Roselle, NJ
Roofing in Roselle, NJ: The Oldest Roofs of the Five Towns
Among the five towns, Roselle's houses are the oldest. Of its 8,687 homes, 5,203 were built before 1960, and 2,751 of those date to 1939 or earlier, about 32 percent. The median year built is 1955. Roofs on houses that old have often been patched and replaced more than once, which makes a roof inspection a sensible first look. Call (732) 487-3991 and give the address.
Questions that come up in Roselle
Which office handles building paperwork in Roselle?
The Building Department at 210 Chestnut Street, 1st Floor, phone 908-634-4530, open Monday to Friday from 9:00 to 4:30. Its page names the 2018 building and residential codes, while the state's code page now lists 2024 editions with an Aug 17, 2026 adoption date, so ask the office which edition applies.
Where does Roselle's flooding come from?
The county plan says flooding in Roselle is primarily overbank water from Morses Creek, also called West Brook, with two flood hazard areas on the western side of the borough. It counts 41 repetitive-loss properties and 401 flood-insurance claims, and lists publicly owned facilities in the floodplain.
Who can call from Roselle?
Owners and landlords of detached houses and two-family buildings, plus managers of small apartment blocks. About 45 percent of occupied homes in Roselle are rented, so a renter's first contact is the landlord. Owners and managers, call (732) 487-3991 with the address, what you see and how old the roof is.
Roselle's housing, in numbers
- Housing units
- 8,687, give or take 373.
- Built before 1960
- 5,203 homes, about 60 percent.
- Built in 1939 or earlier
- 2,751 homes, about 32 percent.
- Median year built
- 1955, give or take 3 years.
- Detached one-unit houses
- 4,506, about 52 percent.
- Buildings of five units or more
- 1,853 homes, about 21 percent.
- Renter-occupied
- 3,808 of 8,407 occupied homes, about 45 percent.
- Land area
- 2.64 square miles.
Morses Creek and the winter record
The county plan ranks flood and erosion as Roselle's High hazards and extreme cold and heat and winter storms as Medium, and it says the borough has no wind hazard that is unique to it. Newark's December normals, the nearest long record, are 5.4 inches of snow and 4.14 inches of precipitation overall, enough to load a roof that is already tired. Check ceilings on the top floor after the first thaw.
Ready when you are
Have the street address ready, along with what is visible from the ground and roughly how old the roof is. Renters: the landlord makes the roof decisions, so tell the landlord.