The names for the work, and what each one is

The terms, in assembly order, from the deck outward

Where the 2022 New York City Building Code states a requirement for a term, the section number and the edition are given in the entry, and the code's own words are quoted where they are short enough to quote. Terms marked Trade usage are the trade's own words, for which no code definition has been opened here; the code reaches them, where it reaches them at all, through a requirement written about something else. Each term below is an anchor, so a page elsewhere on this site can link a first use of a word straight to its entry.

Deck, or sheathing

The structural surface the roofing is fastened to. The Department of Buildings defines a roof deck in Buildings Bulletin 2019-010 as "the structural surface to which the roofing and waterproofing system (including insulation) is applied," and § 1507.2.1 of the 2022 New York City Building Code requires that asphalt shingles be fastened to solidly sheathed decks. Whether the deck itself is replaced is the line that decides whether the job needs a Department of Buildings permit, at 1 RCNY § 101-14, Table 2, rows IV.1 and IV.2. 2022 Building Code Chapter 15, nyc.gov PDF

Covered at A DOB permit is triggered by the deck, not by a percentage of the roof.

Underlayment

The sheet laid over the deck and under the covering. § 1507.2.3 of the 2022 New York City Building Code names three acceptable materials for asphalt shingle roofs — ASTM D226 Type I, ASTM D4869 Type I, or ASTM D6757 — and § 1507.2.8 sets how much of it goes on by slope: two layers where the slope is between 2:12 and 4:12, and a single layer lapped 2 inches at 4:12 and steeper.

Covered at The ice barrier is measured 24 inches inside the wall line, not up from the eave.

Ice barrier

A membrane laid at the low edge of a roof in place of ordinary underlayment. § 1507.2.8.1 of the 2022 New York City Building Code requires either at least two layers of underlayment cemented together or a self-adhering polymer modified bitumen sheet, and requires it to "extend from the lowest edges of all roof surfaces to a point at least 24 inches (609.6 mm) inside the exterior wall line of the building." The same 24-inch formula is repeated for metal roof shingles, mineral-surfaced roll roofing, slate, wood shingles, wood shakes and photovoltaic shingles at §§ 1507.5.4, 1507.6.4, 1507.7.4, 1507.8.4, 1507.9.4 and § 1507.17.4.2.

Covered at The ice barrier is measured 24 inches inside the wall line, not up from the eave.

Drip edge

The metal edging that carries water off the roof edge clear of the wood behind it. § 1507.2.9.3 of the 2022 New York City Building Code states the requirement in one sentence: "A drip edge shall be provided at eaves and rake edges of shingle roofs."

Valley, open and closed

The line where two roof planes meet and drain together. In an open valley the lining is left exposed; in a closed valley the covering is carried across it. § 1507.2.9.2 of the 2022 New York City Building Code requires an open metal valley lining at least 24 inches wide, in one of the metals and thicknesses set out in Table 1507.2.9.2, and permits an open valley of two plies of mineral-surfaced roll roofing instead; for closed valleys it requires one ply of smooth roll roofing at least 36 inches wide, or a self-adhering underlayment complying with ASTM D1970.

Step flashing Trade usage

The individual pieces of metal woven in course by course where a roof plane runs into a vertical wall, a chimney or a dormer cheek. The 2022 New York City Building Code states the requirement rather than the name: § 1503.2 requires flashing at wall and roof intersections, at gutters, at any change in roof slope or direction and around roof openings, and § 1503.2.1 requires corrosion-resistant metal not less than 0.019 inch thick, which is No. 26 galvanized sheet.

Counterflashing Trade usage

The upper piece, set into or against the masonry or siding, that laps down over the step or base flashing so that water cannot run behind it. The 2022 New York City Building Code names counterflashing where it governs reroofing: § 1511.5 states that existing vent flashing, metal edgings, drain outlets, collars and metal counterflashings "shall not be reinstalled where rusted, damaged or deteriorated," and § 1511.6 states that flashings "shall be reconstructed" in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.

Covered at When the 2022 New York City Building Code forbids shingling over an existing roof.

Cricket, or saddle

A small ridged structure built on the uphill side of a chimney or other penetration so that water and snow are parted around it instead of collecting behind it. § 1503.6 of the 2022 New York City Building Code requires that "a cricket or saddle shall be installed on the ridge side of any chimney or penetration greater than 30 inches wide as measured perpendicular to the slope," and requires it to be covered with sheet metal or with the same material as the roof covering.

Ridge Trade usage

The horizontal line at the top of a roof where two planes meet, and, on an estimate, the capping and any continuous vent installed along it. Where a ridge vent is the exhaust opening, what counts toward the ventilation requirement is its labelled net free ventilating area, not the length of the slot.

Soffit, and net free ventilating area

The soffit is the underside of the eave overhang, and it is where intake air usually enters an attic. § 1503.5 of the 2022 New York City Building Code sends attic ventilation to § 1203.2, which requires cross ventilation for each separate space, an airspace of not less than 1 inch between the insulation and the roof sheathing, and a net free ventilating area of not less than 1/150 of the area of the space ventilated. Net free ventilating area is the open area a vent actually provides after its louvres and screening, which is always a fraction of the area of its face; § 1203.2.1 governs the screening. 2022 Building Code Chapter 12, nyc.gov PDF

Covered at The ice barrier is measured 24 inches inside the wall line, not up from the eave.

Square Trade usage

A unit of roof area equal to 100 square feet. Shingles are packaged and sold by the square, and labour on an estimate is often priced by the square, so a price per square and a price per square foot differ by a factor of one hundred.

Covered at What is known about roof cost here, and how to read the estimate you were handed.

Tear-off Trade usage

Stripping the existing covering off down to the deck before the new covering goes on. The 2022 New York City Building Code does not use the word; the operation it describes is roof replacement, and § 1511.3 states that "roof replacement shall include the removal of all existing layers of roof coverings down to the roof deck."

Covered at When the 2022 New York City Building Code forbids shingling over an existing roof.

Recover, or roof-over

Laying a new covering over the existing one instead of removing it. § 1511.3.1 of the 2022 New York City Building Code sets out the cases in which a recover is permitted, and § 1511.3.1.1 sets out three cases in which it is not: where the existing roof is water-soaked or has deteriorated to the point that it is no longer an adequate base; where the existing covering is slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile; and where the existing roof already has two or more applications of any type of roof covering.

Covered at When the 2022 New York City Building Code forbids shingling over an existing roof.

Roof replacement

The 2022 New York City Building Code's own term for a strip-and-replace job, at § 1511.3, with one exception stated in the same section: an adhered ice barrier membrane may be permitted to remain in place and be covered with an additional layer of ice barrier complying with § 1507. The phrase is worth keeping straight from replacement of the roof deck or the roof assembly, which is a different event with different consequences.

Covered at Replacing a roof covering does not trigger the sustainable roofing zone.

Low-slope

A roof shallow enough that a lapped covering will not shed water reliably, which on a Richmond County house is usually the one-storey rear extension. The boundary the roofing sections of the 2022 New York City Building Code work to is a slope of less than 2:12, used at §§ 1504.4, 1504.6, 1504.7, 1507.12.3 and § 1507.13.3. Chapter 2 of that code, where a defined term may also sit, has not been opened for this page.

Covered at What the code requires of a low-slope rear extension and its parapet.

Positive drainage

Water leaving the roof rather than standing on it. § 1511.1.1 of the 2022 New York City Building Code states it in four words — "reroofs shall provide positive drainage" — and the low-slope covering sections require it of built-up, modified bitumen, EPDM, thermoplastic single-ply, sprayed polyurethane foam and liquid-applied roofs at §§ 1507.10.1, 1507.11.1, 1507.12.1, 1507.13.1, 1507.14.1 and § 1507.15.1. The Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association, a manufacturers' association rather than a code body, defines ponding water as "the water which remains on a roof 48 hours or longer" and recommends a minimum slope of a quarter inch per foot; that quarter inch is a recommendation, not a New York City requirement.

Covered at What the code requires of a low-slope rear extension and its parapet.

Membrane — SBS, TPO, EPDM

The sheet systems used on low-slope roofs, each with its own section in the 2022 New York City Building Code: modified bitumen, of which SBS is one type, at § 1507.11; EPDM, a single-ply synthetic rubber, at § 1507.12; and thermoplastic single-ply, which is what TPO and PVC are, at § 1507.13. All three are required to be laid to positive roof drainage rather than to a stated minimum slope.

Covered at What the code requires of a low-slope rear extension and its parapet.

Torch-applied

Bonding a modified bitumen sheet by melting its underside with an open flame. The Fire Department of the City of New York states its position in the study material for the Certificate of Fitness for torch use of flammable gases, G-60, at § 1.4.3: "It is illegal to install any roofing material using a torch on a roof of combustible construction or in roofing operations on roofs of combustible construction using hot work equipment." The same booklet requires that the torch operation be performed personally by a certificate holder, requires a separate F-60 fire guard for the fire watch, and lists "use of any open flame in a torch-applied roofing system" among the operations for which an FDNY permit is required. No page here tells any reader what construction type their own building is. FDNY G-60 study material, nyc.gov PDF

Covered at FDNY's published position on torch-applied roofing over combustible construction.

Parapet

A wall carried up past the roof surface, which on an attached house is commonly the party wall between one bay and the next. § 1503.3 of the 2022 New York City Building Code requires that parapets be coped, and the covering sections and the drainage sections both treat the parapet as part of the water path off a low-slope roof rather than as decoration.

Covered at What the code requires of a low-slope rear extension and its parapet.

Coping

The cap over the top of a parapet. § 1503.3 of the 2022 New York City Building Code requires that parapets be coped with noncombustible, weatherproof material of a width no less than the thickness of the parapet wall, which makes a coping narrower than the wall beneath it both a defect and a direct path for water into the wall.

Covered at What the code requires of a low-slope rear extension and its parapet.

Scupper

An opening through a parapet or wall that lets water off a low-slope roof. § 1503.4.2 of the 2022 New York City Building Code requires that a scupper serving as secondary, or overflow, drainage have an opening dimension of not less than 4 inches, and § 1503.4.1 requires the secondary system to be sized and located without counting any flow through the primary system.

Covered at What the code requires of a low-slope rear extension and its parapet.

Gutters and leaders

The trough at the eave and the vertical pipe that takes the water down from it. § 1503.4.3 of the 2022 New York City Building Code, as amended by Local Law 77 of 2023, states that "gutters placed on the outside of buildings shall be of noncombustible, corrosion-resistant materials," sends leaders to Chapter 11 of the New York City Plumbing Code, and requires that gutters and leaders more than 15 feet above grade be designed to resist the loads in Chapter 16. Replacement in kind of exterior gutters and leaders is listed as an ordinary repair at 1 RCNY § 101-14, Table 3, row IX.2, so it needs no Department of Buildings permit.

Covered at A DOB permit is triggered by the deck, not by a percentage of the roof.

Cant strip Trade usage

The angled fillet set in the corner where a low-slope deck meets a parapet or a wall, so that the membrane turns up through two shallow bends instead of one right angle. The term appears in the permit rule rather than in a definition: 1 RCNY § 101-14, Table 2, row IV.1 lists work "limited to the roof membrane, roof coverings, cant strip, and any insulation above the roof deck/sheathing" as an ordinary repair.

Covered at A DOB permit is triggered by the deck, not by a percentage of the roof.

Ordinary repair

The category of work for which the Department of Buildings requires no permit, defined by rule at 1 RCNY § 101-14 under AC § 28-105.4.2 of the Administrative Code. Table 2 of that rule places roof repair and reroofing above the deck or sheathing in the category, and places roof repair or replacement that includes replacement of the deck or sheathing outside it. Two qualifications sit in the rule itself: § 101-14(a) says the listed categories "may" be classified as ordinary repairs and that the tables are not an exclusive list, and § 101-14(c) says the exemption does not eliminate an owner's obligation to file at other City agencies, the Fire Department among them. 1 RCNY § 101-14, nyc.gov PDF

Covered at A DOB permit is triggered by the deck, not by a percentage of the roof.

Change order

A written record of work added to, or taken out of, a contract that has already been signed. The Department of Consumer and Worker Protection's model home improvement contract requires that change orders be in writing and signed by both parties before the changed work starts, and the department publishes a change order form. Under AC § 20-393(1) of the Administrative Code, a material deviation from the plans or specifications without the owner's written consent is a prohibited act.

Covered at The checks that decide whether a New York City homeowner ever recovers money.

Storm damage Trade usage

Not a term of the 2022 New York City Building Code. On an estimate or an insurance adjuster's report it usually names wind or hail damage to a covering, and what follows it is a claim rather than a code question. Two rules bear on the aftermath: § 1511.5 of the 2022 New York City Building Code states which existing components may not be put back where they are rusted, damaged or deteriorated, and GBL § 771-b of the New York General Business Law governs what a contractor may say about the deductible.

Covered at Offering to cover your deductible is prohibited by General Business Law § 771-b, at At 117 mph the code requires ASTM D7158 Class G or H, printed on the bundle, and at The hurricane deductible is a percentage of the dwelling limit, not a flat $1,000.

This is a list of names, not a list of services

A page at this address once offered these items for sale. This one does not. Nothing above is an offer to perform work, a price, a specification for any particular building or a judgement about the condition of one. Richmond County Roofing does not sell, install, inspect, quote, estimate or repair roofing work, does not recommend, rank or refer a contractor for money or for free, and takes no advertising, affiliate income or lead generation.

The names are set out so that an estimate, a contract or a code section can be read, not so that work can be ordered. What can be done from here in about ten minutes is check that a contractor's licence, insurance and contract are what they are supposed to be.