Short answer: As of October 2026, the three highest-scoring roofing contractors in the Kingston, NY metro on The Roofing Brief Contractor Score are Sheeley Roofing (82.0), Brian Hommel Home Improvement (60.5), Bayview Roofing NY (50.0). Every one holds a manufacturer certification that can be verified independently, every rating below has been corroborated against at least one source outside the certification registry, and no company paid to appear here.
The Roofing Brief scored 3 certified roofing contractors serving the Kingston metro on a published, reproducible formula, then researched each of the top three individually to confirm its record. More than half of Kingston’s houses were built before 1940, and the city keeps five local landmark districts where changing a roof’s material needs the historic commission’s approval. New York licenses no roofers and neither does Ulster County, so the protections here are the city’s roofing permit and the state’s roofing contract law. Seven certified firms appear in the directory for the metro, but four publish no coverage of Kingston or Ulster County, so three are ranked.
The conditions a Kingston roof has to be specified for
New York State does not license home improvement or roofing contractors; the Department of State says only certain counties and cities do, and Ulster County is not among them. The City of Kingston licenses plumbers, gas and oil heat installers and electricians, but not roofers. What the city does require is a permit: its 2026 fee schedule sets a $100 residential roofing permit, and working without one costs an owner a $250 penalty plus the permit on the first occasion, rising to $500 and then $1,000.
The state’s protection is General Business Law 771-b, which governs roofing, gutter and siding contracts. The contract must be in writing and name the contractor’s insurer, coverage type and limits, with proof of workers’ compensation. The roofer may not promise to pay or rebate any part of your insurance deductible and may not report, adjust or negotiate your claim, and you may cancel before midnight on the third business day after the insurer tells you in writing that all or part of the claim is not covered.
New York’s 2025 Uniform Code, including the 2025 Residential Code, has applied to permit applications since 31 December 2025. In Kingston’s landmark districts, like-for-like repair or reconstruction in the same material and colour needs no historic review, but a change of material, such as slate to asphalt shingle, comes before the Historic Landmarks Preservation Commission, with a $50 application fee on top of the roofing permit.
The storm record is wind and trees rather than hail. Across 2016 to 2025 Ulster County logged 287 thunderstorm wind reports, 28 hail reports, none of two inches, and three tornadoes, with only $38,000 of recorded property damage. Winters are snowy: the Mohonk Lake station on the Shawangunk ridge averages 59 inches of snow a year. Ulster County’s median home was built in 1966, and 51.6 percent of homes in the city of Kingston are rented.
The 3 best roofers in Kingston, NY
Scored 2026-10-06. The metro mean rating used as the Bayesian prior for Kingston is 4.614, across a pool of 3 certified contractors.
| Rank | Company | TRB Score | Certification | Rating (reviews) | Adjusted | In business since | Based in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sheeley Roofing | 82.0 | Master Elite | 5.0 (118) | 4.885 | not published | High Falls, NY |
| 2 | Brian Hommel Home Improvement | 60.5 | Certified | 4.8 (55) | 4.712 | not published | Saugerties, NY |
| 3 | Bayview Roofing NY | 50.0 | Certified | 4.3 (39) | 4.477 | not published | Hyde Park, NY |
1. Sheeley Roofing — TRB Score 82.0
Sheeley Roofing is based in High Falls, NY, led by Patrick Sheeley, founder, BBB accredited since 31 July 2024, A+ rating, no complaints in three years, and holds Master Elite standing on the GAF certification registry.
Certifications held: Master Elite (GAF), Owens Corning Preferred Contractor. Certification by more than one manufacturer is uncommon and requires meeting each programme’s separate standards for insurance, training and track record.
| Score component | Points | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Certification tier | 24 | 35 |
| Adjusted rating | 35.4 | 40 |
| Review corpus depth | 15.0 | 15 |
| Metro proximity | 7.6 | 10 |
| Total | 82.0 | 100 |
Independently corroborated:
- P.D. Sheeley Contracting L.L.C., an Ulster County company filed on 7 June 2006.. New York Department of State corporation records
- Accredited since 31 July 2024 with an A+ rating, business start June 2006, no complaints closed in three years.. BBB business profile
- Listed as an Owens Corning Preferred Contractor in High Falls.. Owens Corning contractor locator
What they actually do. Standing seam and metal roofing with in-house panel manufacture, copper, cedar shingle, asphalt shingle and flat roofs.
Why it ranks here. The clear leader: a perfect 5.0 across 118 reviews with Master Elite certification, from an Ulster County roofer in High Falls, about ten miles from Kingston, that fabricates its own metal panels and works in copper and cedar, materials that suit the city’s older houses.
Best fit for: Standing seam, copper or cedar roofs on older Kingston houses.
What we would want clarified. Its website says it began in 2000 from the founder’s home, while its company filing and BBB date from 2006, so we give no founding year. Its BBB accreditation is recent, from 2024. New York issues no licence to check. Certification tier and reviews are unverified. We publish this because a ranking that only prints the flattering findings is an advertisement, not an assessment.
Verify the certification yourself on the GAF registry listing. The number carried on that listing is (845) 687-9182, which is the registry’s contact line and is often a directory tracking number rather than the contractor’s own: take the number from the company’s own website and compare the two.
2. Brian Hommel Home Improvement — TRB Score 60.5
Brian Hommel Home Improvement is based in Saugerties, NY, led by Brian Hommel, owner, Not accredited; A+ rating; no complaints in three years, and holds Certified standing on the GAF certification registry.
| Score component | Points | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Certification tier | 12 | 35 |
| Adjusted rating | 28.5 | 40 |
| Review corpus depth | 12.6 | 15 |
| Metro proximity | 7.4 | 10 |
| Total | 60.5 | 100 |
Independently corroborated:
- Brian Hommel Home Improvement, LLC, an Ulster County company filed in December 2014.. New York Department of State corporation records
- A+ rating, not accredited, business start January 2003, no complaints closed in three years.. BBB business profile
What they actually do. Roofing, siding, windows and doors, kitchens, baths and decks.
Why it ranks here. A Saugerties home improvement firm inside Ulster County, trading since 2003 by BBB’s account, with a 4.8 across 55 reviews and a service area covering the Hudson Valley and Ulster County.
Best fit for: Saugerties and north Ulster homeowners combining a roof with other exterior work.
What we would want clarified. It is a general home improvement contractor, filed by BBB under General Contractor, and roofing is one service among many. It is not BBB accredited. Certification tier and reviews are unverified. We publish this because a ranking that only prints the flattering findings is an advertisement, not an assessment.
Verify the certification yourself on the GAF registry listing. The number carried on that listing is (845) 338-2211, which is the registry’s contact line and is often a directory tracking number rather than the contractor’s own: take the number from the company’s own website and compare the two.
3. Bayview Roofing NY — TRB Score 50.0
Bayview Roofing NY is based in Hyde Park, NY, BBB no BBB profile found, and holds Certified standing on the GAF certification registry.
| Score component | Points | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Certification tier | 12 | 35 |
| Adjusted rating | 19.1 | 40 |
| Review corpus depth | 11.6 | 15 |
| Metro proximity | 7.3 | 10 |
| Total | 50.0 | 100 |
Independently corroborated:
- Residential and commercial roofing, EPDM flat roofs, siding and storm restoration across Hyde Park, Poughkeepsie, Rhinebeck, New Paltz, Kingston and the Hudson Valley.. Company about page
What they actually do. Residential reroofing, EPDM flat roofs, siding and storm restoration.
Why it ranks here. A Hyde Park roofer across the Hudson whose own site names Kingston and New Paltz in its service area, with a 4.3 across 39 reviews.
Best fit for: Flat and low-slope roofs on the Ulster side of the river.
What we would want clarified. One of the thinnest records we rank: no BBB profile, no owner named, and no New York company registered under its trading name; the likeliest match is a Staatsburg contracting company formed in 2016, linked only by an email address. Its claim of more than 20 years is unsupported by any filing. It is based in Dutchess County. Certification tier and reviews are unverified. We publish this because a ranking that only prints the flattering findings is an advertisement, not an assessment.
Verify the certification yourself on the GAF registry listing. The number carried on that listing is (347) 703-8755, which is the registry’s contact line and is often a directory tracking number rather than the contractor’s own: take the number from the company’s own website and compare the two.
The 287 wind reports that shape a Kingston roof
Aggregate hail counts tell you very little about a specific roof. These are the individual events: every severe-weather report logged by the National Weather Service across the 1 county of the Kingston, NY statistical area over ten years, with the dates, the stone sizes and the towns they landed on. Over that decade the metro logged 28 hail reports, 287 severe thunderstorm and high wind reports and 3 tornadoes. The database’s property-damage fields are left blank for most of these reports, so it carries no usable loss total for this metro and we do not quote one.
The biggest hail to fall on Kingston in a decade
| Date | Stone size | Reported near | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 May 2018 | 1.75 in | Centerville | Ulster |
| 15 May 2018 | 1.75 in | Mt Pleasant | Ulster |
| 29 June 2020 | 1.75 in | Clintondale | Ulster |
| 29 June 2020 | 1.75 in | New Paltz | Ulster |
| 15 May 2018 | 1.5 in | Saugerties | Ulster |
| 16 May 2022 | 1.25 in | Centerville | Ulster |
The largest stone on record for this metro fell on 15 May 2018 near Centerville, measured at 1.75 inches. That is ping-pong-ball sized, enough to bruise asphalt shingles and shorten a roof’s life without necessarily looking dramatic from the ground.
Wind. The strongest thunderstorm gust logged in the metro was 78 knots, about 90 mph, near Lapala on 13 July 2022. Asphalt shingles begin lifting at roughly 67 mph when they are correctly nailed, and considerably below that when they are not.
Tornadoes. 3 tornadoes touched down in these counties over the decade, the strongest rated EF1 near Centerville on 15 May 2018.
What the National Weather Service wrote about it
The NWS logs a written account of each severe-weather episode. This is its description of the 13 July 2022 event near Lapala, reproduced verbatim:
NWS Albany Survey Team confirmed a Macroburst that began about 9 miles west of Kingston and ended about 5 miles southwest of Kingston in Ulster County. Wide swaths of downed trees were noted along Lapla Road (and connecting roads) across the hill the road crosses. At least 2 trees fell on cars along Lapla Road. Wind damage consisting of broken, snapped and uprooted trees continued southeast across U.S. Route 209. The Macroburst had a path length of 4 miles and width of 1750 yards.
A roof in this metro is built against events like that one, as recorded by the agency that recorded it rather than by a contractor selling the repair.
When it happens. Severe weather reports cluster in July (129), August (71), June (42). The worst years on record were 2023 (58), 2019 (42), 2021 (41). If you are scheduling non-urgent work in Kingston, the months outside that window are when crews are least stretched and least likely to be triaging emergency callouts ahead of your job.
Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, county-level detail files 2016 to 2025, filtered to the counties of this statistical area by The Roofing Brief. Damage figures are as reported to the NWS and undercount insured losses.
What to do with this. Hail is not the governing risk in Kingston. Weight your decision toward wind rating, ventilation and flashing detail rather than paying extra for impact-rated shingles.
Old houses under historic review
Kingston’s housing is among the oldest of any metro we have covered: 6,375 of the city’s 11,221 homes, 56.8 percent, were built in 1939 or earlier, against 26.5 percent across Ulster County. Old houses often carry old roofing materials, slate, standing seam metal, wood shingle, and old framing beneath them.
Many of them sit in one of the city’s five local landmark districts: the Kingston Stockade, Rondout-West Strand, Chestnut Street, Fair Street and Wilbur. There, the Historic Landmarks Preservation Commission must review any change in form, material or colour. The city’s guidance exempts regular maintenance and repair or in-kind reconstruction in the same material and colour, so a like-for-like reroof avoids the commission while a change of material does not. We could not read the code section itself, so ask the city before you choose a material.
The storm that tested those roofs came on the evening of 13 July 2022. A supercell crossed Ulster and Dutchess counties and produced both a tornado and a macroburst near Kingston. The Mayor declared a local state of emergency and more than 6,000 city residents lost power.
The NWS Albany survey found the EF1 touched down near Hurley Avenue between Davis Street and Hillside Drive and moved southeast toward the Thruway, uprooting and snapping trees, removing shingles from a house, and damaging many homes with fallen trees. The macroburst, estimated at 78 knots, ran four miles with a path 1,750 yards wide west of the city along Lapla Road and Route 209. The tornado accounts for most of the county’s recorded storm damage in the decade.
The lesson for an old Kingston house is that the roof usually fails under a falling tree, not hail, and that a material change has to clear the commission. Ask the roofer whether your house is in a landmark district, get the permit in the roofer’s name, and keep the contract that General Business Law 771-b requires.
Kingston’s old housing and the rules on a reroof
| Item | Figure or rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Homes built 1939 or earlier, city | 56.8 percent | ACS 2020 to 2024, B25034 |
| Local landmark districts | Five | City of Kingston |
| Change of roof material in a district | Needs historic commission review; $50 fee | City of Kingston HLPC |
| Like-for-like reroof in a district | No historic review | City of Kingston HLPC |
| Residential roofing permit | $100 | City of Kingston 2026 fee schedule |
| Working without a permit | $250 plus the permit, rising to $1,000 | City of Kingston 2026 fee schedule |
| 13 July 2022 | EF1 tornado and 78 knot macroburst near Kingston | NWS Albany |
| State contractor licence | None | NYS Department of State |
| Deductible rebate or claim adjusting by the roofer | Prohibited | GBL 771-b |
| Cancellation after a claim denial | Three business days | GBL 771-b |
Source: US Census Bureau ACS 2020 to 2024 via Census Reporter; City of Kingston 2026 fee schedule and Historic Landmarks Preservation Commission guidance; NWS Albany surveys and NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; NOAA 1991 to 2020 normals at Mohonk Lake; NY General Business Law 771-b; NYS Department of State consumer alert and Uniform Code notice; New York corporation records.
Before you sign anything in Kingston
There is no state roofing licence in NY. New York issues no statewide roofing licence and no statewide general contractor licence. Roofing is licensed locally, and whether a licence exists at all depends on which county or city the work happens in.
New York City requires a Home Improvement Contractor licence from the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, involving a written exam, proof of workers’ compensation cover, either enrolment in the Home Improvement Business Trust Fund or a $20,000 surety bond, a sales tax Certificate of Authority, and EPA lead-safe certification or a signed affirmation that it is not needed. Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties, and the City of Buffalo, run their own separate licensing bureaus. Statewide, General Business Law 771-b governs roofing contracts paid from insurance: it bars a roofer from rebating your deductible or adjusting your claim, and lets you cancel within three business days of an insurer’s denial.
That absence is the most important fact on this page. Where a state issues no credential, a manufacturer certification that can be revoked is the only quality signal a homeowner can actually check, which is why this ranking is built on certification rather than star ratings.
Check here: NYC DCWP Home Improvement Contractor licence. Confirm the contractor is licensed in the specific county where your home sits, not merely somewhere in the metro. A Westchester licence does not authorise work in Nassau.
Four checks to run before you sign anything, in any state.
- Verify certification at the source. Use the GAF verification tool rather than trusting a badge image on a company website.
- Get the certificate of insurance from the insurer, not the contractor, and confirm general liability and workers compensation are both active on the day work starts.
- Confirm who pulls the permit. If a contractor asks you to pull it as the homeowner, that moves liability onto you. Decline.
- Get warranty terms in writing before any deposit, and check the manufacturer warranty being promised actually requires the certification tier the contractor holds.
Who else is certified in Kingston
3 certified roofing contractors serve the principal cities of the Kingston, NY statistical area, of which 0 hold the top President’s Club tier. The pool carries 212 customer reviews between them at a mean rating of 4.614. The statistical area had a 2024 population of 182,977, a change of 0.63% against the 2020 census base, per the U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2024 estimates.
How these Kingston rankings were produced
Every contractor in the Kingston, NY pool was scored out of 100 on four published components: certification tier, a Bayesian adjusted rating, review depth and distance from the metro centre. In this metro that meant scoring 3 certified contractors, of whom 0 hold President’s Club standing and 1 Master Elite, against a metro mean rating of 4.614. The top three were then researched individually against Better Business Bureau records, state licence registers and manufacturer directories. Where that research turned up something awkward it is on the page, and no placement was paid for.
Set aside in Kingston. Contractors that would otherwise have scored into the top three were removed for the reason stated. The score is computed from public data, but where the research pass finds evidence undermining an input to that score, the score is set aside.
- All Counties Roofing, which scored 62.5: Excluded on service area. Its website names Dutchess, Putnam and Westchester counties and 19 towns, none in Ulster County, and does not mention Kingston. The company was formed in February 2023, although directory listings say it has traded since 1999.
- Heritage Construction Services LLC, which scored 53.9: Excluded because we could find no evidence it serves Kingston: it is a Dutchess County company formed in 2022 in Clinton Corners, and we found no website, no BBB profile and no published service area.
- L&G Roofing & Construction Corp, which scored 52.3: Excluded on service area. It is a roofing company based in Windham, Greene County, on the northern Catskills mountaintop about 30 miles away, and its own website does not name Ulster County or Kingston. It holds Owens Corning Preferred status and we found no adverse record.
- Malcarne Contracting, which scored 51.5: Excluded on service area and core trade. It is a Rhinebeck general contractor and home builder for whom roofing is one service among many, and every area it publishes is in Dutchess County. It has been BBB accredited since 1999. Court indexes show a 2025 breach of contract suit by homeowners, which is an allegation with no disposition we could find.
The full method, the weightings, what the GAF certification tiers actually mean, who is eligible to be ranked and what we do not claim are all set out on our roofer ranking methodology page. Last updated: October 2026. Scoring run: 2026-10-06. Corrections go to the editor and are actioned on verification.
Questions Kingston homeowners ask
Who is the best roofer in Kingston, NY?
Sheeley Roofing of High Falls, NY scores highest in the Kingston metro on The Roofing Brief Contractor Score, at 82.0 out of 100 as of October 2026. It holds Master Elite certification with a 5.0 rating across 118 reviews. Highest-scoring is not the same as best fit for your specific job, and the two companies behind it score within 32.0 points.
How many certified roofing contractors serve Kingston?
3 contractors on the GAF certification registry serve the principal cities of the Kingston, NY statistical area as of October 2026, of which 0 hold President’s Club status.
How much damaging hail does Kingston get?
The Kingston, NY statistical area recorded 19 hail reports of 1 inch or larger and 0 of 2 inches or larger between 2016 and 2025 in the NOAA Storm Events Database. The largest hailstone reported measured 1.75 inches.
Did any contractor pay to appear on this list?
No. The Roofing Brief takes no placement fees, no lead fees and no affiliate commission from any roofing contractor. Ranking comes entirely from the published formula applied to public registry data, followed by an individual research pass on the top three.
What was the worst hailstorm in Kingston in the last ten years?
The largest hailstone logged by the National Weather Service in the Kingston, NY statistical area between 2016 and 2025 measured 1.75 inches, reported near Centerville on 15 May 2018. That is ping-pong-ball sized, enough to bruise asphalt shingles and shorten a roof’s life without necessarily looking dramatic from the ground. Across the decade the metro recorded 28 hail reports. The database’s property-damage fields are left blank for most of these reports, so it carries no usable loss total for this metro and we do not quote one.
When is the worst time of year for roof damage in Kingston?
Severe-weather reports in the Kingston, NY statistical area cluster in July, August, June, on the NOAA record for 2016 to 2025. Outside those months local crews are not triaging storm damage, so lead times are shorter and scheduling is easier.
Do roofers need a licence in NY?
New York issues no statewide roofing licence and no statewide general contractor licence. Roofing is licensed locally, and whether a licence exists at all depends on which county or city the work happens in. New York City requires a Home Improvement Contractor licence from the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, involving a written exam, proof of workers’ compensation cover, either enrolment in the Home Improvement Business Trust Fund or a $20,000 surety bond, a sales tax Certificate of Authority, and EPA lead-safe certification or a signed affirmation that it is not needed. Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties, and the City of Buffalo, run their own separate licensing bureaus. Statewide, General Business Law 771-b governs roofing contracts paid from insurance: it bars a roofer from rebating your deductible or adjusting your claim, and lets you cancel within three business days of an insurer’s denial.
What should I check before hiring a roofer in Kingston?
Confirm the contractor is licensed in the specific county where your home sits, not merely somewhere in the metro. A Westchester licence does not authorise work in Nassau.
Old houses under historic review?
Kingston’s housing is among the oldest of any metro we have covered: 6,375 of the city’s 11,221 homes, 56.8 percent, were built in 1939 or earlier, against 26.5 percent across Ulster County. Old houses often carry old roofing materials, slate, standing seam metal, wood shingle, and old framing beneath them.
Is Kingston a hard market to find a good roofer in?
More than half of Kingston’s houses were built before 1940, and the city keeps five local landmark districts where changing a roof’s material needs the historic commission’s approval. New York licenses no roofers and neither does Ulster County, so the protections here are the city’s roofing permit and the state’s roofing contract law. Seven certified firms appear in the directory for the metro, but four publish no coverage of Kingston or Ulster County, so three are ranked.
Is wind or hail the bigger risk to a roof in Kingston?
Wind, by a wide margin. The Kingston, NY statistical area logged 287 severe thunderstorm and high wind reports against 19 hail reports of an inch or more between 2016 and 2025. Wind damage shows up at the rake, ridge and edge rather than across the field of the roof, so the fastening schedule and edge detail matter more here than the impact rating of the shingle.
Why is All Counties Roofing not on this list?
Excluded on service area. Its website names Dutchess, Putnam and Westchester counties and 19 towns, none in Ulster County, and does not mention Kingston. The company was formed in February 2023, although directory listings say it has traded since 1999..
Roofer rankings for other metros
The Roofing Brief scores certified roofing contractors in the 400 largest U.S. metropolitan and micropolitan areas on the same formula.
- Best roofers in Poughkeepsie, NY, about 17 miles from Kingston
- Best roofers in Albany, NY, about 52 miles from Kingston
- Best roofers in Waterbury, CT, about 56 miles from Kingston
- Best roofers in New York, NY, another NY metro on the same formula
- Best roofers in Binghamton, NY, another NY metro on the same formula
- Best roofers in Burlington, NC, a metro of comparable size
- Best roofers in Iowa City, IA, a metro of comparable size
- Best roofers in Utica, NY, also scored, about 102 miles away
See the full index of all 400 metro roofer rankings, or read how to find and vet a roofing contractor anywhere in the country.
Cite this analysis
The Roofing Brief. “Best Roofers in Kingston, NY: The Roofing Brief Contractor Score.” Published October 2026. Inputs: GAF certification registry; NOAA Storm Events Database 2016-2025; U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2024 population estimates; Better Business Bureau and independent review-platform records for each ranked contractor.