Asphalt shingle roofing in NJ. GAF & Owens Corning certified, installed to spec, warrantied for life.
Asphalt shingles cover about four out of every five residential roofs in New Jersey — and the gap between a great asphalt roof and a mediocre one is almost entirely about the install, not the shingle. Craftsman is GAF-certified and Owens Corning-certified for both major systems, which means we install to manufacturer spec and you get the full system warranty (up to 50 years) on a complete replacement. Family-owned, NJ-licensed, transparent pricing, full cleanup, no high-pressure sales.
Fairview, NJ
Asphalt is the workhorse of NJ residential roofs. The shingle is half the job. The install is the other half.
Asphalt shingles dominate the NJ residential market for good reason — strong cost-to-lifespan ratio, broad style options, mature manufacturer warranty programs, and they hold up well against the freeze-thaw cycles, summer humidity, and occasional severe storm we get here. The two systems we install most often are GAF Timberline and Owens Corning Duration. Both are excellent shingles. Both will fail early if installed wrong. The corner-cuts that haunt asphalt roofs in NJ aren't usually about the shingle brand — they're about underlayment skipped, ventilation never balanced, starter strip done backwards, nails overdriven or off-line, drip edge missing, and flashings caulked instead of stepped.
A correctly installed GAF or Owens Corning system, by a manufacturer-certified contractor, comes with a written 50-year warranty that covers both materials and workmanship as a unit. That's the version we install. If you're weighing a full reroof against repair, our roof replacement page walks through the full path — and our roof repair page is honest about when repair is the smarter call.
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Four things to know before signing a quote on an asphalt roof.
There's more variation in asphalt shingle quality and asphalt install quality than most homeowners realize. Here's how the shingle types break down, where installs go wrong, what the warranty actually covers, and when asphalt is — and isn't — the right call.
Three-tab, architectural, designer, and impact-rated. Most NJ homes want #2.
Three-tab shingles are the old-school flat profile — the ones that look like neat horizontal rectangles. They're the cheapest, the lightest, and the shortest-lived. We rarely install three-tabs anymore on residential reroofs because the cost gap to architectural is small and the lifespan gap is large. Architectural (also called dimensional or laminated) shingles are the workhorse — two layers of asphalt fused together, varied tab shapes that read as a textured, depth-having surface from the ground, and a 30–50 year manufacturer warranty depending on the line. Both GAF Timberline and Owens Corning Duration are architectural lines and are what we install most often.
Designer (or luxury) shingles are heavier, thicker, and shaped to mimic slate or shake — premium look, premium price, and a real upgrade for the right home. Impact-rated shingles (Class 4) use a polymer-modified asphalt mat that resists hail damage; in NJ they're worth considering on storm-exposed properties or where insurance offers a discount, but they're not standard. We'll walk through which line fits your roof, your budget, and your storm exposure honestly — including the cases where a step up doesn't pay off.
A 50-year shingle on a 17-year roof — every time, the cause is the install.
The corner-cuts that haunt asphalt roofs in NJ are predictable. Underlayment skipped or undersized: ice-and-water shield only at eaves when code or pitch demands more, no synthetic underlayment over the field, or the cheap felt that disintegrates in two summers. Starter strip backward or omitted: the first row at the eave needs purpose-made starter (or a properly cut field shingle) with the sealant strip in the right place — back-installed starter is the #1 cause of premature edge blow-off in wind events. Nailing wrong: too high above the nail line voids the manufacturer warranty and lets shingles lift in wind. Overdriven nails crack the mat. Underdriven sit proud and leak. Off-line nails miss the underlying course's nail pattern.
Ventilation neglected: a balanced intake-exhaust path through the attic is part of the warranty contract on every major manufacturer's system. Roofs without proper soffit intake and ridge or gable exhaust cook the shingles from below, and the manufacturer can deny a warranty claim because of it — our roof ventilation page covers what proper balance looks like. Flashing caulked instead of stepped: walls, chimneys, and skylights need real metal flashing in the right sequence, not a tube of sealant — see our roof flashing repair page for the technical detail. Drip edge missing or cheaped out: most code requires it; many cheap reroofs skip it; the fascia rots in five years. We install the full system the way the manufacturer specifies, every time, on every roof.
A "50-year shingle" and a "50-year roof system warranty" are two very different things.
Most asphalt shingles carry a "limited lifetime" or "50-year" rating on the box. That's the shingle's material warranty in isolation — useful, but not the whole story. The system warranty is what you actually want, and it only kicks in when the entire roof (underlayment, starter, field shingles, ridge cap, ventilation, flashing) is installed by a manufacturer-certified contractor to manufacturer spec. As GAF-certified and Owens Corning-certified installers, we register the full system warranty in your name on completion. It covers materials, components, AND a workmanship period together — meaning if a problem traces back to install rather than just the shingle itself, you're still covered.
That registration only happens when the install meets spec. It's the practical reason to use a certified contractor: the warranty paperwork doesn't matter if the install doesn't qualify for it. If you're filing on storm damage rather than warranty, our insurance claim roofing page covers that workflow. And if the roof is end-of-life rather than warranty-territory, our roof replacement page is the next step.
Asphalt is right for most NJ homes. Not all. Here's the honest comparison.
For a typical pitched residential roof in NJ — gable, hip, or combination — asphalt is the highest-value option in cost, lifespan, repair-ability, color/style range, and warranty maturity. There's a reason the vast majority of homes here are shingled. But asphalt isn't right for every situation. Low-slope or flat sections (under about 2:12 pitch) don't shed water fast enough for shingles and need a flat-roof system instead — see our flat roof systems page. Architectural-style homes where the visual identity depends on standing-seam metal, slate, or cedar shake are usually better served by those materials — see metal roofing, slate, or cedar shake.
Forever-home owners with the budget for a 70+ year roof and a slope that supports it might genuinely be better off with metal or slate even at 2x the cost — the math works on long enough timelines. We'll have that honest conversation rather than auto-quote you the asphalt every time. For most homes in NJ, though, the answer is a properly installed architectural asphalt system with the full manufacturer warranty registered — and that's what we do best.
The asphalt install you wish your last roofer had done.
Most NJ homeowners have had at least one bad asphalt roof experience — premature failure, a denied warranty claim, a contractor who disappeared after the check cleared. The credentials are how we get the first call. The install quality is how we earn the second one and the neighbor's call after that.
- GAF-certified and Owens Corning-certified — full system warranty registered in your name
- NJ-licensed, NJ-insured, family-owned with a permanent Fairview address
- BBB A+ Accredited and Google Guaranteed
- Underlayment, starter, ridge cap, drip edge, and flashing — full system, not just shingles
- Proper nailing, balanced ventilation, code-compliant ice-and-water shield
- Full cleanup with magnetic nail sweep — your driveway, lawn, and tires stay clean
Six steps from first call to registered warranty.
Every full asphalt install follows the same disciplined sequence — measure, quote, prep, tear-off, install, register.
Call & Site Visit
One-hour appointment window. We measure, photograph, walk the attic where accessible, and talk through the right shingle line for your roof.
Itemized Written Quote
Plain-English quote with shingle line, underlayment, ventilation work, flashing, drip edge, and labor — itemized, with the warranty stated.
Material Delivery & Prep
Materials staged on-site the day before or morning of. We protect landscaping, drives, and AC units before tear-off begins.
Tear-Off & Deck Inspection
Full strip down to the deck. Any rotted decking is photographed and replaced — you see what we found before it goes back together.
Install To Manufacturer Spec
Ice-and-water shield, synthetic underlayment, drip edge, starter, field shingles, ridge cap, ventilation balance, flashing — every layer to spec.
Cleanup & Warranty Registration
Full magnetic nail sweep, debris hauled, walkthrough with photos. We register your full system warranty with the manufacturer the same day.
The credentials behind every shingle we put on a roof.
NJ-Licensed, NJ-Insured, Fairview-Based
Family-owned with a permanent NJ address. We're here next year, the year after, and at year 25 when the warranty question comes up.
GAF & Owens Corning Certified
Certified by both major asphalt manufacturers — meaning the full system warranty is available on your roof and registered in your name.
Transparent, Itemized Pricing
The quote names the shingle line, every accessory, every labor line, and the warranty. No miscellaneous lines, no day-of surprises.
Services often paired with an asphalt install.
GAF Timberline Roofing
The architectural asphalt line we install most often — broad color range, strong wind warranty, and full GAF system warranty on a certified install.
Learn MoreOwens Corning Roofing
The other premium asphalt system we're certified on — known for the SureNail technology, strong wind ratings, and a 50-year material warranty.
Learn MoreResidential Roofing
The full residential roofing service umbrella — single-family, two-family, and historic homes across NJ, asphalt and other materials.
Learn MoreAcross Central, Northern, and Southern New Jersey — wherever there's a residential roof to do right.
Three steps from first call to registered warranty.
Book the free site visit. Get the itemized written quote. We install the full system to manufacturer spec and register the warranty in your name.
Free Site Visit & Quote
One-hour window. We measure, photograph the existing roof, walk the attic where accessible, and talk through the right shingle line.
Manufacturer-Spec Install
Full system to GAF or Owens Corning specifications — underlayment, starter, field, ridge, ventilation balance, flashings, drip edge.
Warranty Registered & Filed
Full system warranty registered in your name with the manufacturer the same day, plus our written workmanship guarantee on top.