Roofer in New Shoreham, RI

New Shoreham sits on Block Island, about 9 miles off the Rhode Island coast, with no tree cover or mainland shelter to break the wind coming off the open Atlantic. That kind of unbroken exposure wears down shingles, flashing, and fasteners faster than almost anywhere else we work, and it shows up first at ridge caps, roof penetrations, and any edge facing open water.

The island's housing stock is a mix of 19th-century Victorian-era hotels and cottages concentrated in and around the Old Harbor Historic District, older year-round homes scattered through the rest of town, and newer construction on the roughly 40% of the island held under conservation protection. An older cottage roof deck, often with irregular original framing, needs a different eye than a newer build, and we look for that before we ever talk materials.

Block Island is served by ferry from Point Judith in Narragansett, with both vehicle and freight service available for getting materials and equipment across. Ferry sailings can be affected by weather and sea conditions, so we build that into how we schedule an island job rather than promise a fixed date until logistics are confirmed. We don't make service-timeline claims we can't back up on a job that depends on a boat.

We start every job with an on-roof inspection, not a guess from the ground. For Block Island's older cottages and hotels that most often means roof replacement or targeted roof repair, and after the kind of wind-driven storms this island sees with no inland shelter, storm and insurance claims work. We also install gutters and handle siding repair where storm damage isn't limited to the roof.