Proudly Serving Cape May, Cape May County
Roofing, Siding, Windows & Doors in Cape May, NJ
Get Your Free Estimate in Cape MayCape May is a National Historic Landmark city, America's oldest seaside resort, block after block of Victorian gingerbread, and that shapes every exterior project we take on here. About six hundred buildings from 1850 to 1910 stand inside the historic district, the Historic Preservation Commission reviews what changes on the outside of them, and the salt air works on every one of them the same way it works on a new house at the harbor. Steep roofs, ornate trim and a review board mean workmanship and material choice matter more here than almost anywhere on the coast.
Cape May, Block by Block
Cape May was a resort before the railroad, a summer town for Philadelphia and the South by the early nineteenth century, and the great fire of 1878 cleared the ground for the Victorian city that stands now: the cottages, guest houses and hotels built from the late 1870s through the 1890s that earned the whole city its National Historic Landmark designation on May 11, 1976, the only city in the country so designated. Around that core the town kept growing through the twentieth century, east along the beach, out to the harbor and north across Lafayette Street, and the houses out there are the ordinary shore stock of their decades, without the review but with the same weather.
The historic district
Inside the district, on Jackson Street, Hughes Street, Columbia Avenue, Gurney Street and the blocks around the Washington Street Mall, the houses are contributing or non-contributing depending on age and character, and the commission holds contributing ones to stricter standards. Steep gables, turrets, porch roofs, box gutters, wood shingle and clapboard, and windows that were built with the house: the work is about matching what is there closely enough to be approved and building it well enough to last, with plank decking under every roof and original wood under most siding.
East Cape May and the beachfront
East of the district along Beach Avenue and Pittsburgh Avenue, out toward Poverty Beach and the Coast Guard base, the housing runs from early-1900s cottages to mid-century and later shore houses, larger and simpler than the Victorians, with the ocean straight in front of them. Salt spray, wind-driven rain and sand arrive with nothing in the way, and the roofs, siding and windows on these blocks fail from the outside in on a shorter clock than anywhere else in the city.
The harbor, Lafayette Street and the newer neighborhoods
Toward Cape May Harbor, along Lafayette Street and in the neighborhoods north of it, the housing is newer, 1960s through 1990s ranches, colonials and townhomes with builder-grade systems reaching replacement together, plus the low-lying blocks where the flood maps matter most. The work here is straightforward replacement without a commission review, and on the lowest ground the wall below the flood line and the fasteners are specified for water and salt first.
Roofing in Cape May
Steep historic roofs, ornate trim and salt air make workmanship and material choice matter more here than almost anywhere on the coast. That is why we spec high-wind architectural shingles from Owens Corning and CertainTeed, a high-wind nailing pattern, a sealed starter course at the eaves and rakes, stainless or coated fasteners, ice and water shield run past the code minimum at eaves, valleys, dormers and every wall intersection, and hip-and-ridge from the same system so the roof carries one warranty.
On a Victorian the roof is a puzzle of intersecting slopes, turrets, dormers and porch roofs, and the flashing is most of the job; we strip to the plank deck, replace what is soft, rebuild or line the box gutters properly and flash every transition. Inside the district the shingle color and profile go to the commission before they go on the roof, and we prepare that submission. On the newer houses at the harbor the builder-grade roof comes off in one layer and the upgrade is quick.
Siding in Cape May
The character of Cape May's housing, Victorian and Colonial Revival homes and guest houses, many under historic-district guidelines, is exactly what our siding consultations start from. We install CertainTeed vinyl and fiber cement lines over a proper weather barrier, with stainless or coated fasteners, in the clapboard, shake and scalloped profiles the Victorians were built with, and we match exposure, corner boards and trim so a contributing house still reads as itself from the street.
On a historic house the commission decides what may change on the visible elevations, and we design the job to pass: profile, exposure, trim and color chosen from the house and submitted before anything is ordered. The invisible part is the same everywhere: stripping the old cladding, repairing sheathing rot on the ocean-facing walls, and adding a weather barrier and insulation board where the wall allows.
Window Replacement in Cape May
Salt spray etches glass, corrodes cheap hardware and finds every gap in an old frame; shore windows fail from the outside in. We fix that with ProVia Aspect and Endure lines, custom-built for each opening, ENERGY STAR certified, with coastal-grade hardware and the tall double-hung, casement and picture configurations these houses were built around, and grille patterns chosen from the house rather than a catalog.
The city requires its own window replacement permit, and inside the district the commission reviews windows on the visible elevations, so we match the divided-light pattern, the sash proportions and the trim closely enough to be approved. On a Victorian the openings are tall, narrow and out of square, and each unit is measured individually and set into a cleaned and repaired frame with the interior stops and exterior trim finished to match.
Entry Doors in Cape May
A front door does double duty in Cape May, security and curb appeal in one move, and on a guest house it also has to look right to every arriving guest. Our door lineup is ProVia top to bottom: Legacy steel for value and strength, Ascent fiberglass, and Signet fiberglass with stained wood grain finishes for the Victorians where a wood look is what the commission and the street expect, in the panel layouts, glass patterns and sidelight configurations that suit the house.
We pay close attention to the threshold, the sweep, the weatherstripping, the hardware finish and the storm door pairing, because the salt air finds a coastal door there first. A same-size replacement into the existing opening is usually a single day; when an 1880s frame has settled we tell you before the door is ordered.
Cape May Neighborhoods and Zip Codes We Work In
Cape May is a compact city and we cover all of it. These are the areas homeowners use to describe where they live.
That covers the historic district, Jackson Street, Hughes Street, Columbia Avenue, the Washington Street Mall blocks, Beach Avenue, East Cape May, Pittsburgh Avenue, Poverty Beach, the Coast Guard side, Cape May Harbor, Lafayette Street, the Village Greene side and the West Cape May line.
The city's zip code is 08204. We also work West Cape May and Cape May Point next door and Lower Township across the canal, and the links below take you to each.
Permits and the Historic Preservation Commission
Roofing, siding and window replacement in Cape May go through the city construction and zoning office at 643 Washington Street, where the construction permit, the city's separate window replacement permit and any application to the Historic Preservation Commission are all submitted. Inside the historic district the commission reviews exterior changes to existing structures, and its design standards are stricter for contributing properties than for non-contributing ones, so the first thing we establish on a district house is which it is.
We prepare the commission submission as part of the job: the product, profile and color, with the house's own details as the reference, and we schedule the work around the review rather than letting it hold up the start. Outside the district the job is a standard permit and inspection, and on the low ground near the harbor the flood maps can add a floodplain review to larger projects. Either way we pull the permits, coordinate the inspections and close the job out as part of the work rather than as your homework.
Cape May Questions We Hear
Our house is in the historic district. Can we even replace the siding?
Yes, with the commission's approval. The product, profile, exposure and color have to suit the house, and a contributing property is held to a stricter standard than a non-contributing one. We prepare the submission and design the job to pass.
Does a roof replacement need commission review?
On the visible elevations of a district house, the shingle color and profile do. We submit before we order, and a like-for-like replacement that respects the house is routinely approved.
Our Victorian roof has a turret and four dormers. Can you handle it?
Yes, and it is the kind of roof we like. The shingles are the easy part; the flashing at every dormer, valley, turret and porch transition is where the job is won or lost, and we do all of it with ice and water shield behind it.
Do we need a separate permit for windows?
Yes. Cape May has its own window replacement permit in addition to the construction permit, and inside the district the commission reviews windows on the visible elevations. We handle both.
Our box gutters leak. Replace them or line them?
Usually line them properly, with the wood repaired first, so the house keeps its cornice. Where they are too far gone we rebuild them to the same profile. Either way they stop leaking.
Why do our windows and door hardware corrode so fast here?
Salt air. It etches glass, eats cheap hardware and finds every gap in an old frame. Coastal-grade hardware, proper flashing into the frame and a storm door pairing that actually seals are what slow it down.
Do you handle the city permits and the commission?
Yes, the construction permit, the window permit, the commission application with the house's details as the reference, and the inspections along with them. It is part of the job, not your homework.
How long does a typical Cape May job take?
A Victorian roof can run several days once materials are on site because of the flashing, a newer house near the harbor is usually a day, siding depends on trim and repair, and a full window replacement is often a day or two. Add the commission's review time on a district house. We give you a schedule at the estimate and hold to it.
Do you offer financing?
Yes. Ask about financing at the estimate and we will walk you through the options before you commit to anything.
Get a Free Estimate
Talk to us before your next exterior project in Cape May. The estimate is free, the number is (609) 623-5523, and the advice is honest either way: we come to you, walk the roof and the trim, tell you what the commission will want to see, and give you a real number and a schedule before you decide anything. Nearby, our crews also serve West Cape May, Cape May Point and Lower Township, and the links below take you to each.