Teach me about roofs... high quality...
My roof is 20 years old.
Warranty is 25... but it's showing it's age and I'd rather replace ahead of problems.
Existing is asphalt... but I'm not going anywhere...and getting old enough that I want to do this once and never again.
I've been looking around online...and see things like metal shake, or synthetics like Cedur shake... https://www.cedur.com/
Both promote as longer life than typical shingles...and a little bit of style at the same time.
My wife would also like to put in a skylight at the same time.
She also mentioned replacing the gutters with a different color... but asked me if a company could paint our window / door frames.
Anyone have thoughts / experience on metal / synthetic shake...?
Also- anyone have suggestions for QUALITY / EXPERIENCED tradesman?
Doesn't matter how good the product is if it is installed poorly....and unfortunately with contractors...it seems flaws / shortcuts are all too common...and once an issue arises... it is often difficult to resolve once the check cleared.
Absolutely not looking for a crew to slap a new layer on my old stuff...
Home ownership is soo much fun. :P
Thanks- Josh
Josh Any reason not to put on an asphalt roof? I did mine last year and couldn’t be happier with my new roof.
not sackLet me preface this with the fact that I would recommend a company from Hackettstown or our local area first IF I had any experience with them, however, I do NOT. Therefore, I have to go with the people that I DO have experiences with, and that is "Matute Roofing". My Dad used them for his house in Parsippany, and was so impressed with their speed and quality that he always recommends them, and used them several years later for the house in Hopatcong that he also owned.
When we were watching the poor job being done by a crew a few doors down from him, a neighbor showed up to watch too and was talking about the idea of asking this other crew to do the job, my Dad told him, not to bother, that they were bumbling all around, and pointed out what they were doing wrong, then told him about Matute. He was very greatful and impressed later by the job Matute did. While you could pad results, I don't think you could achieve the great recommendations these guys have. The only caveat is that I don't know if they'll come out this far.
https://matuteroofing.com/
Phil D. Matute for the win. I have used them based on recommendation and recommended them to others who in turn have recommended them. My experience with the local roofers was not positive.
@Phil: They definitely come out this far.
We had our roof done 6 years ago and have had no issues. I’d have to look at the warranty but I believe they are highly rated with GAF.
Matute explained the whole process from ice shield on up.
Matute did the job right, fast yet was meticulous, and had the manpower to get the job done. We had 8 guys assigned to us. They fixed our skylights, too. We did not need gutters at the time so they did not do that for us.
Hey There 
Robert Hey There
I was recommending them around that time and before. I may have been one of the ones that recommended them;-) Glad to hear they were as good as they were for us, and that they definitely come out this far!
We had our roof done circa 2014 by George J. Keller and Sons from Flanders. They did a fantastic job and are GAF…elite? I forget the designation/certification but it doubled the GAF warranty (either 20 years to 40 years or 25 years to 50 years). Not sure the warranty means anything but they did great work and were the same price as another outfit in town.
They also replaced 4 large skylights that were 25 years old. We obviously had the holes already cut and trimmed on the inside because we had existing skylights but they were rather expensive. I think around $1500 each. Having to install them where there are no existing skylights would probably be very expensive. Also, most roofers don’t like to do inside trim work. So unless you’re handy, you may need to hire a handyman or interior carpenter.
I'm cool with the interior work... I plan on completely redoing both of my bathrooms myself.... moving everything...shower / sink / toilet...new walls, new floor, new ceiling.
So I'll tear out the ceiling to give them open access for the skylight...and finish the interior out on my own later.
I've used Keller for two houses, roof cleaning/refresh, and repairs. Top notch. Made a blackened roof look new. Is fixing my ridge vent failure from old tech and new extreme storms, and has done a roof or two --- perfect. Family run, nice folks, couple of generations, web friendly and know how to use a smart phone.... IE -- they do call back. I don't even get a second bid anymore.
You can expect one, maybe two days, and nothing left behind, no nails to step on.
For skylights, velux, and check out the solar shades. solar in that uses battery, no wires therefore. Mine have worked great, silver sided on the outside to reflect, and really cuts the heat in the summer if you get sun. Not to mention after a decade, I am still in awe everytime they move. I love getting God's renewable energy to make my family's life better. Good idea to frame it out, but let the pro's install the skylight. Pretty high tech on the velux, not sure I would trust just a handyman for that one.
don't forget the gutter guards, really work well nowadays.
good luck. call asap, these guys are booked.
babbit 
We had our roof replaced in June. I found Warren Thompson out of Alpha. I found them to be very professional.
I'm not going to offer specific recommendations, but I will offer a few things to consider.
Virtually all roof leaks are NOT caused by the roofing itself failing. Most of them occur from one of three things: either where something pierces the roof (such as a chimney or plumbing vent or skylight), from gutters icing up and/or overflowing, or from damage to the roof from things like a storm knocking a huge branch down atop the roof. So, it's really not a big difference if you get a 25-year roof or a 30-year roof; either will likely last you 30+ years, unless one of the above-listed things happen.
In addition, it's extremely rare that roofing-material warranties come into play. Again, most problems occur due to poor installation or failure to maintain/protect the roof from the factors listed above. What's most important is that the roof, flashing, and gutters all be properly installed and maintained. That means that you (or a hired pro) really needs to get up there and inspect everything every couple of years, so that you can spot potential problems (such as a rotting rubber boot around a vent pipe) before they get worse.
You also need to consider that NJ gets weather that can be quite different than other areas--frigid cold and snow, blazing heat and Sun, occasional gale-force winds, etc. That means that roofing materials that may work extremely well elsewhere are just not as practical for a NJ home.
In sum, I would suggest you consider something fairly basic that can handle NJ weather and is fairly easy to repair, if necessary. For example, metal roofs can be great on some homes, but if yours is surrounded by a lot of big trees, there's a fair chance that you'll end up with a big dent in your expensive metal roof from a big branch hitting it during a storm, and it is generally much cheaper and easier to repair a traditional asphalt-shingle roof that a metal roof. Shake roofs can look charming, but they can be very hazardous to walk on (I slipped on one myself--fortunately, it was only about 9 feet to the ground!). And don't forget to budget some time and/or money for future inspections, maintenance, and repairs, as that's as important as the roof install, itself.
JerseyWolf We just replaced a 24 year old roof by George J. Keller with asphalt shingles and are very happy. We had no issues but wanted to get ahead of any starting. Workmanship was very good, great financing and a warranty that is excellent. I would definitely recommend them. They may offer other roofing material options but I don’t know we were just replacing ours with the same type.
Just don’t bother with Al’s roofing. Not worth the low price. NO customer service at all but lots of aggravation, etc.
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