensed and insured · GAF Certified · Free inspection · Open 24 hours
