John and JoAnn in Middletown have been Green Sun Energy Services clients since January of 2013, when a new roof went on. They called again in April of 2025 to have the house washed.
Two layers off an 18/12 pitch
Two old layers came off down to the sheeting and 2,700 square feet of charcoal GAF Timberline went on in a single day that February, over fifteen-pound felt, with aluminum drip edge along 225 feet of rakes, eaves and valleys. The warranty on it runs 30 years.
The pitch is what makes this roof unusual. At 18 in 12 it rises a foot and a half for every foot it runs, which is past the angle anyone can stand on, so the job carried additional labor for the pitch alone. Everything that is routine on a shallow roof – carrying bundles up, setting a line, keeping the tear-off from running away down the slope – becomes a staged operation on jacks and planks.
Ventilation was rebuilt at the same time: Cobra mesh ridge vent along the peak to let warm air out, and screened aluminum soffit vents, sixteen inches by four, to let cool air in. A ridge vent with nothing feeding it moves almost no air, which is why the two are specified together.
5,340 square feet washed in April 2025
Twelve years later the roof was still the roof, and the call was about the outside of the house. We soft washed 5,340 square feet of it across two stories, using a sodium hypochlorite and surfactant solution at low pressure rather than force. The solution is applied, left to kill the algae and mildew living on the surface, and rinsed off.
Pressure alone takes the green off and leaves the growth behind, so it comes back. On a roof at this pitch it is also a hazard to the operator, and it drives water up under shingles that are meant to shed it downward.
One house, two trades, twelve years apart
There is no technical connection between a 2013 tear-off and a 2025 wash. The connection is the household. The number they called about the roof is the number they called about the siding, and the record of what went on that roof – the shingle, the felt, the vents, the pitch – was still on file when they did. A contractor who keeps that record can answer a question about a roof it laid twelve years earlier, which is most of what a homeowner wants from one.
Project Facts
- Location
- Middletown, NJ
- Services
- Roofing Installation, Softwash Service
- Client since
- January 2013
Exterior cleaning
- Surface cleaned
- 5,340 sq ft
Roof
- System
- GAF Timberline Roofing System
- Area replaced
- 2,700 sq ft
- Warranty
- 30 years
Questions from Middletown homeowners
Soft washingWhy does algae grow on houses in Middletown?
Moisture, humidity, shade, tree cover and seasonal pollen all favour biological growth on an exterior, and properties nearer the water also collect salt film and wind-driven dirt. Surfaces that stay damp longest show it first, which is why the shaded side of a house is usually the side that goes green.
RoofingWhy does nail placement matter so much on a roof?
Because a fastener set too high, too low or at the wrong angle can compromise how the shingle performs and how it bonds to the course below it. Modern shingles include an enlarged nailing area to make accurate placement easier, but the manufacturer's actual nailing instructions still govern — and those instructions are part of the warranty, not a suggestion.
RoofingWhy does using a complete system from one manufacturer matter to the warranty?
Because the enhanced warranties and the wind coverage generally require qualifying accessories alongside the shingles — the starter strips, the deck protection, the ridge caps and, depending on the warranty, the leak barrier or the ventilation. Buying the right shingle and substituting the accessories around it can leave the roof outside the coverage the homeowner thought was being bought.