Roofing crew installing shingles on a house in Kings Park, New York

Alec's Construction repairs and replaces roofs in Kings Park (11754) — 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 Kings Park

Kings Park sits where the Nissequogue River meets the Sound, and its roofs are mostly on 1950s to 70s capes, ranches and colonials along the streets off Pulaski Road and Indian Head Road, under oak and locust that stand over them. A lot of the capes have had a shed dormer added across the back to make the upstairs usable — a long, low-pitched roof meeting the steeper main roof in one long joint. That joint, and the low pitch of the dormer roof itself, are where cape roofs here most often fail. The bluff-top streets along the Sound and the hamlet centre on the hill take the northeast wind. The old commercial buildings on Main Street have flat roofs and parapets. Down near the river mouth, the marina and Sunken Meadow, it is wetter, but for roofs the wind and the dormers matter more than the water.

What We Look at First in Kings Park

On a Kings Park cape with a back dormer we check the dormer roof's pitch first, because if it is too low for shingles no amount of repair will keep it dry. Then the joint where the dormer meets the main roof, the cheek walls and the step flashing. On the bluff-top streets we start with the edges facing the Sound. Permits file with the Town of Smithtown at Town Hall on Main Street.

North Shore Roofs: Steep, Old and Facing the Sound

The harbour hamlets have some of the oldest and most complicated roofs in Suffolk — steep pitches, several valleys, dormers and chimneys — and a northeast wind off the Sound and the harbour that finds every weak flashing on the north side first. On a roof like that, the shingles are the easy part. The roof is mostly its flashings and valleys.

A leak on an older North Shore house is traced, not guessed at. Water often enters at a chimney, a dormer cheek or a valley and runs along the sheathing before it shows on a ceiling several feet away. The repair is at the entry point: step flashing woven with the courses, counterflashing let into the mortar joint, a proper valley rather than a bead of roof cement.

The north-facing slopes on these hills hold snow longest and see the least winter sun, which is where ice dams form. A roof that ice-dams every winter has an attic problem underneath it, and the roof repair includes saying so.

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 Kings Park

Kings Park files with the Town of Smithtown at Town Hall on Main Street in Smithtown; the streets around the Nissequogue River mouth, the marina and Sunken Meadow are in the mapped flood zone. 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 Kings Park, 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 Kings Park cape has a shed dormer across the back. Where does it usually leak?

In two places. First, the dormer roof itself: many shed dormers were built flatter than shingles can handle, so water creeps back under them in a wind-driven rain. That section needs a low-slope membrane. Second, the joint where the top of the dormer meets the main roof, and the cheek walls on each side, where flashing was often skipped or tarred. We rebuild those joints with proper metal flashing and membrane underneath.

Should I repair or replace my roof in Kings Park?

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.

Do you tear off the old roof in Kings Park 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.

Who issues the permit for roofing work in Kings Park?

Kings Park files with the Town of Smithtown at Town Hall on Main Street in Smithtown; the streets around the Nissequogue River mouth, the marina and Sunken Meadow are in the mapped flood zone. 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 Kings Park through the cold months: Seamless Gutters and Attic Insulation.

Also Serving Kings Park

Talk to Alec's Construction About Roofing in Kings Park

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.