Our process
How our metal roof installation process works, start to finish
Our metal roof installation process has four steps, and each one leaves a paper trail you can read: a written estimate, a signed contract, a permit when one is needed, and a final walk-through. Below is what happens at every stage, and what New Jersey law says about it.
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- Lifetime workmanship warranty for as long as you own the home
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How it works
From first call to finished roof in four steps
1
Call, text or send the form
Tell us what you need. Photos of the roof, gutters or siding help us come prepared.
2
Free visit and measurement
We measure the house, check the decking, flashing and drainage, and talk through systems and colors.
3
Written price and contract
You get the scope and the total price in writing. New Jersey law gives you three business days to cancel after you sign.
4
Install and walk-through
We install, clean up, walk the finished work with you and hand over the warranty paperwork.
Step 1
What happens when you first get in touch?
We call you back, ask about the house and set a time to see it.
Call, text or send the form. Tell us the town, the kind of house, what you want done and anything going wrong now, such as a leak, ice along the gutters or a soft spot underfoot in the attic. A few photos from the street, plus any stains on ceilings, let us bring the right samples and tools to the visit.
Step 2
What do we check during the free visit?
Everything that affects the price and the way your roof should be built.
- Measurements: roof area, pitch, valleys, hips, and every chimney, skylight, vent and wall that needs flashing.
- What comes off: how many layers of roofing are on the house now, and how the decking looks from the attic. New Jersey’s Rehabilitation Subcode orders a full tear-off when a roof already carries two or more layers, is too soaked or worn to act as a base, or is wood shake, slate or tile.
- Ventilation: where air enters at the soffits and leaves near the ridge. Heat leaking into the attic is what starts ice dams, according to the University of Minnesota Extension.
- Drainage: gutter size, downspout spots and where the water goes once it leaves the roof.
- Location: distance to salt water, plus any historic district or homeowner association rules on colors and profiles.
Then we talk through the choices. Sheffield Metals pitches its snap-lock panels at middle slopes, about 3/12 up to 7/12, and nudges snowy areas toward mechanically seamed panels, because built-up snow and ice can work snap-lock seams loose. We also explain steel gauge, PVDF versus SMP paint, and the underlayment and eave membrane that go under the panels. Our standing seam page goes deeper on each choice.
Step 3
What must a New Jersey home improvement contract include?
For any job priced above $500, New Jersey wants the agreement on paper with every party’s signature, and each later change gets the same treatment. That comes from the state’s home improvement contract statute (section 56:8-151), and the state’s practices rules add more. Together they list what the contract must show.
- The contractor business’s legal name, business address and registration number.
- A copy of its commercial general liability insurance certificate, with the insurer’s phone number.
- A description of the work and the main products and materials, down to make, model, size and grade where those apply, per the practices rules in section 13:45A-16.2.
- The total price.
- The dates the work will start and finish.
- Any warranty that comes with the job.
Our contracts include each of these. If the scope changes after you sign, for example when old decking turns out to be rotted, we show you the damage and write the change and its price on a change order. We both sign it before that work goes ahead. Our guide to your contract rights in New Jersey covers the rest of the law.
Your rights
Can you cancel a contract after signing?
Yes. New Jersey lets you cancel for any reason within three business days after your copy of the contract reaches you, up to midnight of the last of those days.
The cancellation has to be written. Mail it certified or registered with a return receipt, or hand it to us in person. Whatever you paid comes back to you within 30 days, under the same statute.
You do not have to remember any of this. The law requires the contract itself to carry a notice to the consumer about this right, printed in bold type.
Permits
Will your new metal roof need a permit?
Usually not, if the house stands on its own and holds one or two families. New Jersey files a re-roof of that kind under ordinary maintenance in its construction code rules (section 5:23-2.7), and ordinary maintenance skips the construction permit. Re-siding a one- or two-family house falls in the same category.
- Attached homes such as townhouses, and multifamily buildings, are left off the ordinary-maintenance list for roofing, so they generally need a permit. We confirm with your local construction official.
- Polypropylene siding is the exception on the siding side: replacing it needs a permit.
- Anything touching structural or fire safety, such as rebuilding rafters, never counts as ordinary maintenance.
- Historic districts run on a separate track. Towns can pass preservation ordinances, which the state’s land use law allows, and according to a guide from the New Jersey Historic Trust, most such ordinances require a review before major exterior alterations in a designated district, whether or not a construction permit applies.
When a permit is required, state rules say work cannot start until it is issued. You also get copies of the required inspection certificates before final payment is due. Our roof permit guide covers the details.
Older homes
What changes on a house built before 1978?
Lead paint rules come into play whenever the job disturbs old painted surfaces. That describes plenty of New Jersey houses: the Census Bureau’s 2024 American Community Survey dates about 61 percent of the state’s homes to before 1980.
At the federal level, the EPA’s Renovation, Repair and Painting rule reaches paid work that disturbs paint in pre-1978 homes. Small touch-ups are exempt, meaning six square feet of paint or less per room inside, or 20 square feet or less outside. Window replacement is covered no matter how small, and covered work calls for a certified firm whose certified renovators follow lead-safe practices.
New Jersey stacks its own limits on top. Unless testing shows the paint is lead-free, the state’s Rehabilitation Subcode forbids open-flame burning, heat guns above 1,100 degrees F, and power sanding or sandblasting without a HEPA vacuum attachment. It also rules out uncontained power washing, and dry scraping or sanding of more than 2 square feet per room indoors or 10 square feet or more per building outdoors.
Those limits shape how old siding and trim get prepared before new material goes over them, and your estimate notes when they apply. Our windows page and siding page cover the jobs where this comes up most.
Payments
How do payments work?
On paper, before work starts. The contract shows the total price and the payment schedule, and nothing is due that the contract does not list.
New Jersey’s practices rules bar a contractor from asking for final payment before the work is complete. We ask for it only after the final walk-through, and every payment is recorded in writing.
Full replacements also skip sales tax. New roofs, new siding and new gutters are capital improvements in the eyes of the Division of Taxation, exempt once you fill out Form ST-8 for us. Repairs stay taxable.
Step 4
What happens on installation days?
We protect the property, strip the old roof, check the deck and build the new roof from the deck up.
- Protect: plantings, siding and the driveway are covered before anything comes off.
- Tear-off and deck check: the old roofing comes off and every sheet of decking gets a look. Damaged sections are shown to you and handled with a written change order.
- Underlayment and edges: new underlayment, a membrane at the eaves and new drip edge. Code demands that eave membrane in Sussex County alone (DCA Bulletin 07-3), and ours goes down on every roof anyway.
- Panels and flashing: panels go on with their clips or fastening strips, then flashing at walls, chimneys, skylights and vents, then ridge and trim.
- Snow guards and gutters, where the plan calls for them.
- Clean-up as we go, and a last sweep of lawn and drive for stray nails and offcuts.
How long it takes depends on the roof’s size, pitch and details, how many old layers we strip, and the weather. Your contract lists the start and finish dates, as state rules require. See all the systems we install on our metal roofing page, and how ice dams form in our ice dam guide.
Final step
What happens at the final walk-through?
We walk the finished job with you, settle any loose ends, and give you the paperwork.
- Look over the roof, flashing, gutters and trim together, from the ground and from the attic where it helps.
- Write down anything that needs attention and set a time to finish it.
- Hand over the manufacturer warranty documents, plus any inspection certificates if the job needed a permit.
- Go over simple upkeep: keep the gutters clear, and check with us before anything is mounted on the roof.
Final payment comes after this walk-through. Our warranty page explains the written workmanship warranty and the manufacturers’ coverage.
Get a free estimate
Tell us about the house and the work. We visit, measure and give you a written price before any work starts.
Prefer to talk now? Call (732) 231-5327.
Questions
Questions about the installation process
How many working days does an installation need?
That turns on roof area and pitch, how many chimneys, valleys and skylights need flashing, how many old layers come off, and what the weather does. Your written contract states the start and completion dates.
What if you find rotted decking under my old roof?
We show you the damage, write the repair and its price on a change order, and we both sign it before that work goes ahead. New Jersey requires every change to a home improvement contract to be in writing and signed.
Will my metal roof need a permit?
Most stand-alone houses with one or two families do not, because New Jersey treats re-roofing them as ordinary maintenance. Attached homes generally do, and homes in a local historic district may need a design approval. Your estimate says which applies, and work does not start until any required permit is issued.
When is the final payment due?
After the work is complete and we have done the final walk-through with you. New Jersey’s rules bar a contractor from requesting final payment before the work is finished, and your full payment schedule is written into the contract.
How does the three-day cancellation right work?
You have three business days after you receive your copy of the contract, through midnight of the last one, to cancel for any reason. Put it in writing and mail it certified or registered, or deliver it in person. Whatever you paid must be refunded within 30 days.
Step one
Start with a free visit and a written price
We measure, explain the choices and leave you an estimate to compare. Nothing is signed at the visit unless you want it to be.