These are the questions people actually ask us before hiring a roofer. Each answer starts with the answer. Where a fact is not on file, we say so instead of filling the gap with a number that sounds confident.
How much does a new roof cost in Revere?
There is no honest flat price, because the cost of a new roof is set by the roof itself. The size of the surface, the pitch, the number of layers that have to come off, the material going back on, and the condition of the decking underneath all move the number, and none of them can be judged from the street.
What we can promise is the way you get the figure. We inspect the roof, photograph what we find, and give you a free written quote that names the materials and the scope. If we expect to find bad decking once the old covering is off, the quote says how that is priced rather than leaving it as a surprise mid job.
More on roof replacement
Should I repair my roof or replace it?
Repair when the roof is sound and the failure is local. Replace when the covering is at the end of its service life or the same problem keeps coming back in new places.
A single lifted ridge, a failed pipe boot, or cracked flashing on an otherwise healthy roof is a repair, and a good one lasts years. Widespread curling or bald shingles, granules filling the gutters, daylight through the boards, or a third leak in two winters points the other way. Paying for repeated repairs on a roof that is finished costs more over five years than replacing it once.
More on roof repair
How long does a roof replacement take?
Most single family homes in our area are torn off and re roofed inside one to three working days. Two and three family houses, steep or cut up roofs, and buildings with both pitched and flat sections take longer.
Weather sets the schedule more than anything else. We do not open up a roof in front of rain, so a forecast can push a start date. Once the tear off begins we work to get the deck dried in the same day.
More on roof replacement
What roofing materials do you install?
Asphalt shingle, metal, and rubber membrane. Between them they cover nearly every roof in Greater Boston.
Asphalt shingles go on most pitched roofs here and give the widest choice of price and colour. Metal costs more up front, sheds snow well, and lasts a long time when the details are installed for coastal air. Rubber membrane, usually EPDM, which stands for a rubber sheet material made for flat and low slope roofs, is what goes on triple decker tops, rear additions, and commercial buildings.
More on all roofing services
Is a permit needed for a roof replacement?
In most cases yes. Roofing in Massachusetts runs under the state building code, 780 CMR, and a replacement is generally permitted through the building department of the city where the property stands.
We handle that permit as part of the job, so the work is on record with the city rather than done quietly over a weekend.
More on about M & Son Roofing
Can you handle emergency roof leaks?
Yes. Emergency help is available 24 hours a day for active leaks, storm torn shingles, and tree damage across our service area.
The first visit is about stopping water getting in. That usually means tarping and stabilising the damaged area so the inside of the building stops taking on water, then coming back in daylight and settled weather to do the permanent repair properly.
More on emergency roof repair
What should I do during an active leak?
Move what you can out of the way, put a container under the drip, and call. If a ceiling is bulging with trapped water, pierce it at the lowest point so the water drains where you choose instead of bringing the whole plaster down at once.
Do not climb onto a wet or storm damaged roof to look. Photographs of the inside staining and of anything visible from the ground help us more than anything you could gather up a ladder in bad weather.
More on emergency roof repair
Why does salt air matter for roofs near the coast?
Salt carried inland on the wind corrodes metal, and a roof holds more metal than people expect: flashing, valley metal, drip edge, vents, and every fastener holding it together.
Along Revere Beach Boulevard, Point of Pines, and the Lynn shoreline, the metal parts of a roof usually fail before the covering does. That is why we treat flashing detail and fastener choice as a real decision on coastal roofs rather than a default.
More on roofing in Revere, MA
What causes ice dams, and can they be prevented?
Heat escaping into the roof space melts snow on the upper slope. The water runs down to the cold overhang at the eave, refreezes there, and the ridge of ice that builds holds meltwater back until it finds a way under the covering. That is an ice dam.
The fix is not a heated cable. It is eave protection installed correctly on the lower courses, sealed penetrations, and enough attic ventilation to keep the roof deck close to the outside temperature. We look at all three whenever we quote a replacement.
More on roof repair
What does Nor'easter damage usually look like?
Nor'easters are coastal storms that bring strong onshore wind and heavy rain at the same time. On a roof that shows up as lifted or missing shingles along ridges and rakes, torn flashing, damaged vents, and water driven sideways under edges that would shed ordinary rain.
The damage is often not above the stain inside. Water entering at a ridge can travel along the decking and appear in a room at the other end of the house, so tracing the path matters more than patching the nearest hole.
More on roof repair
Do you work on commercial and flat roofs?
Yes. Flat and low slope roofs on commercial buildings, triple deckers, and rear additions are a large part of what we do, in rubber membrane and in metal.
Flat roofs fail differently from pitched ones. Standing water, seam failures, and blocked or badly placed drainage cause most problems, so the work is about drainage and clean seams rather than shedding water fast.
More on commercial roofing
Which towns do you cover?
Revere, Boston, Chelsea, Everett, Malden, Lynn, and Saugus, all in Massachusetts. Revere is home, and the rest are a short drive from the yard.
Each of those cities has its own page on this site with the local housing stock and roofing conditions set out. If you are just outside the list, call and ask rather than assuming the answer is no.
More on roofing in Boston, MA
How do I book a free quote?
Call or text us, or send the form on the contact page with the city and a short description of what you are seeing.
We arrange a time to look at the roof, photograph what we find, and give you a written quote naming the materials and scope. The quote is free and carries no obligation.
More on contact page
