Fort Greene has been a designated historic district since 1978, and the housing is largely Italianate and Greek Revival brownstone and brick row houses put up between the 1850s and the 1880s. On South Portland, South Oxford, Washington Park, Carlton and the streets around Fort Greene Park you are looking at some of the most intact brownstone blocks in the city. That is exactly why roof work here has to be done with the front of the building in mind, not just the top of it.
Even the flat roof behind the cornice needs a Landmarks permit, though hidden work that follows the rules is normally approved at staff level. The cornice, the brownstone facade, a mansard where one survives, and any bulkhead or skylight that can be seen from the street get closer review. We tell you which approval each part of your job needs before we start, because the expensive mistake here is not the roof, it is doing something visible that then has to be undone.
On these houses the roof and the cornice are one problem, not two. The junction where the roof deck meets the back of the cornice is where water gets in, and it destroys the cornice from behind while the face still looks fine. Sagging, open joints or a section of pressed metal starting to separate over the sidewalk almost always traces back to that junction. Underneath, most of these roofs are carrying decades of layered built-up and torch-down on original decking, and on a house this age the deck is where the surprises are.
Access is tight. Narrow lots, shared party walls, no driveway, and on the park blocks a lot of foot traffic. That gets planned before the crew arrives.
What we actually see in Fort Greene: cornices failing from behind because of the roof junction, three and four layers of old roofing on 1860s decking, rear extension roofs that were never tied into the main roof correctly, and skylights or bulkheads added without checking what Landmarks allows.
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Q: Is my roof work subject to Landmarks review?
A: Yes. Inside the district, roof replacement needs a Landmarks permit even for the flat roof hidden behind the cornice, and that part is usually approved quickly at staff level. The cornice, the facade, a surviving mansard and anything visible from the street, including a new skylight or bulkhead, get closer review. We put it in writing at the estimate so you know which approval each part of the job needs before anything starts.
Q: Why is my cornice pulling away from the building?
A: Usually because water has been getting in at the roof to cornice junction for years and rotting it from behind, or the original anchoring has corroded. Either way it is a safety issue over a public sidewalk, and it does not fix itself. We rebuild the junction and re anchor or replicate the cornice, rather than face repairing something that is still soaking.
Q: Our rear extension leaks where it meets the main house.
A: That transition is one of the most common failures on these houses. A lot of rear extensions were added later and the roof was tied in with sealant instead of a proper detail, with the extension membrane run up under and flashed into the main roof. It holds for a few winters. We rebuild the transition rather than reseal it.
Q: How many layers are usually on a Fort Greene roof?
A: Three or four is normal on a house that has been here since the 1860s. That is more weight than the original structure was sized for and it means nobody has looked at the deck in decades. We tear off rather than add another layer, because on these houses the deck condition is the thing that actually decides the cost.
Q: Access is tight on our block. How do you handle that?
A: By planning it first. We arrange the dumpster position, the staging and which day the sidewalk is affected before the crew arrives, and we let you and the neighbors know. On a shared party wall we speak to the neighbor before we are standing on it.
Q: What does a brownstone roof cost here?
A: A tear-off and new membrane behind the cornice usually runs about $12,000 to $23,000 depending on the size of the house, the number of layers and the deck condition. Cornice work is priced separately because it is a different trade and, if it is visible from the street, a different approval path.
MLM Construction Group works out of 1717 Avenue P in Brooklyn, NY 11229. Fort Greene 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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