What a Summit roof actually goes through
Summit sits on a ridge in the New Jersey hill country, which is part of its charm and part of why its roofs work so hard. Storms coming off the coast tend to drive rain sideways here, pushing water up under shingle edges and into flashing joints that would stay perfectly dry on a sheltered lot in the valley. The town's mature oaks and maples drop debris that clogs valleys and keeps the north slope of a roof damp for days after a rain has passed.
Then there is the New Jersey freeze-thaw cycle, which works on a roof like a slow pry bar. Water finds a hairline gap, freezes overnight, expands, and opens the gap a little wider before the next rain finds it. Repeat that a few hundred times over a few winters and a tiny imperfection becomes a leak. A roof that looks fine from the curb can be quietly losing this battle at the flashing, the valleys, and the eaves. We build and repair with all of that firmly in mind, because a roof that ignores Summit's local conditions simply does not last here.