Roofing Contractors in South End, MA

The mansard face: curved slate you cannot fake

The steep face you see from the sidewalk is slate, standing-seam metal or flat-lock copper. On a bowfront it curves, so the slate is cut narrower course by course to keep the joints running true. Wide square slate on a curve leaves gaps that open at the first hard freeze. Under 780 CMR slate can never be roofed over, so it always comes off. Most calls here are slate roof repair: a slipped course, failed valley metal, or dormer cheeks caulked where flashing belonged.

The flat top and the drain you cannot see

Behind the mansard is board decking past a century old under two or three layers of tar and gravel. Water leaves through an internal drain, not a gutter. When that drain plugs with leaves off the Union Park plane trees, the deck ponds and the stain lands in a third-floor unit two rooms away.

We strip to sound decking, pitch it back toward the drain, run membrane up and over the parapet with metal counterflashing, and reset the bowl with a clamping ring. Our comparison of EPDM, TPO and PVC flat roofs covers the material call; flat roof replacement covers scope.

Landmark approval comes before the permit

The neighborhood is a designated South End Landmark District. Slate, cornices, roof decks and skylight installation go to the Boston Landmarks Commission, and approval must be in hand before Inspectional Services will issue the permit. Call 617-635-1935 first. The reroof then runs on the ISD Short-Form Permit: $20 plus $10 per $1,000 of the work estimate, which we file for you. Our guide to historic district roof approval in Boston walks the order.

Trust decisions, narrow streets, no back door

Nearly every building here is condominiumized. The roof is common property, so the decision runs through trustees and a management company. We price the mansard and the flat deck separately so a trust can phase them across two budgets.

These buildings are deep, share party walls on both sides, and have no usable rear access. Staging goes on the sidewalk or in the street under a City permit. Off East Berkeley we have sent slate up four floors by rope and pulley.

Winter on a flat rowhouse roof

Boston averages 49.2 inches of snow a year and carries a 40 psf design ground snow load, verified from the 780 CMR Eighth Edition table. Weight is rarely the problem here. Cycling is. The city gets about 92 days a year at or below 32 degrees but only 23 that stay below all day. Melt runs to a cold internal drain and refreezes in the bowl. By February there is ice at the parapet base, and if the chimney and parapet flashing has gone, the water is inside a party wall.

South End work prices differently because of the slate, the staging and the review calendar. We put the number in writing after we walk the roof. We roof the same stock in Back Bay and Beacon Hill.