Roofing crew installing shingles on a house in West Babylon, New York

Alec's Construction repairs and replaces roofs in West Babylon (11704) — 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 West Babylon

West Babylon runs from the Southern State Parkway down to the Great South Bay, and its roofs read like a cross-section of the hamlet. At the bottom, on the canal streets off Bergen Avenue and around the marinas, are 1950s and 60s capes and ranches on filled marsh, facing the bay wind. Along Montauk Highway the middle of the hamlet is older and mixed. At the north end toward the parkway are 1950s tract houses under street trees planted with the subdivisions. Many of those tract-house roofs are on their second or third layer of shingles, because re-covering was cheaper than tearing off when they were done. Layers trap heat, hide rotted decking and add weight, and they make each new roof wear out faster than the last. West Babylon is one of the biggest hamlets in the Town of Babylon by house count, so a lot of roofs here are hitting that point at once.

What We Look at First in West Babylon

We count layers first in West Babylon. A look at the edge of the roof or a cut at the rake tells us whether there are one, two or three. More than one means a tear-off to the deck, and we budget time to replace soft sheathing at the eaves and around the chimney. On the canal streets near the bay we also check how the edges were fastened. Permits file with the Town of Babylon at Town Hall in Lindenhurst.

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

A lot of the canal-grid houses in West Babylon 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

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 West Babylon

West Babylon files with the Town of Babylon at Town Hall in Lindenhurst; the canal streets south of Montauk Highway toward the Great South Bay 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 West Babylon, 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 West Babylon tract house is on its third roof. Can you go over it again?

We do not. A third layer over two old ones traps heat, adds weight to rafters sized for one, and hides the deck so nobody knows whether it is sound. Every layer also makes the next roof wear out faster. We tear off to the boards, replace whatever is soft, put down proper underlayment and ice and water membrane at the eaves, and shingle once. That roof outlasts any re-cover.

Where does a roof in West Babylon 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.

Does a new roof fix ice dams on a West Babylon house?

Not by itself. Ice dams come from attic heat melting snow that refreezes at the cold eave. Ice-and-water membrane at the eaves limits the damage, but the cure is air sealing and ventilation in the attic so the roof deck stays cold. We look at the attic on every roof walkthrough.

Who issues the permit for roofing work in West Babylon?

West Babylon files with the Town of Babylon at Town Hall in Lindenhurst; the canal streets south of Montauk Highway toward the Great South Bay 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 West Babylon through the cold months: Seamless Gutters and Attic Insulation.

Also Serving West Babylon

Talk to Alec's Construction About Roofing in West Babylon

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.