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(732) 257 2926

Milltown Roofers – Your Roof’s Antigonists

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Milltown RoofersThere are many things that are constantly causing wear and tear on your Milltown roof. Some of which you may not even realize. Between different extreme weather elements that occur throughout the year, and just natural roof erosion overtime, your roof is always under attack. Here is a list of things that are slowly eating away at your roof.

Milltown, NJ Roof Threats

  • The sun – Though it isn’t apparent, the heat and ultraviolet rays emitted by the sun deteriorate your roof overtime.
  • Rain – After excess rain, water can get under roofing materials and into the roof deck. This can cause mildew and rot your roof, ceiling, walls, insulation, and electrical systems.
  • Wind – Strong winds can raise shingles’ edges causing debris and water to get underneath them. Sometimes shingles can even totally blow off. This can cause some serious damage to a roof if not quickly repaired by a Milltown Roofer.
  • Snow and Ice – These are some of the most damaging things for your roof. Snow that melts will run down your roof and then refreeze at a lower point, creating ice dams that can block your drainage system. Water will collect and eventually seep beneath your roof’s exterior. Ice inside or your gutters and downspouts can get so heavy that it can cause them to collapse.
  • Missing or Broken Shingles – Having broken or missing shingles exposes your roof to water which will rot and damage your roof. Not only that, the surrounding shingles will begin to get damaged as well. Any missing or torn shingles should be replaced by a Milltown roofer as soon as possible to prevent serious damage.

Biondo Contracting is a group of Milltown roofers that does excellent roof repairs and installations all over Central NJ. They serve towns such as East Brunswick, Dayton, South Brunswick, Monmouth Junction, North Brunswick, Hillsborough, Edison, Piscataway, Aberdeen, and many more! Call today for a Milltown free roofing estimate.

Central NJ Roofing Specialists – Roofing Contractor in Central New Jersey

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Centra-NJ-Roofing-ContractorDo you live in the Central NJ area and need a new or repaired roof? Biondo Contracting has a group of Central NJ roofing specialists for 30 years. They specialize in many types of Central NJ residential roofing and home improvements. With years of experience, and experts on the job, your satisfaction is guaranteed.
Some work that these Central NJ roofing specialists do includes: flat roof coating, skylight installation, roof repairs and replacements, solar panel installation, gutter installation, chimney repairs and replacements, fan and vent installation, roof restoration, roof tear offs, slate roof installation, shingling, and many more.

Biondo Contracting’s Central NJ roofing specialists provide residential roofing services all over the Central NJ area in towns such as Avenel, Colonia, Cranbury, Dayton, Dunellen, East Brunswick, Edison, Fords, Franklin Park, Helmetta, Iselin, Jamesburg, Kendall Park, Menlo Park, Metuchen, Middlesex, Milltown, Monmouth Junction, Monroe Twp., New Brunswick, North Brunswick, Old Bridge, Highland Park, Parlin, Perth Amboy, Piscataway, and many more. Call this Central NJ roofing contractor today for a free roofing estimate.

Tips to Protect Your Roof This Winter

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Middlesex County Roofing ContractorMiddlesex County NJ winters can be very harsh on both you and your roof. And, with winter around the corner, your roof can be in jeopardy of some serious damage. But don’t worry, here are some tips on preventing any major damage.

Condensation is one of the main problems because it causes damage to the roof deck. When the hot air from your home rises and hits your cold roof, it causes the condensation. Installing a vapor retarder or vapor barrier will help prevent this. You may want to consider hiring a Middlesex County roofing contractor for this.

Middlesex County NJ Roofing Tips

Another problem that Middlsex County NJ winters bring is ice dams. This is when ice mounds form at the bottom roof edges and snow piles up higher on the roof. When the snow starts to melt the water will trickle down and get stuck on the roof because of the ice mounds at the bottom of the room. Eventually the water will accumulate and start to seep into even the tiniest crevices on your roof. Though there’s no easy way to prevent this, you can scrape the ice off every now and then or even sprinkle ice salt on the roof.

Many people wonder if a Middlesex County roofing contractor can work in the harsh winters. Though it’s rough, it’s possible. But many certain jobs and installations can only be done at a certain temperature for ideal results and longevity. With that said, maybe you should consider contacting a roofing contractor in Middlsex county for last minute repairs and installations before the winter creeps up on you.

Places in Middlesex County Biondo Roofing serves

Biondo Contracting is a Piscataway roofing contractor that does jobs in towns all over the Middlesex County area including Avenel, Colonia, Cranbury, Dayton, Dunellen, East Brunswick, Edison, Fords, Franklin Park, Helmetta, Iselin, Jamesburg, Kendal Park, Menlo Park, Metuchen, Middlesex, Milltown, Monmouth Junction, Monroe Twp., New Brunswick, North Brunswick, Old Bridge, Highland Park, Parlin, Perth Amboy, Piscataway, Plainsboro, Sayreville, South Amboy, South Brunswick, South Plainfield, South River, Spotswood, Woodbridge and more.

Testimonial 431

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On Monday October 29th at 8pm, at the height the super storm Sandy in East Brunswick, a huge tree hit my house crushing a section of the roof, cracking a ceiling in one of our bedrooms, and piercing the ceiling of a second. After i put a bucket under the branch to catch the water coming in, the first thing that i did, and turns out the smartest, was call Sam Biondo. Sam did our roof around ten years ago, and to my surprise, and gratitude Sam picked up the phone, during the storm. Although it took a day to get the tree taken off my roof, Sam was at my house on Wednesday morning temporarily patching the hole. He did all of his measurements, had an estimate the next day that i passed on to All State. He ordered the materials, and started the job on the following Monday. Day one he had half the roof done as well as replacing damaged rafters, day two was a rainout, Wednesday, the roof as well as five skylights were done. Thursday the bedrooms were sheet rocked, and all of the remaining trim around the roof was completed. Friday, the bedrooms were spackled and primed, and finally Saturday and Sunday, paint and final clean up.

East Brunswick NJ Roofer Testimonial

Sam was amazing. He was there for us, moved the project along very efficiently and quickly, not to mention that the quality of the work was perfect. It was a stressful couple of weeks, but working with Sam and his crew, made the ordeal easy to get through. If you want to know more about Sam, call me, or better yet, come take a look at my roof!

Gary and Anne Casino

East Brunswick, NJ

NJ Roofer Home

Attic Ventilation – A Necessity for the Summer

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New Jersey summers are known for their heat waves that can severely damage your roof if left unchecked. Luckily, the installation of attic vents can help prevent the damages from occurring. Properly installed attic ventilation is essential and can save you money.

What is attic ventilation?

In general, attic ventilation is an avenue for hot, humid air to escape from your attic. There are two types of attic vents: one is the ridge vent that is found at the top ridge of the roof as shown in the picture above. The other is an attic fan that is placed on the roof itself. Both forms of attic ventilation will help you extend the life of your roof.

Benefits of attic ventilation

Attic ventilation can save you thousands of dollars in electric bills used for air conditioning. It maintains the efficiency of your insulation by reducing the amount of moisture entering your roof. The reduction of moisture entering your roof is also beneficial to your health. Mold, mildew, wood rot, and structural damage are less likely to occur with attic ventilation. Additionally, attic ventilation lengthens the life of your shingles, allowing them to be more efficient at repelling heat and reducing energy consumption.

Is installing attic ventilation expensive?

Like all good investments, attic ventilation may seem a bit pricy to install, but it is worth every penny in the long run. Attic ventilation have a direct impact on all parts of your home and installing or repairing it now means you won’t have to worry about future problems. But if you are still concerned about the price for installation, rest assured that we offer very competitive prices and accomplish the installation in a very timely fashion.

Make sure to hire qualified roofers to install attic ventilation

Biondo Contracting has been servicing the New Jersey area since 1989 and specializes in attic ventilation. Installing attic vents has never been easier or more affordable. With summer coming fast upon us, now is the time to invest in attic vents.

 

A message to our clients

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As some of you may or may not have guessed already, the past twenty-eight years of roofing service hasn’t exactly been kind on my back. As such, I will be having a surgical procedure performed and will be hospitalized from July 21-22. Rest assured though that during that time, I would still be able to return all messages. Additionally, despite the fact that I will personally be out of work for approximately two weeks following the surgery, I will still be on the job site to supervise the work being performed. So rest assured that the jobs being performed in the coming months will still be the same dependable and high quality service that you’ve come to expect from Biondo Contracting.

As mentioned in our About Us page, the team here at Biondo Contracting comprises of handpicked employees for at least seven years rather than sub contractors that you will find at lesser quality roofing services. These are workers whom I trust will do an excellent job even if I myself cannot personally work alongside them during the coming weeks.

I speak for everyone here at Biondo Contracting that quality is our number one promise to our clients, and that is exactly what I aim to deliver, even in the coming weeks. Therefore, if you need us to perform any roofing services that you may need or even have any questions, then feel free to give us a call at (732) 257–2926 or email us at info@biondoroofing.com.

Chimney Flashing Repair

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When chimneys leak, it is usually due to the fact that the metal flashing surrounding the chimney has failed. While it’s very simple to spot telltale signs of leaking, fixing the leak itself may prove to be much more difficult. There are generally three steps to chimney flashing repair: removing the old flashing that has failed, applying a new layer of metal flashing, and finally sealing it so that it will be water proof.

Removal

The first step is removing the old flashing. This is an absolute must for proper chimney flashing repair. When the old flashing is removed, we can check whether or not the leak is localized to the area surrounding the flashing. Typically, there may be some minor damage to the underlying plywood beneath the shingles, but those can be easily fixed and a new layer of shingles placed where the old layer used to be.

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Underlying structure after removing the damaged flashings

Application of new metal flashing

Once the old flashing is removed and the surrounding area checked for their integrity, we are able to proceed with installing the new metal flashing. Here at Biondo Contracting, we use primarily two types of metal flashings:

  1. Copper – the more expensive metal of the two. Copper is recommended for slate roof installations and is long lasting. Its longevity comes from the fact that copper has a very low temperature movement compared to most metals.  This helps keep the flashings sealed and causes less stress.

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    An example of one of our chimney flashing installations using copper

  2. Heavy gauge aluminum – the less expensive of the two, but just as productive for chimney flashing applications. Aluminum flashing also comes in different colors to match either the color of your chimney or roof shingles.

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    An example of one of our chimney flashing installations using aluminum

    Here at Biondo Contracting, we use a grinder equipped with a diamond blade to cut into the grout of the chimney. This will enable us to actually bend the Counter Flashing into the chimney, ensuring a professional application.

Sealing

Once the new flashing has been installed, we then seal it with polyurethane on account of its water-resistant properties and the fact that it can stand up to intense light—allowing us to apply the sealant and know that it will last for a long time.

Before and After Photos

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Before                                                                          After

A few last words

Repairing the chimney flashing is often times a very difficult process simply because of the meticulous work that must go into it. So if you don’t want to be the one that has to deal with measuring out and cutting the right-sized step flashings and base flashings, give us a call. Located in central New Jersey, Biondo Contracting has proudly provided high-quality roofing services for over twenty-eight years. Call us at (732) 257-2926 and get more information regarding chimney flashings repair.

Installing Skylights

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Last month, I wrote an entry about the Benefits of Skylights. Now, with summer rolling towards the final months before the cool autumn weather comes, it’s the perfect time to install skylights. This blog will give you a basic idea of how to install skylights.

Before we start

Before we go ahead and start putting holes in your roof, you should pick out which kind of skylights you want to install. There are two types of skylights available: curb-mounted and frame-in-place.

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An example of the curb-mounted skylight about to be glazed with a
transparent dome made from plastic. A glass dome can also be used to glaze
over the skylight. This kind of skylight sits on an elevated frame.		 An example of a frame-in-place
skylight. This kind of skylight can only be glazed over with glass

The main difference between these two types of skylights lies in the flashing system.

  • In a curb-mounted skylight, we will want to use a solid head flashing at the top, a sill flashing at the bottom, and the middle sections are sealed off with solid side flashing.
  • In a frame-in-place skylight, the solid side flashing is replaced with incremental step shingles that are woven into the roof itself.

In both skylight installations, we want to put the head flashing underneath the shingles and have the sill flashing running underneath both layers to allow for proper drainage of water. This will prevent water accumulation underneath your shingles—increasing the longevity of your shingles and staving off damage to your skylight. At Biondo Contracting, we offer both heavy gauge aluminum and copper flashings.

Making and Framing the Opening

This is probably the scariest part for any homeowner: watching the roofing contractors breach a hole in your beloved roof. I’m going to walk you through the steps so that you know exactly what we’ll be doing. Now, the skylight framing is made up of three separate parts:

  • Roof opening—this is framed with the headers and run across the newly cut hole on the rafters in a horizontal fashion. We measure the rafters beforehand to properly cut the lumber for the headers so that they’re equal in size
  • Light shaft—this is built in your roof by us and will connect the two openings in the roof and your ceiling. In most cases, we use 2x4s and insulate it with drywall. There are two types: vertical or flared (wider at the base). The flared light shafts let in more light while the vertical light shaft is generally easier to install.
  • Ceiling opening—this will be cut from your ceiling joists separating your ceiling from your attic space. We put down a piece of plywood on the joists prior to entering to avoid accidentally stepping through the drywall while we work.

When we start the process of actually cutting into your roof, we begin by drilling into your ceiling where you want the ceiling opening to be and inserting something to help us see where the location will be.

After that, we use a plumb bob to find the spots on the underside of the roof that are right over the bottom corners of the ceiling opening. After we’ve done that, we will put four nails all the way through the roof so that we know exactly where to cut the roof opening.

Once we’re on the roof, we remove the shingles and cut away the roofing felt with a knife. After that, we can cut through the roof sheathing itself.

Now, this is the part where things can get slightly tricky. When we install the headers in those cases, we will put temporary supports in the nearby rafters to ensure roof integrity and prevent sagging.

Most skylights will fit the rafters in modern houses. Thus, after we’ve placed in the supports, we can add in the header very easily. However, if your roof is older or if the skylight you want doesn’t quite fit in the rafters, then we will have to cut the rafters. In those cases, we will put a double header and fill the openings with trimmer rafters to maintain the strength of your roof.

Installing the skylight

Finally, the moment of truth! Skylight installation starts by assembling the exterior skylight first before moving downward.

Preparing the skylight

  • For Curb-Mounted skylights, we first build the curb by assembling four 2×6 in a box and then nailing them together in a square. Once that’s done, we toenail it over the roof opening with galvanized nails, put the skylight in, and then re-shingle the area around it while leaving enough room for us to install the flashing underneath the shingles.
  • For framed-in-place skylights, the brackets on the side of the skylight is mounted in first, then the entire thing is set into the roof opening and fastened into place. We never twist it into the hole but rather lay it in to ensure that it’s a snug fit.

Installing the flashing

  • The sill flashing is installed first. Generally, this is nailed into the curb or cemented to the roof with plastic roof cement. We never nail this to the roof because that can present a weak point as well as area for moisture to penetrate the roof.
  • The side flashing comes next. For both the solid side flashing and the step shingles, we will fasten them into place with the step shingles being slipped under each row of shingles from the bottom up.
  • After that, we will remove any and all temporary supports we may have put into the ceiling.
  • We’re now ready to move onto building the ceiling opening and the light shaft.

Installing the Ceiling Opening and Light Shaft

We’re almost there. This is the last step before we finish up your skylight installation. This is a relatively simple process.

We first go into the attic and find where we’ve marked the ceiling opening to be. Once we’ve made sure that it’s a square or rectangle, we will cut through the ceiling drywall.

Like with the rafters, if ceiling joists are cut, we will put supports across the opening to prevent sagging. In the cases of flared joists, we will cut the joists at the angle of the flare. Otherwise, the joists will be cut perpendicularly.

Headers will be installed on the joists. Just like rafters, if the joists are cut, a double header will be placed to provide additionally support. After that, we will place studs along the opening to nail the backing for the drywall to.

Once we’ve completed that, we will nail rigid foam insulation on the attic side of the light shaft and cover the inside of the light shaft (the part that you see) with a layer of drywall.

And there you have it! A perfectly installed skylight that you can use immediately. As per our clean-up policy, we will promptly remove any garbage we generated so that you don’t have to spend all your time cleaning up after us.

Questions? Concerns?

Installing skylights is a huge undertaking, made even more so because the contractor are making a hole in your roof and ceiling. It’s understandable to be somewhat nervous about the whole process. That’s why here at Biondo Contracting, one of the premier NJ roofing contractors, I am more than happy to answer any questions you may have regarding skylight installations. Just give us a call at (732) 257-2926 or send us an email at info@biondoroofing.com