When the roofline isn't straight anymore
Pittston grew on anthracite, and parts of the area sit above old mine workings that have settled since the 1940s. You can sometimes see it from the street: a ridge that dips in the middle, a roof plane with a gentle wave in it, or a crack in the flashing where a back addition meets the main house. Not every uneven roof in Pittston is a subsidence story. Old framing sags on its own, and a century of stacked shingle layers adds weight. But it's something we look for on every inspection here.
A replacement is the one chance to deal with what's under the shingles. After tear-off, we can see the deck and rafters from above. We replace soft or broken sheathing, and where a sag is shallow, careful deck work lets the new roof lie flatter than the old one did. Where two parts of the house have moved apart, we rebuild the flashing at that joint so it can take a little movement without opening.
What we won't do is guess about structure. If we see a sag or crack that looks like more than tired framing, we'll photograph it and tell you it's a question for a structural engineer before the new roof goes on. It's much easier to fix framing with the roof open than after it's closed up.
A Pittston roof, layer by layer
Pittston sits where the Lackawanna River meets the Susquehanna, and the moisture shows on the roofs. Houses on the city's tighter streets shade each other, and the slope facing a neighbor's wall often stays damp long enough to grow algae and moss. Winters average about 45 inches of snow at the nearby Wilkes-Barre/Scranton airport, with plenty of thaw-and-refreeze days. Here's how we build for that:
- Full tear-off of every old layer, down to the deck.
- Ice and water barrier along the eaves and valleys, where ice dams and backed-up meltwater cause the most leaks.
- Synthetic underlayment over the rest, plus new drip edge.
- Architectural asphalt shingles installed by a GAF-certified crew. Algae-resistant options are worth considering on the shaded side.
- New step and counter flashing at chimneys and walls.
- Balanced intake and ridge venting, sized to the attic, so the deck stays cold in winter. See our roof ventilation page.
Many Pittston homes have a back kitchen or porch with a roof too flat for shingles. We cover those with EPDM rubber in the same job, flashed up the house wall. On double-blocks, we can replace one half and tie it in at the party wall.
City permits and Greater Pittston
For a house inside city limits, the UCC permit application is filed with the City of Pittston's Code Enforcement Office at City Hall. Homes in Pittston Township, West Pittston, Hughestown, Jenkins Township, Duryea and the other Greater Pittston municipalities are handled by their own code offices instead. The state UCC exempts some residential repair work, and local rules decide what a re-roof needs. We confirm which office covers your address and what it requires, and if a permit is needed, we pull it and schedule the inspection.
Across the river in West Pittston, where Tropical Storm Lee damaged nearly 900 homes in 2011, we pay close attention to framing and decking that may have been repaired after the flood.
Not sure the roof needs to come off? Ask about a roof repair first, and we'll give you an honest answer. Read more about our roof replacement system, or get a starting number from the Instant Roof Quote.
More detail on how we handle this work anywhere we serve: Roof Replacement. Everything we do in Pittston: roofing in Pittston, PA.
