Historic district first, shingles second
In most towns, the first decision on a new roof is the shingle color. In Princeton, if the house is in a historic district or is a designated historic site, the first question is whether you're changing anything.
Exterior work in the town's historic districts goes through Princeton's Historic Preservation Office and Commission. The town's own guidance says a preservation plan isn't needed for ordinary maintenance, which it defines as replacing a deteriorated feature with the same material, color and dimensions. So:
- Replacing worn asphalt shingles with a matching asphalt shingle in a similar color generally counts as ordinary maintenance.
- Switching to a different material, color or profile on a house in a district usually triggers a preservation plan and review by the Commission.
The town recommends an early call to the Historic Preservation Officer, and we agree. Do it before you sign a contract, so the scope and schedule reflect what the town expects. We'll give you product names, color names, samples and photos of the existing roof for that conversation. We don't order materials until you know which path you're on.
The construction side is simpler. Under New Jersey's code, re-roofing a detached one- or two-family home has been ordinary maintenance since March 2018 and generally needs no permit. Attached homes, commercial buildings and some structural work do need one. When a permit is required, we pull it through the Department of Building & Construction.
Rebuilding the details an older roof depends on
A replacement on a steep, cut-up Princeton roof is mostly about the details. Open slopes are easy. The work is in the dormers, the valleys, the walls and the chimneys, and that's where we put our time.
Once the old roofing is off, we replace split or soft board sheathing. We carry ice and water barrier through every valley and along the eaves, where ice dams form on older, under-ventilated attics. We then rebuild step flashing and counter-flashing at every chimney and dormer wall rather than reusing tired metal, and add a cricket behind wide chimneys. Balanced intake and exhaust ventilation keeps the new shingles from baking from below.
Slate, copper or cedar still covers part of the roof on some Princeton houses. We install architectural asphalt shingles and EPDM, not those materials. When our shingle section meets one of them, we flash the transition carefully and leave the other material undisturbed. If a porch or dormer roof is too flat for shingles, it gets EPDM in the same job.
Working under the canopy, on a busy street
Much of Princeton sits under mature oaks, maples and evergreens. Shade keeps north slopes damp, and needles and leaves pile into valleys. Before we schedule, we'll point out limbs over the roof that a tree service should look at, because a new roof shouldn't meet an old limb in its first storm.
On the day of the job, gardens, stone walks and patios under the drip line get tarps and plywood, and ladders stay clear of old trim. Near Nassau Street and on the narrow streets in town, we plan dumpster placement and deliveries ahead so the job doesn't take over the block.
Every new roof carries a lifetime manufacturer's warranty and a 10-year workmanship warranty. If only one area is failing, a targeted roof repair may buy you years, and we'll say so. Read more about our roof replacement process, or get a starting number from the Instant Roof Quote. On an older, complicated roof, we'll always confirm it in person.
More detail on how we handle this work anywhere we serve: Roof Replacement. Everything we do in Princeton: roofing in Princeton, NJ.
