Bedford Stuyvesant has one of the largest stretches of intact nineteenth century row houses in the city. Brownstones, brick and limestone fronts from the 1870s through the early 1900s, three and four stories, block after block on Macon, MacDonough, Decatur, Hancock and Halsey Streets. A lot of it is landmarked: the Stuyvesant Heights district, its large expansion in 2013 and the Bedford Historic District in 2015. Along Fulton Street, Nostrand Avenue and Malcolm X Boulevard the buildings turn into stores with apartments above.
Between most of these houses there is a short brick parapet running front to back across the roof, sitting right on the property line. It is capped with stone or clay coping, and the roofing on each side is supposed to turn up the wall and be counterflashed into it. After a hundred years the coping joints are open, the brick has lost its mortar, and each owner has tarred their own side at a different time. Water gets in at the top of the wall, runs down inside it and comes out on the top floor, on whichever side it likes. Sealing one face while the other side and the coping stay open does not hold.
The second thing that shapes a job here is getting onto the roof. Many of these houses have no stair bulkhead, only a hatch at the top of a ladder. Material goes up the front of the house on a hoist, so the brownstone, the cornice and the stoop get protected before anything is lifted, and the tear-off comes down the same way into a dumpster at the curb. Inside the historic districts a roof replacement generally needs a Landmarks permit even when nobody can see the roof from the street. Hidden work that follows the rules is usually approved at staff level, and anything visible gets a closer look.
Then there is the heat. Top floors in Bed-Stuy are often rentals, and a black tar roof in July turns them into ovens. When a low-slope roof is replaced, the city's code generally calls for a light colored reflective surface, with some exceptions. Beyond the code, a white roof cuts the heat under it noticeably, and tenants feel it the first summer. We work Stuyvesant Avenue, Lewis Avenue, Tompkins Avenue, Throop Avenue, Nostrand Avenue, Bedford Avenue, Jefferson Avenue, Bainbridge Street, Fulton Street and Malcolm X Boulevard.
What we actually see in 11216, 11221 and 11233: open coping joints and washed out mortar on the parapets between houses, roofing on one side of a party parapet tarred and the other side left bare, hatch curbs rotted at the ladder opening, dark roofs over top floor rentals, and three or four old layers under the current surface.
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Q: The leak is along the wall between my house and my neighbor's. Whose problem is it?
A: Usually both, because that parapet sits on the property line and water gets in at its top and faces. A proper repair resets the coping and flashes both sides into the wall. We walk both roofs, explain it to your neighbor if you want us to, and put the price in writing for each side. If the neighbor will not take part, we can fix your face and the coping, but we will tell you straight that the repair is weaker.
Q: My house only has a roof hatch. How do you get materials up?
A: Up the front of the house with a material hoist, the way most row house roofs in Brooklyn are done. We protect the facade, the cornice and the stoop first, set the dumpster at the curb, and bring the tear-off down the same way. The hatch itself is often due too, and the curb around it is a common leak, so we usually rebuild it while we are up there.
Q: Does my new roof have to be white?
A: For most low-slope roof replacements in New York City, the building code calls for a light colored reflective surface, with some exceptions. It works in your favor anyway: a white or reflective roof keeps the top floor noticeably cooler in summer. We tell you what applies to your building before we specify the membrane.
Q: What does a brownstone roof replacement cost in Bed-Stuy?
A: Plan on roughly $13,500 to $27,000 for a full tear-off and new flat roof on a typical 1,500 square foot row house roof. Parapet coping to reset, a new roof hatch, soft decking or four and more old layers push it toward the top. We give you a written price after we have been up through the hatch, not from the sidewalk.
Q: How long does a row house roof take?
A: Most take two to four working days once the hoist is up, depending on the layers coming off and the condition of the deck. Parapet repairs can add a day or two. We do not leave a roof open overnight without it being fully covered, and we watch the forecast before we strip.
Q: Which ZIP codes do you cover in Bed-Stuy?
A: All of Bedford Stuyvesant, including 11216, 11221 and 11233, plus Crown Heights, Bushwick, Clinton Hill and Williamsburg. For an active leak call (516) 713-9199.
MLM Construction Group works out of 1717 Avenue P in Brooklyn, NY 11229. Bed-Stuy is inside our regular service area, so estimates and emergency calls there are handled by the same crew, not subcontracted out.
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