Roof repair and solar installation

Dear community,

We own a brownstone in Bed-Stuy, traditional 20 x 40 flat roof. When we bought it we knew that eventually we would need to repair the roof. A replacement of skylights last summer recommended it. But I have these questions:

Question 1) how do you know definitely it is time to replace the roof ($27K) vs a silicone covering/repair ($7K)? Our roofing specialist says that the roof surface feels spongy which means there are many levels below and probably water in between them which would cause underlying wood framework to rot. And some seams seem to be bulging upward a little bit. Also the surface is not properly pitched, leading to puddles in different areas. When we bought the house 12 years ago, the inspection said that the roof had a rolled, fiberglass roof covering which appeared in satisfactory condition. About 5 years later we had it patched up.

Question 2) We are seriously considering installing solar electric panels this year before the federal incentives are axed. Would it be much better to do a full repair/replace of the roof before putting the panels on top or could the panels be removed in 5 years for more roof repairs or replacement?

Question 3) Doing a roof repair is a big expense. Will it positively impact resale value and if so, at what time do the returns start to expire? I anticipate we will hold onto the house for about 15 more years.

Thanks a lot for your feedback!

citizenjane

in General Discussion 1 month ago

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sjdv | 1 month ago

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LPC also has this fact sheet about installing solar panels on a designated property or within a historic district. It includes some photo examples of installations that have been approved. https://www.nyc.gov/assets/lpc/downloads/pdf/pubs/Solar%20Panels.pdf

Brownstone Home Inspection | 1 month ago

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amt, thank you for raising the concern about the solar being visible from the street. Citizen Jane has contracted with me to visit today and perform a roof inspection and advise her on courses of action. i will call landmarks now to ask about solar being visible from street and will share the answer on here.

and folks, landmarks do not operate like the IRS. you can call them and tell and ask them anything you want and the staff person will discuss with you and will advise. they work with us. it only gets concerning when the staff person says “i cannot make that decision and we must put it to committee” or when the staff person says “this will not get approved”.

amt230 | 1 month ago

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Jane – I don’t know that any solar should be visible from the street, particularly in a historic area or I wouldn’t think LPC would approve the design. That’s a good price on a roof tear down from what I’ve been quoted – if you go ahead and are happy with results please do share referrals! Good luck!

Brownstone Home Inspection | 1 month ago

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well, it will keep the sun’s rays off of it and the sun is probably the most destructive element to a roof. I would still paint the roof with an approved paint for that material. be careful. some people do not always use compatible products during maintenance.

when you paint the roof, know this: it will be easier to spot issues on the roof. if it is a silver paint and a seam or flashing is failing, the paint will crack. sometimes paint cracks anyway a little (crazing) but when a seam or flashing is failing, it opens up and bingo your eyes will go right to it. makes it easy to spot under solar panels.

also, that comment that dfreed made about premier, i go on a lot of their roofs and they are tight and professional looking. those homeowners only have good things to say about that company. and they are right there, they cannot afford to f up.

citizenjane | 1 month ago

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Dear Steve and amt230,
Thank you for sharing additional input. We are going to do the roof repair first and then solar, all this summer. For us, it’s just not worth the extra time/effort/money to take the solar out for roof repairs over time
.
FWIW, I believe a solar canopy is a lot heavier (prob due to structural supports). Although it could offer a nice cover for a deck, we are in a historical district and I feel the canopies look like giant spiders that don’t fit in aesthetically. Meanwhile, I’ve been told that having solar panels close to the roof can actually provide some benefit to the roof in terms of reduced wear and tear. Who would have thought?
Thanks again for your input

Brownstone Home Inspection | 1 month ago

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amt, i saw what you said about that and chose not to comment for now put that in my memory bank to explore and think about for my customers.

also, i have been on some roofs in some economically challenged areas where the homeowners listened to a great story from the solar people and allowed them to sell them on a reroofing and the solar and the roof work was sub par or a disaster. so be aware of this risk there. i think people on here might be savvy enough to question that sort of deal.

amt230 | 1 month ago

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Thank you for your input, Steve.

Yes, your guidance is consistent with my conclusions – that is, before I proceed with any green roof or decking I will definitely redo the roof and make sure it is structurally prepared for that (and will look into the sectioning concept you mentioned when I get there for future inspections/maintainence).

But, relating to OP’s initial question, as it relates to solar specifically, that I came to a different conclusion that it can be done separate from these other moving parts and could be temporarily uninstalled and reinstalled with some limited additional expense (that is likely not as much as the tax savings they are looking to preserve).

Brownstone Home Inspection | 1 month ago

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amt230:

becareful putting things on the roof. make sure the roof has been maintained to its best possible position before putting plantings or a deck on it because it becomes very hard to inspect once done. also, try to spot areas that could become problems down the road and take preventive action before moving forward. this takes some skill and the deck builder won’t know or care what to look for.

if you go with a deck, ask the builder if they can assemble it in 4×4′ or 4×8′ pods that can be lifted off the structural members to the roof can be accessed for inspection or repair.

Steve
brownstonehomeinspection.com

amt230 | 1 month ago

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Hi Jane – I am in a very similar position, so am happy to share what I’ve learned and been thinking…

Our situation is similar, bought a few years ago, roof seems fine but accepted it would need replacement eventually. In addition to solar, we are considering other amenities for the roof (e.g., green roof, decking, etc.) and trying to figure out what is feasible together and which should done at the same time. One thing to explore is whether (if you’re considering a canopy of solar, as we are) the canopy can be installed on the party walls, which might avoid the roof surface when you repair.

Ultimately, though would be logical and ideal to coordinate, I am finding that the solar component is rather simple in terms of installation, and could be removed/reinstalled rather simply if we later got to some of those other pipe dreams. It will undoubtedly be less efficient (i.e., more expensive) but I don’t think it will explode costs.

TL:DR – get the solar if the expiring tax benefit is meaningful and then figure out how to work around then when you get to other roof repairs.

Good luck!

Brownstone Home Inspection | 1 month ago

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I do not think multiple layers adds anymore water proofing over a single roof. most roof leaks do not happen in the membrane area but along the flashings or even along the chimneys and masonry walls. if you do have multiple layers, you risk interlayer leaks that will trap water or allow it to move around. the trick is to put down a good layer of roofing and have it done correctly and then maintain it. short of either of those there will be problems. on the maintenance side, the roofs over here in working class queens last a very long time. that is because a roof is or was a big investment for these people and they used their understanding of building trades to know that prevention pays off. They are fanatical about applying silver paint and understand that keeping the sun off the membrane saves the roof. if flashings or masonry along the walls fail, they fix it.

that is considerate of you to think of the health and safety of the workers and the use of bitumen. i can tell you from the perspective of someone who has worked with his hands for decades and has used some pretty serious chemicals (xylene, methylene chloride, lead, lead paste, lead dust, 1,1,1 or methyl chloroform, and formaldehyde to name a few) and has suffered numerous work related injuries and now has work related health issues, i would much rather consumers worry about whether we are treated fairly and as though we live in a modern country that provides its labor force with things we must have to maintain our dignity should we get injured, cannot work, or must retire than worry about the chemicals we may or may not use on one job; you can take away all of the chemicals in the world away and we will still suffer injuries, periods of unemployment and a time in our lives when we simply cannot climb a ladder or pick up a tool anymore. Not to mention all of the other things we put in our bodies that we should not.

Brownstone Home Inspection | 1 month ago

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I am not here to preach about the codes, but be ware that you may already have too many layers of roof on there. Two are what’s allowed. Weight is the concern.

citizenjane | 1 month ago

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Thanks to everyone for their responses. There is a lot to think about here.

We are still weighing the approach of replacing the roof vs putting on a new layer (with related reinforcements). One argument for putting a new layer on top of the existing roof seems to be that the old layers below will offer supplemental protection from water damage, whereas putting down a new roof will mean only 2-3 layers of protection. Do these arguments make sense?

Also, I’m wondering if there are any strong reasons to go with a Bitumen roofing layer versus a finished rubberized membrane? I heard that Bitumen can have some health hazards for the installers. Each seems to have their strengths and weaknesses.

Thanks again for all of your thoughtful advice.

dfreed1 | 1 month ago

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Call Premier Roofing on Atlantic Ave Brooklyn to arrange for an estimate. I bought my brownstone four story house in 1984 and had a few “rubber” roofs installed by them and highly recommend them. They have been in business m any decades.

Brownstone Home Inspection | 1 month ago

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fiberglass rolled roof (if that is what you have; i would not trust a home inspector; you can trust me because i will not say something unless i know it to be true without prefacing it with “i could be wrong but”) is a big box store product (it is half the price of professional grade products). that stuff is not like the rolled modified bitumen that professional roofing operations use. i see homeowners put it on their roofs when they do them themselves. it is a much thinner product than the professional grade modified bitumen products. it is not as flexible (the mod bit is rubberized) and when things go wrong it begins to crack. If any blisters develop, cracks form fast. i think i have read that these products last like ten years.

what did your specialist’s moisture meter indicate when they walked the roof? that should have given you better answers about what is going on inside the roof.

if you do in fact have a fiberglass rolled roof, my thought is it should go anyway. then you can rip this down to the deck (it sounds like you will not be applying a new top sheet).

in so far as ponding on the roof. ALL of these houses have some level of ponding. the slope on these houses is minimal and small areas of ponding result. small (12″x24″, 24″x24″) and not deep (1/8″) and they dry up fast. ponding is said to become an issue if it remains on a roof for more than 24 hours. some sources say 48 hours. How long does the water remain? did the roof specialist explain any of this to you?

Brownstone Home Inspection | 1 month ago

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Joshua, welcome here. these folks on here need a really good roofing company. every time i find one i check them out and hear a disaster story and am afraid to recommend anyone. i do know some of the commercial places but some do not want to do residential work. we will be talking soon.

Please allow me to clarify some things for the readers:
moisture under a flat roof membrane can come from many different sources. it could be a leak in the roof membrane or the masonry or flashings and, yes, it can get trapped. if someone repaired a leak and failed to open the membrane to dry it (i found a water filled blister today and toed it and water popped out a little hole – it was trapped above an old roof layer – an “interlayer” leak; I told the owner, the roofer has to cut this open and dry it).

Moisture can also come from inside activities such as cooking and showering and heat inside in the winter can push it outward where it can become trapped under a roof membrane. Trapped air and trapped moist air can cause blistering but so long as the moisture is not trapped between two layers of roof membrane, the sun in the summer can and will drive it back into the house through the wood deck (i am talking about naturally occurring moisture here, not water from a leak). Keep in mind, many of the old decks are not modern plywood but are planks with gaps between them. the moisture moves around a lot easier.

most of these roofs on these houses have a small blister or two. most do not have water in them. Many are interlayer and are simply warm air that has gotten in between two or three older layers of membrane. Unless they are large or look like something else is going on or have water in them or look like they could split, i tell most people to monitor them and see if they grow. Of course we try to be sure there is no water in them (water will rot roof membrane). My thought is, since these are so common and since the blisters are smaller on these houses, monitoring them should suffice until the roofs need larger work done. i just do not think it is worth the expense to bring a roofer on for smaller blisters that tend to remain constant. it is a cost/benefit analysis.

Where this becomes more critical is on modern roof systems (i stay away from that term “systems” until i know insulation is inside; to an old guy like me, a membrane on wood on an old house is simply a roof) with insulation in them. If water gets in and spreads around, it will destroy the insulation and add weight to the roof (this is a serious concern on larger commercial properties; the weight can cause a collapse). I did some investigation work on a pair of commercial roofs in Brooklyn and rented a tramex moisture meter that can take readings many inches down (the ones i carry on me are good for 3/4″) and determined that their was in fact very high moisture and but we held off cutting until we had to have an asbestos investigation done. When we cut, we learned that the insulation was saturated and that the water was trapped between layers of modern roof and the old BUR. it was and is not going any place and yes, these people need a new roof (and a roofer. i have pm’d a couple of things for them so far).

In so far as sag on these roofs, when i inspections, i try to look in the cock lofts. most of the structural elements appear fine. sometimes there is spongyness in small spots on a roof but i rarely attribute that to the structural elements. Many times this is from an older layer under an newer one and that older layer had delaminated. unless i think water has gotten inside, i tend to tell people to monitor the area.

i know this is not what the roofers want to hear, but in short, i try to leave exploratory cutting until there is very good reason to believe water has gotten under a roof membrane. especially with the smaller roofs on these homes. a big building with a modern insulated system, that can get pricey fast.

Steve

joshuaneuman | 1 month ago

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1st Post here! Welcoming myself to Brownstoner!!

My name is Joshua Neuman and I am an estimator at Niche Waterproofing, a NYC-based façade and roofing specialty contractor. I live and breathe building envelope, waterproofing, façade repair, and roof repair.

I’ll respond to each of your questions with my assessor/contractor cap on, outlining practical options and why I recommend them.

Question 1 – Roof Replacement vs Roof Coating

Probe the spongy areas – If they’re in fact wet, the roof must be replaced. No coating—whether silicone, urethane, polyurethane, or PMMA—will work over a moisture-laden roof assembly. It will fail. Moisture under the membrane leads to blistering, delamination, and further deterioration.

Structural concerns – If your wood roof deck is compromised, the risks are serious—especially if you’re planning to install solar panels. That’s added weight, and if the decking is rotting from prolonged moisture exposure, it could eventually sag or even fail. I’m not a structural engineer, but as a building envelope contractor, I wouldn’t gamble on it—and I wouldn’t advise you to either.

Get a few roof probes – Have a qualified roofer open up 2–3 test cuts (2’x2′ each) in different suspect areas. These should tell you if there’s moisture beneath and whether the deck is rotted. With probes, visual inspection, and optionally a water test, a seasoned pro can usually identify the source(s) of water intrusion.

Question 2 – Should You Replace the Roof Before Installing Solar?

Short answer: yes. Always do the roof first if it’s nearing end-of-life.
Here’s why:

– You don’t want to install solar panels only to have to pay THOUSANDS to remove and reinstall them five years later when the roof needs replacing.
– Solar installers often void their workmanship warranties if the roof beneath fails.
– Coordinating roof replacement and solar installation allows for properly flashed penetrations and avoids future leak risks.
– A new roof under solar panels often lasts longer due to reduced UV exposure and improved drainage planning.

So if you’re on the fence, do the roof now and then solar—it’s cleaner, safer, and saves money in the long run.

Question 3 – Resale Value and ROI

A new roof may not boost your resale price like a kitchen remodel, but here’s what it does:

– Removes buyer objections: “How old is the roof?” is a top question. A new one puts that concern to rest. Especially if you are putting solar on, the appraiser will likely pick up the age and the solar on top.
– Helps close deals faster: Buyers love turnkey homes with major systems already handled.
– Enhances energy performance, especially if paired with solar or added insulation.
– Adds real value over your hold period: If you’re planning to keep the home another 15 years, you’ll fully amortize the benefit. It’s a defensive upgrade—protecting your investment.

Hope this helps, and happy to clarify anything further. Welcome questions or DMs anytime.

—Joshua

edtvg | 1 month ago

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I second this reccomendation. Get an independent, 3rd party, roof inspection before you make any replacement or repair decisions. A certified roof inspector can help educate you on the current conditions of your roof and help you make the right repair/replacement decision. I have used Steve at Brownstone Home Inspection to help me with the same situation and I can’t reccomend Steve enough. With Steve you will not only get an informed, independent opinion but you will learn about your roof and how to maintain it over time.

Brownstone Home Inspection | 1 month ago

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You call a Haag Certified Roof Inspector who will inspect your roof to professional standards and give you a written report.

This particular Haag Roof Inspector feels that silicone coatings are a quick and easy way out and only work when applied correctly to the correct thickness and should be used as an absolute last resort (when budgetary constraints limit other courses of action) . The Haag Roof Inspector can teach you how to maintain your roof better than the roofers can maintain your roof. A Haag Roof Inspector represents YOU and not some other entity.

This Haag Roof Inspector charges $700 to do a typical Brownstone in Brooklyn and $800 in Manhattan. You will learn how to inspect your own roof like the pros do and how to maintain it as well. Follow up support is provided. See reviews of this service on here.

Reach your local Haag Certified Roof Inspector here:
www.brownstonehomeinspection.com

Steve
Certified Haag Roof Inspector
CertainTeed Certified Roof Installer
NYS Licensed Home Inspector
Internachi Certified EIFS Inspector