Roofing crew installing shingles on a house in Huntington Station, New York

Alec's Construction repairs and replaces roofs in Huntington Station (11746) — 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 Huntington Station

Huntington Station climbs south from the village toward the Expressway on the moraine, inland and wooded, with no tidal water. The streets off New York Avenue and Pulaski Road are 1920s to 60s houses on small lots under big old street trees, and the newer streets south toward Melville are 1960s and 70s colonials and splits under oaks saved when the lots were cut. Norway maples and oaks shade the roofs, drop leaves and seeds into the gutters, and in a saturated storm come down whole. On the older, tighter streets, the gutters and the roof edges behind them take the most wear: they overflow every rain, rot the fascia and the bottom of the deck, and in winter hold ice at the eave. Commercial buildings along New York Avenue have flat roofs that catch the wind. In Huntington Station the roof edge usually tells the story.

What We Look at First in Huntington Station

On the 1920s houses in Huntington Station we start at the eave: gutters, fascia, the first row of sheathing and whether there is any drip edge at all. Rot there has to come out before new roofing goes on. We check whether the gutters are pitched to drain and whether limbs over the roof need cutting. Then the roof surface and the attic. Permits go to the Town of Huntington at Town Hall on Main Street.

Big Trees Over Big Roofs in Huntington Station

The wooded lots in Huntington Station put tall oak, tulip and hickory over two-storey roofs, and the roofs are larger and more cut-up than the Island average — hips, valleys, dormers, chimneys and long eaves. Every one of those intersections is a flashing detail, and every valley under a big tree fills with leaves twice a year.

Most leaks on these houses are at the intersections, not in the field of the roof. A packed valley overflows sideways under the shingles; a chimney flashing that was roof-cemented instead of counterflashed lets go a little more every winter; a skylight curb rots from the outside in. Tracing the leak to the actual entry point is the first job, and it is often nowhere near the stain.

Trees that tall also shade the north slopes. Snow sits there, the attic below melts it, and it refreezes at the cold eave. Ice-and-water membrane at the eaves and valleys is standard on a replacement here, and the attic ventilation gets corrected at the same time.

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

Leaks Are Flashing Problems Until Proven Otherwise

The open field of a roof almost never leaks. Water gets in where the roof meets something else — a chimney, a wall, a dormer, a valley, a vent pipe, a skylight — and on a great many Long Island roofs that flashing was done once, failed, and has been covered in roof cement ever since. Roof cement goes brittle within a few winters and hides the failure while the water keeps getting in.

So a repair starts by finding where the water actually enters, which is often several feet from where the stain shows, and fixing the flashing there. Repairs, flashing and sheet-metal work run all winter. Full asphalt replacements go on the warmer days, and shingles laid in the cold are hand-sealed so they hold in the first wind.

Permits in Huntington Station

Huntington Station files with the Town of Huntington at Town Hall on Main Street in Huntington. 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 Huntington Station, 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

The gutters on my Huntington Station house overflow every time it rains under the maples. Is that a roof problem?

It becomes one. Water spilling over the back of a gutter runs behind it, rots the fascia and the edge of the roof deck, and in winter turns to ice at the eave that pushes water under the shingles. We check the gutter pitch and size, the condition of the fascia and first course of sheathing, and whether there is drip edge carrying water into the gutter. Gutter guards help under maples, but only after the edge is sound.

Do you tear off the old roof in Huntington Station or go over it?

We tear off to the deck. A roof laid over an old layer hides soft sheathing, adds weight and shortens the life of the new shingles, and layer limits in most Suffolk towns decide it anyway. Tear-off lets us renew the sheathing, flashings and membrane properly.

Where does a roof in Huntington Station usually leak?

At the flashings, not the field. Chimneys, valleys, dormer walls, skylights, plumbing vents and roof-to-wall joints are where water gets in, and roof cement over an old flashing is the most common failed repair on Long Island. The entry point is often not above the stain, so the first job is tracing it.

Who issues the permit for roofing work in Huntington Station?

Huntington Station files with the Town of Huntington at Town Hall on Main Street in Huntington. 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 Huntington Station through the cold months: Seamless Gutters and Attic Insulation.

Also Serving Huntington Station

Talk to Alec's Construction About Roofing in Huntington Station

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.