City of Burlington · Burlington County
Roofing Contractors in Burlington City, NJ
Roof repair, replacement and inspection for Burlington City's historic riverfront housing.
Photo: Arts of the Endowment / CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
A historic place
Burlington City: the place and its buildings
Burlington City has been incorporated since 1693 and holds a royal charter from 1733. It was the county seat until 1796, when the seat moved inland to Mount Holly, and what that long history leaves behind is a riverfront city with two separate listed historic districts and a building stock spanning three centuries.
Very little roofing work here is routine. Roofs are steep and complicated, chimneys are masonry and numerous, sheathing is frequently plank rather than plywood, and a good many buildings carry alterations from every era since they were built. Understanding a roof before touching it is most of the job.
The historic core is dense, largely attached or closely spaced town housing with steep pitches, dormers, parapets and multiple masonry chimneys. Low-slope rear additions, kitchen wings and porch roofs are extremely common, as are metal accent roofs. Away from the districts there is later housing of more conventional suburban form, so the city holds two quite different roofing populations.
Leaks and flashing
Where older roofs here let water in
- Chimney flashing failure on historic masonry stacks
- Persistent leaks on low-slope rear wings and kitchen additions
- Water held against party walls and parapets by poor drainage
- Unknown deck condition beneath multiple layers of covering
- Metal accent roofs over porches and bays needing matched repair
Services
Roofing services in Burlington City
Roof Repair
Leak tracing and targeted repairs for shingle, flat and tile roofs across Burlington County.
Flat Roofing
Low-slope membrane roofing on additions, porches, dormers and commercial buildings.
Roof Replacement
Full tear-off and rebuild of the roof system, from decking and underlayment through to ridge ventilation.
Metal Roofing
Standing seam and metal panel roofing, plus repairs to existing metal roofs and accents.
Roof replacement
Replacing a roof on an older building
On older housing a tear-off usually reveals more than one previous covering and often plank sheathing rather than plywood. A quotation should state its decking allowance, and chimney and wall flashing should be rebuilt rather than reused.
What a replacement includesExposure
Wind and weather
Directly on the river, the city takes wind and driven rain off open water with nothing to break it. Sustained autumn systems from the south-east are what typically reveal flashing faults on the older housing, while summer thunderstorms bring the gusts that lift shingles at rakes and ridges.
Drainage
Roof edges, gutters and where water goes
On dense historic streets there is often no ground at all between buildings, so roof water has to be taken deliberately somewhere rather than simply shed. Parapet and party wall arrangements complicate this further, and a blocked outlet on a rear wing can put water directly against masonry where it has nowhere to go. Drainage is frequently the most valuable thing to address on a Burlington City property.
Historic-property considerations
What changes the approach here
- Three centuries of building, alteration and repair layered on single roofs
- Multiple masonry chimneys per property, each a full flashing assembly
- Party wall and parapet junctions on attached historic housing
- Low-slope rear wings and additions requiring membrane rather than shingles
- Plank sheathing, and decking whose condition is unknown until opened
- Two historic districts, with implications for anything visible from the street
Questions
Roofing questions from Burlington City
Is Burlington City the same as Burlington Township?
No — they are two distinct municipalities that share a name and a border. The city has been incorporated since 1693 and is a dense historic riverfront settlement with two listed historic districts. The township is a much larger, largely suburban municipality surrounding it on the landward side. The roofing work each needs has very little in common.
My house is in a historic district. What does that change?
Chiefly what is visible: materials, profiles, and the treatment of metalwork, dormers and accent roofs. The assembly underneath — deck, membrane, underlayment, flashing, ventilation — still needs to be correct for the building to stay dry. Anything visible from the street is worth checking against local requirements before it is ordered.
There is a flat roof over my kitchen extension that always leaks. Why?
Low-slope rear wings are among the most common problem areas on older city housing. If it has been shingled, that is the cause — the slope is too shallow for a lapped covering. If it already has a membrane, the failure is almost certainly at the junction where the wing meets the main house wall, which needs base flashing carried up and properly terminated rather than sealant along a top edge.
What is likely to be found when the old roof comes off?
On a house of this age, often more than one previous covering, plank sheathing with gaps between the boards, and decking that has suffered around chimneys and old leak paths. None of it is unusual, but it does mean a replacement quotation should state clearly what allowance is included for decking and what happens beyond it.
Do you work on attached properties in the historic core?
Yes. Attached housing brings party wall and parapet junctions, shared or continuous roof planes and restricted access, all of which need planning rather than improvising. Those are worth identifying before work begins.
Nearby
Service areas near Burlington City
Further reading
6 min read
How Flashing Protects Roof Penetrations
A roof is a continuous surface interrupted by holes. Flashing is the craft of making those interruptions shed water.
6 min read
Flat Roof Drainage Problems Explained
On a low-slope roof, almost every membrane problem is really a drainage problem that has been going on for a while.
7 min read
When Is Roof Replacement Better Than Another Repair?
The honest answer usually turns on one distinction: whether the failure is in one place, or everywhere at once.
Ask about a roof in Burlington City
Tell us about the roof. The municipality page you are on is recorded for context only — the property address you give is what we use.