Full tear-off and new roof covering for pre-1940 houses, multi-family buildings and mill-era roofs across Springfield.
Fastest: call (833) 751-2102. Or send this and we call you back.
A roof replacement strips the old covering down to the deck, repairs the decking, flashing and eave ice barrier, then installs new underlayment and covering. Springfield roofs often carry more than one layer over old plank decking, so the deck is usually opened before anyone can say how much must be replaced. A full replacement is generally permit work.
A roof replacement takes the existing covering off down to the deck and puts a complete new system in its place: underlayment, flashing at every junction, drip edge at the eaves, an ice barrier where the state code calls for one, and the roof covering itself. In Springfield the first question is what is already underneath. A large share of the housing here was built before 1940, and many of those roofs have been covered over at least once. Each added layer adds weight, hides the condition of the layer below, and makes the next tear-off slower and harder to do properly.
The Connecticut River shapes the work too. Houses in the older neighborhoods sit close together, often with a steep front pitch and a low-slope rear ell on the same building, so one house can carry two or three roofs with their own drainage and their own failure points. A crew working on a porch-fronted multi-family building has to plan where the dumpster goes, how material reaches the upper roof, and what happens to the gutters that come down with the old covering.
The schedule depends on the size of the roof, its access and how many coverings come off. The crew sets it on site once the deck has been seen, because the deck decides how much work the job really is.
Weather is the factor most likely to stop work for a day or more on an exposed roof in the valley. Snow, freezing temperatures and wind make a tear-off unsafe, and they stop adhesives and sealants from setting properly.
For residential contracting work over $1,000, Massachusetts requires a written contract under M.G.L. c. 142A, section 2. It must describe the work and materials, state the total price and set out a payment schedule with dates and amounts.
Under 201 CMR 18.05, a deposit taken before work starts may not exceed the greater of one third of the total contract price or the actual cost of special-order or custom materials ordered in advance. The greater-of wording matters, because some summaries of the rule drop it. A homeowner should check the deposit against that rule before signing.
Keep a copy of every signed document and every payment receipt.
Size, pitch, access, the number of coverings already on, the condition of the decking and the age of the building decide the price. This site publishes no price figure, and the price is explained and approved before any work starts.
Squares and pitch set the basic quantity of material and labor, but the harder questions are whether the roof can be walked, whether staging has to go up, and how material reaches the roof.
The age of the building changes the work. Plank decking can look sound until it is opened, and then needs more board replacement than the outside suggested. The flashing at chimneys, valleys, sidewalls and skylights, the gutters and fascia, the ice barrier the code asks for, the ventilation and insulation that go with a real ice-dam fix, the city building permit and Historical Commission approval in a local historic district all count.
A full replacement is generally permit work. The Springfield Building Division in Code Enforcement issues building permits, and they must be obtained before construction begins.
The city's one- and two-family application has a roof covering category. The permit fee follows the city's current schedule, and this site does not print one.
Check the consequence before taking that deal. An owner who pulls a building permit to do the work, or who hires a contractor not registered in the Home Improvement Contractor program, loses access to the state arbitration program and the guaranty fund.
The city's own permit application says this in plain words, and it is the most useful thing a homeowner can read before signing anything. Arbitration and the guaranty fund are the routes that help when work goes wrong, so giving them up to save on paperwork is a real trade.
Replacement is the most dangerous roof job a homeowner could start, and no homeowner should attempt any part of it. A tear-off involves falls, falling debris, nail-filled boards and tools on steep pitches, and the deck on an older house may not carry a person's weight everywhere. Keep people and pets clear of the drop zone and keep ladders and material away from overhead wires. If a ceiling sags or a ridge visibly dips, leave the building without touching light switches and call 9-1-1 from outside.
The technician checks how many coverings are on the roof, whether the roof can be walked safely, and what the deck looks like from inside the attic. The count decides how much has to come off and how much the framing is carrying.
For a full replacement the city's Building Division has to be involved before construction begins, and the permit is part of the job rather than an extra. On an owner-occupied building of one to four units, whoever signs the contract with the homeowner must hold Home Improvement Contractor registration. Massachusetts has no roofing license as such, and the Construction Supervisor License is the credential that normally pulls the permit.
The old covering comes off down to the sheathing. Nails, underlayment remnants and any soft or rotted boards are removed, and the deck is checked board by board. Old plank decking is common in this part of the valley. It is often sound but uneven and full of old nail holes, and a replacement is the one time it can be seen properly.
Damaged sheathing is cut back to sound framing and replaced with new panels fixed to the rafters, not patched over. Where the state code calls for it at the eaves, an ice barrier goes down over solid sheathing, either two layers of underlayment cemented together or a self-adhering polymer-modified bitumen sheet. It runs from the eave edge well up the roof past the line of the exterior wall.
New underlayment goes on in courses that shed water toward the eave, and every wall, chimney, valley and skylight junction gets new flashing with counter-flashing set into the masonry or siding. Metal in the flashing and the gutters is kept to one family where possible, to avoid galvanic corrosion. The roof covering goes on last, fastened to the manufacturer's nailing pattern.
The most complete option. It applies when the existing covering is worn through, when more than one layer is on the roof, or when the deck is soft in places. It is permit work, and the inspector sees the deck before it is covered.
A new layer can sometimes go over a first one rather than coming off. Whether that is acceptable depends on the condition of the existing layer, what the deck looks like where it can be seen, and the building official's view. This site does not state a layer count as code, so the answer belongs to the inspector and the roof in front of you.
A house with a steep front and a flat or low-slope rear ell needs two systems on one building. The steep section takes shingles or a metal system over standard underlayment. The low-slope section needs a membrane and a drainage detail, and its seams and parapet flashing are where failures start. Both sections have to be tied together at the wall where they meet, which is the detail most often left poor on an old roof. The low-slope repair page covers that section in detail.
Slate on Victorian houses, and any exterior roof work in a local historic district, is a separate route. The Springfield Historical Commission must approve exterior work before it begins, and ordinary maintenance can go by certificate of non-applicability with no public hearing. For slate, the National Park Service advises repair rather than replacement whenever possible, so replacing a slate roof is the last option, not the first. See the slate repair page and the historic district page before planning a replacement.
If it's an emergency, call now. For non-urgent roof replacement, send the form and we'll call you back.
Winter is the main reason a replacement here has to be done properly. Nor'easters bring wet, heavy snow and wind, and the freeze-thaw cycles that follow work into every loose joint. Asphalt shingles weather under UV, heat cycling and freeze-thaw events, and NIST notes that these exposures can compromise how a shingle takes direct mechanical loads.
Much of the city's housing is pre-1940. The McKnight Victorians of 1870 to 1900, the Forest Park Heights houses of the turn of the century and the Ridgewood stock largely built from 1890 to 1910 carry roof details that a modern replacement has to be built around: steep slopes, valleys, dormers and chimneys.
Enfield, Suffield, West Suffield and Somers are in Connecticut, and Massachusetts rules do not apply there. A replacement in those towns needs a contractor registered with the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection, and the registration number must appear on contracts and in advertising. Check it on the state's eLicense system before signing, and ask for it first.
Targeted repair of shingles, flashing and decking on older valley roofs where replacement is not yet due.
Ice dam prevention and repair for Springfield roofs, built on attic air sealing, insulation and eave ice barriers.
A written roof condition report for Springfield owners and buyers, covering decking, flashing, ventilation and remaining life.
Roof work on multi-family buildings with tight lots, mixed pitches and more than one owner to coordinate before anything starts.
Not sure if you're covered? Check your ZIP code.
This page does not print a price.
A full roof replacement is generally permit work in Springfield, and the permit must be obtained before construction begins.
Massachusetts does not issue a roofing license.
Massachusetts has no roofing license. Two separate credentials matter: Home Improvement Contractor registration for whoever signs the contract on an owner-occupied building of one to four units, and the Construction Supervisor License, an examined license on the state building code that generally pulls the permit for new or replacement roofing. A roof-covering specialty license exists, but it stops short of structural roof work. The license guide sets out the detail.
Not by itself. A new covering on a roof with heat leaking from the attic will still melt snow over the warm part of the deck and let it refreeze at the cold eave. The lasting fix starts with air sealing and insulation in the attic, with the eave barrier and ventilation as part of the same job. The state's ice-dam guidance puts the cure in the house, and the ice dam page covers it.
Sometimes, but not every day. Cold, wet or icy surfaces stop adhesives and sealants from setting, and freezing conditions make a tear-off unsafe. The crew decides on the day, and a winter job should be expected to move with the weather.
This site states no warranty length or terms for any company. Ask whoever does the work to put any warranty in writing, including what covers workmanship and what the manufacturer covers separately. Both the warranty and the payment schedule belong in the written contract before you sign.
No. Enfield, Suffield, West Suffield and Somers are in Connecticut, where Department of Consumer Protection home improvement registration applies before a contractor advertises or starts work. Massachusetts licensing does not carry across the line, and Connecticut rules do not apply in Springfield.
Phones are answered 24/7. A visit the same day is possible only when a technician is free, and no arrival time is promised. A roof that is not leaking leaves room to ask for an inspection and compare the findings before deciding on replacement.