Roofing crew installing shingles on a house in Amityville, New York

Alec's Construction repairs and replaces roofs in Amityville (11701) — leaks traced to the cause, flashings and valleys, wind and ice-dam damage, and full tear-off replacements — working out of the yard in East Patchogue. Repairs and sheet-metal work run straight through the winter; replacements go on with the warm days.

Roofs in Amityville

Amityville is the westernmost of Suffolk's South Shore villages, and its roofs split cleanly by age. South of Merrick Road, along the Amityville River and the canals that open into the Great South Bay, are 1950s and 60s capes and ranches with simple gable roofs exposed to a south wind across the water. North of the water is the older village core — big shingle and clapboard houses from the 1800s along the avenues, with steep roofs, dormers, porches, several chimneys and long valleys, under trees as old as the houses. Those roofs have been re-covered more than once and every generation of repair is still there. In the village core the work is mostly flashing, valleys and porch roofs that tie into the main walls; down by the canals it is edges and nailing. The village runs its own building department, so the address decides where the work files.

What We Look at First in Amityville

On an 1800s Amityville house we look at the porch roof and its joint with the wall first — that low-slope connection is where water gets into old houses most often. Then the chimneys, then the valleys and dormers. On the canal ranches we start at the edges facing the river. Before the permanent work, we confirm whether the address is inside the village, which files on Greene Avenue, or outside it, which files with the Town of Babylon.

Canal-Street Roofs: Rebuilt Fast, Re-Roofed Over

A lot of the canal-grid houses in Amityville were repaired in a hurry after 2012, and some of those roofs went on over an older layer rather than down to the deck. A roof laid over another one hides the sheathing, carries more weight and gives the new shingles less life, and it is the first thing we check when a canal-street roof leaks.

The houses on these grids are 1950s and 60s ranches and capes, close together, with simple gable roofs and the occasional low-slope addition at the back. The low-slope section is where water sits, and where shingles were used on a pitch too shallow for them it is where the leak is.

The wind comes off the bay over open water and the canals, and it finds the rake edges and the ridge first. A replacement here goes down to the deck, the sheathing gets checked and renewed where it is soft, the eaves and valleys get ice-and-water membrane, and the edges get fastened for the wind they actually see.

Failed step flashing and old roof cement where a chimney meets the shingles

Repair or Replace, Honestly

If the roof is sound and the leak is a flashing or a valley, the right answer is a repair, and the roof has years left in it. If the shingles are curling, shedding granules and already on a second layer, a repair buys a season and replacement is the honest answer. Alex goes up, photographs every flashing, the valleys and the field, and you get the photographs either way.

A replacement here is a tear-off to the deck. The sheathing gets checked and renewed where it is soft, ice-and-water membrane goes at the eaves and valleys, flashings are replaced rather than reused, and the attic ventilation is balanced so the new roof is not cooked from below or iced at the eave.

Permits in Amityville

The Village of Amityville runs its own building department at Village Hall on Greene Avenue; the streets south of Merrick Road along the canals and the Amityville River are in the mapped flood zone. The parts of Amityville outside the village file with the Town of Babylon. Roof replacement is permitted work in most of Suffolk, and the limit on shingle layers decides whether the old roof has to come off — on our jobs it comes off regardless. We file the permit.

Alex walks the house in Amityville, photographs what he finds and gives you a written scope in the order the work has to happen — whether or not you hire us. Call (631) 312-7441 to set up a time.

Frequently Asked Questions

My Amityville house is one of the 1800s houses in the village core. Is the roof a bigger job?

Usually, because there is more of it and more joints in it. These houses have steep main roofs, dormers, porch roofs, several chimneys and long valleys, and each junction needs flashing done right. Under the layers there is often board sheathing rather than plywood. We price the deck once we can see it, repair the flashings in metal rather than cement, and file with the village building department on Greene Avenue.

Can a roof in Amityville be replaced in winter?

Repairs, flashing and sheet-metal work run all winter. A full asphalt replacement is a warmer-day job, because the seal strip on the shingles needs warmth to bond; when a replacement has to go on in the cold, every course is hand-sealed so it holds in the first wind. We schedule around the forecast.

Should I repair or replace my roof in Amityville?

If the roof is sound and the leak is a flashing or a valley, repair it. If the shingles are curling, losing granules and on a second layer, a repair buys a season and replacement is the honest answer. Alex photographs the whole roof and tells you which it is.

Who issues the permit for roofing work in Amityville?

The Village of Amityville runs its own building department at Village Hall on Greene Avenue; the streets south of Merrick Road along the canals and the Amityville River are in the mapped flood zone. The parts of Amityville outside the village file with the Town of Babylon. Roof replacement is permitted work in most of Suffolk, and the limit on shingle layers decides whether the old roof has to come off — on our jobs it comes off regardless. We file the permit.

Related Guides

Work With Alec's Construction

This page is written by the crew that does the work. See Alec's Roofing service — tear-offs, repairs, flashing and storm damage across Suffolk County. One crew from the first walkthrough to the last inspection.

Also in Amityville through the cold months: Seamless Gutters and Attic Insulation.

Also Serving Amityville

Talk to Alec's Construction About Roofing in Amityville

We come out, look at the house, photograph what we find and put a written scope in your hand. No pressure, no obligation. Working across Suffolk County since 2018.

Or call (631) 312-7441

No cost, no obligation. We reply the same day.