Roofers in New York

A roof protects everything under it, and the roofers on this site range from small roofing crews to general contractors and remodelers who also roof. The steps below help you sort them before you call.

The New York Attorney General says home improvement contractors must be licensed in New York City, Suffolk, Nassau, Westchester, Putnam and Rockland counties and the City of Buffalo. New York City issues its Home Improvement Contractor license through the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, and Nassau and Suffolk counties name roofing in their licensing rules. Ask the roofer which license applies at your address and check it with that county or city before you sign.

State law requires a roofing contractor to sign a written contract with the owner before starting work, and the contract must name the insurer, the type of coverage and the policy limits. State law also bars a roofing contractor from advertising or promising to pay or rebate any part of an insurance deductible, so be careful with any roofer who offers to cover yours.

The state Uniform Code applies everywhere in New York except New York City, which keeps its own code, and local governments may set stricter standards. Outside the city, ask your local building department whether your roof job needs a permit. In New York City, roof work limited to the membrane, roof coverings, cant strip and insulation above the deck is listed as not needing a permit, provided the energy code does not require added insulation. A job that replaces the roof deck or sheathing is listed as needing one, and the city's rule says its exemptions never authorize work that violates the code.

On each listing, the tile called roofing work means the roofer installs, replaces or repairs roofs itself. After that, look for the specific work you need: leak repair, flat roofs, asphalt shingles, metal, slate, gutters or commercial roofing. The service pages sort roofers by the work they confirm. A line saying not enough info means the roofer's website did not say, so call and ask.

Weather differs across the state. The northern part frequently gets heavy lake-effect snow, and the whole state is often hit by nor'easters, hurricanes and ice storms, so ask how a roofer handles snow load and wind on the kind of roof you have.

Ratings and review counts come from Google. A 5.0 from two reviews and a 4.8 from several hundred are not the same evidence, which is why every card shows both numbers. Read a few recent reviews, see how the roofer answered a complaint, and get at least three estimates in writing.

Ask who will be on the roof and whether they are employees, when the job can start and what happens if it rains, what the warranty covers and who stands behind it, and how the crew cleans up nails and old material. Ask for a written estimate that names the materials and the work. After a storm, photograph the damage before anyone touches it, and ask about emergency tarping.