Roofing in Glenside, PA

A railroad suburb of 1920s twins and older singles

Glenside grew up around its train station and the shops along Easton Road. The town straddles two townships, Cheltenham and Abington, and a big share of the houses date from the early 1900s through the 1920s: brick twins on modest lots, stucco and stone singles, and Dutch colonials with long dormers across the front or back.

Over the decades, a lot of owners turned the third floor or the attic into a bedroom, an office or a kid's room. That's a good use of space, but it changes how the roof behaves. The attic that used to sit cold and ventilated above the house is now heated living space, with the roof deck sitting just a few inches above the ceiling drywall.

That's the angle we come at Glenside roofs from. The shingles matter, but on a house with a finished attic, heat and moisture under the roof often decide how long those shingles last.

What a finished attic does to the roof above it

Ice dams over the bedroom

When the slope above a finished room has little or no insulation, heat goes straight through the ceiling and melts snow on the roof. The water runs down to the cold overhang at the eave, freezes, and builds a ridge of ice. More meltwater backs up behind it and works under the shingles. In Glenside it often shows up as a stain where the sloped ceiling meets the short knee wall in an upstairs room. We do snow and ice removal when it's bad, plus the repairs afterward, but the lasting fix is insulation and airflow.

Shingles that wear out early on one slope

A roof deck with heat pressing up on it from below runs hotter all summer. On a finished attic with no air space, it's common to see one slope curling and losing granules years before the rest. If your shingles look old on the side over the finished room and fine elsewhere, that's likely why.

Dormer cheek walls

The short side walls of a dormer, where the dormer meets the main roof, are sealed with step flashing: small metal pieces woven in with each course of shingles. When a dormer was re-sided over the years, that flashing often got buried behind siding or stucco, or caulked instead of replaced. Leaks there run down inside the wall and show up a floor below. See roof repair for how we trace them.

Fix it during the re-roof: Venting a finished attic properly usually means adding air channels or a vented ridge, and that's far easier with the old shingles off. If your roof is due anyway, ask about ventilation in the estimate, not afterward.

Five things to check from inside a finished attic

You don't need to go on the roof to learn a lot about it. On a cold or rainy day, take a flashlight upstairs and look around.

1. Open the knee-wall doors. Most finished attics have small doors into the space behind the short walls. Look at the underside of the roof boards there. Dark staining, damp wood or rusty nail tips mean moisture is collecting.
2. Look at the sloped ceiling after a snow. From outside, check whether snow melts off the roof over the finished room first. Fast melting there means heat is escaping through it.
3. Watch for stains along the knee wall. A brown line where the sloped ceiling meets the short wall, showing up after a winter thaw, usually points to ice dams rather than a hole in the roof.
4. Check around the dormer windows. Peeling paint or soft plaster at the sides of a dormer window points to the cheek-wall flashing, not the window.
5. Take photos and note the weather. Write down when it happened: heavy rain, wind from one side, or melting snow. It tells us where to look first.

If you find stains but nothing is dripping, it can usually wait for an inspection on a dry day. If water is coming through, call us and we'll stop it first.

A family roofer a short drive up the road

Armstrong Roofing is a family-owned company based in Horsham, a short drive up Easton Road from Glenside. Owner Jim Armstrong personally oversees every job, and the team brings 50+ years of combined roofing experience. We're GAF certified, BBB A+ rated, and hold a 5.0 rating from 200+ reviews on Google.

• Free inspection with photos, including the attic and knee-wall spaces if we can get to them
• Written, line-item estimate that spells out ventilation and flashing work
• 25-year workmanship warranty on asphalt shingle roof replacements
• PA license #PA164826, general liability and workers' compensation insurance

We also work in neighboring Jenkintown, Elkins Park and across Montgomery County.

What it usually costs

Glenside twins and small singles usually land in the lower part of the replacement range. Dormers, a steep third-floor roof, ventilation work or old boards that need replacing push it up.

• Roof Repair: $350 – $2,500
• Roof Replacement: $6,500 – $18,000
• Asphalt shingle roof, per square: $450 – $950
• Decking replacement, 1/2" 4x8 sheet: $80

Questions we get asked

Do you work in all of Glenside?

Yes, both the Cheltenham and Abington Township sides of Glenside, from Easton Road and the train station out to Mount Carmel Avenue, Limekiln Pike and Waverly Road. We're based in Horsham, a short drive away.

Why do I get a leak in my upstairs bedroom only in winter?

Usually it's an ice dam, not a hole in the roof. Heat from the finished room melts snow, the water refreezes at the eave, and meltwater backs up under the shingles. Insulation and ventilation fix the cause, and an ice and water barrier at the eaves protects the roof when it's replaced.

Can you add ventilation to a finished attic?

Often, yes, and it's easiest during a re-roof. Depending on the house, that can mean a vented ridge, intake vents at the eaves, and air channels under the deck. We'll look at the attic and tell you what will actually work on your house.

How much does a new roof cost on a Glenside house?

Most roof replacements we do run between $6,500 and $18,000. Twins and smaller singles usually sit toward the lower end. Dormers, steep slopes, ventilation work and rotted boards push it up, and you get a free written estimate before anything starts.

My dormer leaks but the shingles look fine. What is it?

Most likely the step flashing along the dormer's side walls. It often gets buried behind siding or covered in caulk over the years. The fix is usually to open up the siding at the joint and put in new flashing, not a new roof.

Are you licensed and insured?

Yes. PA license #PA164826, with general liability and workers' compensation insurance. We'll show you proof before any work starts.

Related pages

• Roof Repair: Leaks, missing shingles, flashing and vents. We fix the problem and tell you honestly how much life the roof has left.
• Roof Replacement: Full tear-off and new roof when repairs stop making sense. Written, line-item estimate before anything starts.
• Roof Inspection: A free, top-to-bottom look at your roof with photos, so you know what you actually need before you spend anything.
• Emergency Roof Repair: Active leak or storm damage? Call any time, day or night. We tarp it to stop the water, then make the permanent fix.
• Shingle Roofing: Architectural asphalt shingle repair and installation, the roof on most homes around here.
• Gutter Repair: Sagging, leaking or overflowing gutters fixed before they rot your fascia.
• Montgomery County: Where we do most of our work, from Horsham out across the county.
• Jenkintown: A small borough of older homes, twins and steep roofs.
• Elkins Park: Cheltenham Township homes, many with slate and older roofs.
• Abington: Stone and brick older homes where details matter.
• Willow Grove: Post-war Capes, ranchers and splits on their second or third roof.
• Dresher: Colonials and split-levels across Upper Dublin.
• Fort Washington: Wooded lots where trees and storms are the main roof threat.