Most of Canarsie went up in the building boom after World War II, on marshland that was filled in during the fifties and sixties. The house you see most is an attached or semi-attached brick two family with a flat facade, a flat roof and a driveway. Seaview Village adds about 40 blocks of ranches, split levels and row houses. In the older part of the neighborhood there are frame houses and brick bungalows that predate the boom. We work Rockaway Parkway, Flatlands Avenue, Avenue L, Avenue M, Seaview Avenue, Remsen Avenue and the East 80s through the East 100s.
Fill settles, and it does not settle evenly. Two attached houses on the same block can move a little differently over sixty years. On the roof that shows up three ways. An open joint at the party wall where one roof steps to the next. Flashing torn where the parapet moved and the roof did not. And water ponding in a spot that used to drain, because the deck now dips toward the middle instead of toward the scupper. You cannot see any of it from the street, and all of it gets worse every winter when the standing water freezes.
The usual answer around here is another coat of silver. Aluminum coating is good maintenance on a sound roof. It reflects heat and protects the surface. It is not a repair. Rolled over blisters, open seams or wet insulation, it hides the problem and seals the moisture in, and after enough coats nobody can tell what the roof underneath looks like. Before we coat anything we cut a small core to see whether the layers below are dry. If they are wet, coating is money thrown away, and we will tell you that.
The other thing we find more of every year is holes in the roof that were not there when it was installed: solar racking, mini split line sets, new vent pipes, old dish mounts. Every one goes through the membrane, and whoever installed the equipment was not always a roofer. We flash each one with a proper boot or a liquid applied collar. If you are replacing a roof that has solar on it, we plan the panel removal and reinstall with your solar company before the job starts, not the morning of.
What we actually see in 11236: ponding where the deck has settled, open joints at the party wall between attached houses, three and four coats of silver over blistered torch-down, wet insulation under a roof that looks fine from above, and leaks at solar mounts and line set penetrations.
📞 Serving Canarsie and all surrounding Brooklyn neighborhoods. Call (516) 713-9199 or (917) 570-7311 for a free estimate.
Q: Water sits on my flat roof after it rains. Is that a problem?
A: If it is still there two days after the rain stops, yes. Standing water wears the surface, finds every weak seam and freezes in winter. In Canarsie it is often because the deck has settled and the low spot is no longer at the drain. The fix is to rebuild the slope with tapered insulation or add a drain where the water actually collects, usually while the roof is being replaced.
Q: Should I just coat my roof silver again?
A: Only if the roof under it is sound and dry. Coating protects a good roof. It does not close open seams, flatten blisters or dry out wet insulation, and sealing wet layers in makes the next replacement bigger. We cut a small core first. If it comes up dry, coating is a fair, cheap step. If it comes up wet, we show you the sample and give you the replacement price instead.
Q: How much is a new flat roof on an attached two family in Canarsie?
A: Expect roughly $8,000 to $15,000 for a full tear-off and new modified bitumen roof on a typical attached two family. The price rises when there are extra layers to strip, rotted decking, tapered insulation to fix ponding, or a switch to TPO. We price it once we have cut a core, not over the phone.
Q: We have solar panels. Can you still replace the roof?
A: Yes. The panels and racking have to come off first and go back on after, and that is normally done by your solar company or an installer they approve, so the system warranty stays valid. We coordinate the dates with them before we start, replace the roof, and flash every mount before the panels go back.
Q: There is a crack at the party wall on my roof. Is that a roof problem or a structural one?
A: It can be either. An open joint in the flashing or the coping is a roofing repair. A crack that runs down through the brick, keeps getting wider, or comes with doors inside that have started to stick is something a structural engineer should look at. We will tell you which one it looks like, and we will not roof over a structural crack to make it disappear.
Q: Do you come out the same day for a leak in Canarsie?
A: For an active leak, yes, we get someone out to contain it and find where it is coming in. We cover all of 11236, plus Flatlands, Mill Basin, East Flatbush and Marine Park. Call (516) 713-9199.
MLM Construction Group works out of 1717 Avenue P in Brooklyn, NY 11229. Canarsie is inside our regular service area, so estimates and emergency calls there are handled by the same crew, not subcontracted out.
Unlike competitors who specialize in only one trade, MLM Construction Group handles roofing, stucco, EIFS, and gutters. One contractor for your entire exterior.
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Every major installation backed by our 20-year workmanship warranty plus manufacturer materials warranty.
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