Roofing Contractor — Northglenn, CO 80233 & 80234
Northglenn Roofing Contractor
Independent hail inspections, insurance-claim documentation and full roof replacement on a street where every roof is the same age — from a Front Range contractor who has been here since 2001 and will be here after the storm crews leave.
Who is the best roofer in Northglenn, CO?
Northern Lights Exteriors has roofed Colorado’s Front Range since 2001 and holds a Class C general contractor license — not a storm-season LLC. When the out-of-state crews have moved on to the next hail event, we are still the ones answering the phone.
We provide a free, fully photographed roof inspection, document damage in the form insurers actually work from, and install impact-resistant Class 4 asphalt, architectural asphalt, standing seam metal, and TPO or EPDM membrane on the low-slope porch and addition roofs this housing stock is full of.
The photographs are yours whether or not you hire us — including if you use them for a second opinion. Everything lives in a proprietary client portal. Rated 4.9 out of 5 from 552 verified reviews.
Your Northglenn Roof Is Probably Not Its First
Northglenn built out from the late 1950s, which makes the roofing conversation here different from the one in the newer towns north of us. A house built in 1962 has been re-roofed two or three times already. You are not replacing the original roof — you are replacing somebody else’s replacement, and what matters is what each of them left behind.
Three things follow from that, and they are worth knowing before you take a bid.
What is under the shingles is the real question
Homes of this era frequently have plank decking — 1×6 boards laid with gaps between them — rather than the solid OSB or plywood sheet a modern roof assumes. It is the single most expensive surprise in a Northglenn re-roof.
Previous work is undocumented
Nobody kept the paperwork from 1988. Layer count, whether the deck was ever repaired, what underlayment went down — all unknown until the tear-off, unless somebody goes and looks first.
The claim history matters as much as the damage
Adams County has taken hail repeatedly. A roof that was patch-repaired after a previous storm rather than replaced is a different conversation with a carrier than one that was not.
None of this argues against replacing an older roof. It argues for a contractor who gets into the attic before quoting, because on a house this age the number on a bid that skipped that step is not a real number.
What We Actually Look At on a Northglenn Roof
A Northglenn roofing contractor who walks your roof and comes down with a verdict but no photographs has not given you anything you can use — with an insurer, or with the next bidder. Our inspection produces documentation that outlives the conversation.
- Field shingles, by elevation. Hail bruising is directional. South and west faces usually take the worst of a Front Range storm, and the difference between elevations is often what decides a claim.
- Soft metals as the tell. Vents, gutters, downspouts, flashing and any metal chimney cap. Soft metals dent when shingles have only been bruised, so they are the most honest record of whether hail actually hit and how hard.
- Penetrations and flashing. Pipe boots crack and are one of the most common genuine leak sources on roofs of this age. Chimney and skylight flashing, and kick-out flashing at every roof-to-wall transition — a detail tri-levels have plenty of and older homes routinely lack entirely.
- Low-slope sections. Many Northglenn homes of this era have a low-slope or nearly flat porch roof, carport, or an addition tied into the main pitched roof. Asphalt shingles do not belong on those slopes, yet they are frequently what is up there. A membrane is the correct answer.
- Ventilation balance. Intake at the soffit versus exhaust at the ridge. Get it wrong and you cook the shingles from below and shorten the roof you just paid for. On homes where soffits have been re-clad over the years, the intake is often accidentally blocked.
- Decking and prior layers. Whether there is a layover already up there, and what condition the deck is in beneath it.
You get the photographs whether or not you hire us. They go in your portal, and they are yours — including if you decide to use them to get a second opinion.
More on materials and cost: roof replacement cost in Colorado, metal roofing, storm damage roofing, and our Denver roofing overview.
Plank Decking: The Most Expensive Thing Nobody Mentions
This deserves its own section because it is where re-roofs on older Northglenn homes go over budget, and because most homeowners have never heard of it until a crew is standing on their driveway asking for more money.
What it is. Older homes were often sheathed with individual boards — typically 1×6 — nailed across the rafters with a gap left between them for expansion. Solid sheet decking in OSB or plywood became standard later. Both are legitimate; they behave completely differently under a modern shingle.
Why it matters. Shingle manufacturers specify a fastener holding into a solid deck. Where planks have shrunk, cupped, split at the nail line, or where the gaps are too wide, a nail can land in a gap or fail to hold. That is a warranty problem and a wind-uplift problem, not a cosmetic one — and the remedy is overlaying or replacing the deck across the whole roof.
| What we find in the attic | What it means for the job | How we price it |
|---|---|---|
| Solid sheet decking, sound | Normal re-roof. Tear off, inspect, replace any damaged sheets, felt and shingle. | Priced as a standard replacement, with a stated per-sheet rate for damaged decking found during tear-off. |
| Plank decking, tight and sound | Usually workable as-is. We check gap widths and the condition at the fastener lines before committing to it. | Priced as standard, with the attic findings written into the scope so there is a record of why we judged it acceptable. |
| Plank decking, wide gaps or split | The roof needs a solid substrate. Options are overlaying the planks with sheet decking or replacing the deck outright. | Quoted as a named line item with a square-foot rate, before you sign — not discovered on day two. |
| Deck damaged by long-term leaks | Localised replacement, most often in valleys, at chimneys and along eaves. | Stated unit rate. You pay for what is actually replaced, at a price agreed in advance. |
We look in the attic at the inspection, and we tell you which of those four you are before we give you a number. It occasionally costs us a job against a bid that ignored the question. It has never cost a customer a surprise.
More on what drives the figure: roof replacement cost in Colorado, metal roofing and storm damage roofing.
The System Behind the Work
An insurance roof replacement generates a paper trail you will need twice — once during the claim, and again years later when you sell and a buyer’s inspector asks what was done and when. Most homeowners reconstruct that from a shoebox. There is a better way to hold it.
Two things make that possible, and they are the reason to choose us over a cheaper quote.
First, experience and scope. We have been working on Colorado’s Front Range since 2001, and we hold a Class C general contractor license (Colorado license #C120350) rather than a single-trade license. That is not a technicality: it means roofing, siding, windows, decks and outdoor living can run under one contract, with one project manager accountable for the flashings where those trades meet — which is precisely where multi-contractor projects leak, literally and figuratively. James Hardie has recognized us as an Elite Preferred contractor continuously since 2011, and as a President’s Club member — their highest contractor distinction nationwide. Our rating is 4.9 out of 5 from 552 verified reviews.
Second, a proprietary on-demand client portal we built ourselves. Most of what people hate about a remodel is not the construction. It is not knowing — who to call, whether the permit went in, when material arrives, what has been paid, whether it passed inspection. We built a system to remove exactly that, and as far as we know no other exterior contractor in this market offers it:
Every conversation in one place
Messages, decisions and change requests are logged against your project rather than scattered across texts, voicemails and three different crew members’ phones.
Contracts and scope, always retrievable
Your signed contract and itemized scope live in the portal, so “what did we actually agree to?” is a thing you look up rather than a thing you argue about.
Permit status you can see
Where the permit is in the process, and when inspections are scheduled — without having to phone anyone to find out.
Delivery and install schedules
When material lands and when each trade starts, so you can plan around the work instead of waiting for a truck to appear.
Before, during and final photography
Documented condition before we start, progress images through production, and final photography — including the parts of the building you will never see again once it is closed up.
Payments tracked per trade
What is paid and what is outstanding, broken out by trade rather than as one running balance you have to reconcile yourself.
Inspection records
Each inspection and its result, recorded against the project and available when you sell the house and someone asks.
Access is an individual, custom URL issued to you — and you get it when we start talking, at the lead and project meeting, not after you sign something. That is deliberate: you can see how we run a project before you commit to one. It then stays available after the work is finished, which matters more than it sounds, because the documentation, images and inspection records are exactly what a buyer’s agent, an appraiser or an insurer asks for years later.
Get a Roof Inspection in Northglenn
If your street is being worked by out-of-town crews right now, that is a reasonable moment to get an independent look from a contractor who lives here and is not paid by your claim. The inspection is free, fully photographed, and the photographs are yours to keep either way.
Request Your Free Estimate → 📞 (303) 776-5263
Prefer email? Reach us at office@nlexteriors.com. Ask about financing options when we walk the property.
Roof Replacements Near Northglenn
Hail damage and asphalt roof replacements in Northglenn and the surrounding north metro. The first image shows what we look for on a field shingle — granule loss and bruising from impact — photographed in Thornton, which borders Northglenn.
Nearby Cities We Also Serve
Crews run across the Denver metro rather than out of a single branch, so the towns either side of Northglenn are ordinary work for us, not a travel job:
Northglenn Roofing — Frequently Asked Questions
What is plank decking and why does it matter on my Northglenn roof?
Older homes were often sheathed with individual boards, typically 1×6, nailed across the rafters with gaps between them, rather than the solid OSB or plywood sheet a modern roof assumes. It matters because shingle manufacturers specify a fastener holding into a solid deck. Where planks have shrunk, cupped or split at the nail line, or where the gaps are wide, nails can fail to hold — a warranty and wind-uplift problem. The fix is overlaying or replacing the deck, and it is the most expensive surprise in a Northglenn re-roof. We look in the attic before quoting so it is a line item rather than a change order.
How many times has my roof already been replaced?
On a house built in the late 1950s or 1960s, usually two or three times. That is worth knowing because you are not replacing the original assembly — you are replacing somebody else’s work, done to the standards of that decade, with no paperwork. Layer count, past deck repairs and what underlayment is down are all unknown until someone actually looks.
Do I need a full tear-off or can you roof over?
Almost always a full tear-off, and on an older Northglenn home there are two reasons rather than one. Code limits how many layers can remain, and more importantly, roofing over hides exactly the deck condition that decides whether the new roof holds its fasteners. Going over the top of an unknown is how you pay twice.
My neighbor’s roof was approved as a claim. Will mine be?
Possibly, and it is worth an inspection either way — the houses on these streets are the same age and took the same storms. But Adams County has been hit repeatedly, and if a previous storm was patch-repaired rather than replaced, a carrier may treat some of what you are seeing as prior damage or wear. We document condition thoroughly and support the claim; we will not tell you what your adjuster will decide.
How do I know if a roofing company is a storm-chaser?
They found you rather than the other way around, there is no long-standing local address, the pitch is urgency plus a discount that expires, and the paperwork asks you to sign over your claim. On an older Northglenn home there is a further tell worth using: ask whether they have been in the attic and what the decking is. A crew that plans to be in another state next season has no reason to find out, and every reason not to.
What roofing materials make sense on an older Northglenn home?
Class 4 impact-resistant shingles are worth pricing on a street that has been hit more than once, and most Colorado carriers discount the premium for them — ask yours what the discount is before deciding. Architectural asphalt is the standard answer. Standing seam metal lasts longest and sheds snow, at the highest up-front cost, and hail can dent panels cosmetically without affecting performance. On a plank deck, the substrate question gets settled before the material one.
Do you handle the permit and the inspection?
Yes. Northglenn roofing permits run through the city, and we pull it, schedule the inspection and file the result. The inspection record, the photographs and the warranty documentation all sit in your client portal afterwards, which matters more than it sounds — on a house this age, the next owner’s inspector will ask, and being able to answer is worth money.
