Roofing crew installing shingles on a Long Island house

Alec's Construction repairs and replaces roofs in Lindenhurst, Suffolk County — leaks traced to the cause, flashings and valleys, ice-dam damage, and full replacements — working out of the yard in East Patchogue. Roof repairs, flashing and sheet-metal work run straight through the winter; replacements go on the warm days.

Roofs in Lindenhurst

Lindenhurst roofs are cape roofs — steep, simple, and on the south side of the village facing the bay wind. The cape has two problems: the ice dam at the eave from the knee-wall attic behind it, and the dormer, where the roof-to-wall flashing at the dormer cheeks is the single most common leak on a Lindenhurst house. Many of these roofs are on a second or third shingle layer, which the Village of Lindenhurst building department has a view on when the permit is filed.

Leaks Are Flashing Problems Until Proven Otherwise

The field of a roof — the plain expanse of shingles — almost never leaks. Water gets in where the roof meets something else: a chimney, a dormer wall, a valley, a skylight, a plumbing vent, a wall. Every one of those joints is a flashing detail, and on a great many Long Island roofs the flashing was done once, failed, and has been roof-cemented over ever since. Roof cement is brittle within a few winters and hides the failure while the water keeps going in.

Tracing a leak means finding where the water actually enters, which is often several feet from where the stain shows, and fixing the flashing there — step flashing woven with the courses, counterflashing let into the mortar, a proper valley — rather than patching the shingles above the stain.

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

Winter Roofing, Honestly

  • Repairs, flashing, valleys, caps and chase covers — all winter, in any temperature.
  • Ice-dam damage — the roof repaired, the interior restored, and the attic corrected so it does not repeat.
  • Full replacement — on the warm days. The self-sealing strip on asphalt shingles needs sun and warmth to bond, and a roof laid in the cold gets hand-sealed at every course so it holds in the first nor'easter.

Permits in Lindenhurst

The Village of Lindenhurst runs its own building department, separate from the Town of Babylon. Roof replacement is permitted work in most of Suffolk, and the layer limits decide whether the old roof comes off — it should.

Free roof inspection in Lindenhurst. Alex goes up, photographs every flashing, the valleys and the field, and you get the photographs and an honest repair-or-replace answer whether or not you hire us.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does my Lindenhurst cape leak at the dormer?

Because the flashing where the dormer wall meets the roof was done with roof cement or with step flashing that was never counterflashed, and a cape dormer is a lot of that joint. Water gets behind it, runs down the sheathing and shows up on the ceiling of the room below or in the wall beside the dormer window. The repair is proper step flashing woven with the shingle courses and counterflashing over it, and it is winter work — sheet metal does not care about the temperature the way shingles do.

Can a roof be replaced in winter?

Repairs, flashing and sheet-metal work run all winter. A full asphalt replacement is a warm-day job — the self-sealing strip on the shingles needs sun and warmth to bond, and a roof laid in the cold has to be hand-sealed to hold in the first wind. We do winter replacements when the forecast gives us the days, and we hand-seal when it does not.

Where does a roof usually leak?

At the flashings, not the field. Chimneys, valleys, dormer cheeks, skylights, plumbing vents and the roof-to-wall joints are where the water gets in, and roof cement troweled over old flashing is the most common failed repair on Long Island. Tracing the leak to the actual entry point — which is often not above the stain — is the first job.

Should I repair or replace?

If the roof is sound and the leak is a flashing or a valley, repair it and get years more from it. If the shingles are curling, losing granules and on a second layer, a repair buys a season and a replacement is the honest answer. We say which it is, and we will tell you when a repair is the right call.

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Work With Alec's Construction

This guide is written by the crew that does the work. See Alec's Roofing service — tear-offs, repairs, flashing and storm damage across Suffolk and Nassau. Licensed and insured on Long Island, one crew start to finish, free walkthrough and a written estimate inside 48 hours.

Booking the cold months now: we also handle Seamless Gutters and Storm Damage & Insurance Restoration.

Get a Free Estimate from Alec's Construction

Working across Suffolk County since 2018, one crew from start to finish. We come out, look at the actual job, and put a written number in your hand — no pressure, no obligation.

Or call (631) 312-7441

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