The Dynasty blog
Roof, chimney and deck questions, answered plainly
Each post here answers one question people ask before they hire a roofer, a mason or a deck builder. Does the township want a permit for a tear-off? Why is the ceiling wet when the shingles look fine? We answer the way we would in your driveway, and when the honest answer is that you don't need a contractor yet, we say that too.
- PA license PA215236
- Licensed and insured
- Free inspections and written estimates
Start here
The questions we hear most
Cost and planning
What changes the price of a roof replacement
Browse by topic
What your township asks for before a roof, chimney or deck job, and who to call.
Shingles, cedar, flat roofs and flashing, and what each one asks of you over the years.
Crowns, flashing, mortar and caps. Where chimney leaks start and how to catch them early.
Footings, framing, composite and wood. What has to be right before the boards go on.
What ice, wind and summer storms do to a Pennsylvania roof, and what to check after.
What moves the price, how to read an estimate, and when to repair instead of replace.
Latest articles
Decks
Composite vs wood decking in Pennsylvania
Composite costs more to build and less to keep. Wood costs less now and needs sealing. How each holds up to PA weather, and when wood is the better call.
Cost and planning
Roof repair or replacement? How to tell which you need
Repair when the damage is in one spot and the rest of the roof is sound. Replace when the wear is everywhere. The signs of each, side by side, from a PA roofer.
Weather and seasons
Storm damage on your roof: first steps and storm chasers
What to do in the first 48 hours after a storm damages your roof, how insurance fits in, and the questions that separate a registered PA roofer from a chaser.
Chimney care
Why the leak is almost never the shingles
A chimney leak usually starts at the flashing, the crown, the mortar or a missing cap. What each one looks like from your house, and how each one is fixed.
Permits and codes
Do you need a permit to replace a roof in Bucks County?
Bucks County doesn't issue roof permits. Your township or borough does. What Bensalem, Doylestown, Newtown and four other towns ask for, and who pulls it.
Cost and planning
What changes the price of a roof replacement
Six things set the cost of a new roof: size and shape, pitch, layers, decking, flashing and material. What each one means and what to ask the roofer about it.
Chimney care
Chimney repair or rebuild? Historic homes in southeastern PA
How to tell whether an old chimney needs repointing, a new crown or a full rebuild, why soft mortar matters, and what Radnor asks for in historic districts.
Done reading?
Rather have someone look at it?
The inspection is free. We look at the roof, chimney or deck, show you what we found, and give you a written estimate if there's work to do. If there isn't, we'll tell you that.
Roofing
We tear off the old roof, look at the decking underneath, and replace whatever is soft before anything goes back down. New underlayment, new flashing, new shingles. If we find rot, you hear about it before it gets covered up, not after.
See roofing services →
Chimney
Repointing, crown repair, new flashing, and full rebuilds above the roofline. We flash chimneys with step flashing and counterflashing. A bead of caulk where the chimney meets the roof is not flashing, and it will fail.
See chimney services →
Decks
New builds, board replacement, railings and framing repair. We pull the permit where your township wants one, which around here is most of them. Footings go below frost line because that is what the code says and because otherwise the deck moves.
See deck building & restoration →
Free inspection
Tell us what's going on
Call (267) 270-0791or send the form. We pick up around the clock.
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