Harrison takes its name from John Harrison, a Quaker from Flushing who in 1695 bought the tract that became known as Harrison's Purchase. The Purchase Quaker meeting house dates to 1727. The town is shaped roughly like a figure eight, with downtown Harrison in the south and the hamlets of Purchase and West Harrison in the north, and about 28,200 people live there. Because the town and village are coterminous, one building department covers all three areas.
Purchase is the estate end of town, home to SUNY Purchase, Manhattanville University and the PepsiCo and Mastercard headquarters, along with Gilded Age properties like the Whitelaw Reid estate at Manhattanville. West Harrison sits along I-287 among lakes and hills. In both, large wooded lots put a lot of tree cover over the roofs, which shapes how we choose shingles and how we plan for gutters and ventilation.
Sunny Ridge Tudors, postwar colonials and Purchase estates
Harrison was built in distinct phases. In the 1920s and '30s, architect Julius Gregory designed the Tudor-style homes of Sunny Ridge. Building in the 1940s and '50s favored Colonial Revival and mid-century modern houses. Purchase grew around large estates, and today's housing runs from century-old buildings to new luxury rentals.
Each phase brings a different roof. Gregory's Tudors have steep, intersecting planes. The colonials are usually straightforward gables that reward a clean, well-ventilated installation. Some mid-century modern houses have shallow slopes that sit right at the limit of what asphalt shingles can cover.
What to plan for on a Harrison roof
Gregory's Tudors in Sunny Ridge
These roofs have steep pitches, multiple gables and masonry chimneys, so most of the risk sits in the valleys and flashing. Jersey Roofing's crew rebuilds valleys with full ice-barrier membrane underneath, step-flashes every sidewall, and counterflashes chimneys into the mortar. For homeowners who want to keep the period character, slate-look designer shingles such as GAF Camelot II or Slateline sit far closer to the original look than a standard shingle.
Low slopes on mid-century houses
Asphalt shingles need a pitch of at least 2:12, and the code calls for double underlayment from 2:12 up to 4:12. Some mid-century roofs fall right in that range, and a few are flatter still. We measure the actual pitch of each plane; anything under 2:12 gets a membrane system instead of shingles, tied carefully into the shingled sections around it.
Estate roofs under heavy canopy in Purchase
Big roofs under big trees stay damp longer, collect debris and grow moss on shaded slopes. We recommend algae-resistant shingles and balanced intake and exhaust ventilation so the attic dries out, and we look at limbs over the roof before work starts. On larger homes, an extended system warranty like GAF's Golden Pledge or Owens Corning's Platinum Protection, which only certified contractors can offer, is often worth pricing.
Roof permits in Harrison
- Office
- Town/Village of Harrison Building Department
- Phone
- (914) 670-3050
- Website
- harrison-ny.gov/building-department
One office at 1 Heineman Place handles downtown Harrison, Purchase and West Harrison, and Jersey Roofing files the permit for you.
The roof systems installed in Harrison
Jersey Roofing installs complete GAF and Owens Corning systems: ice and water barrier at the eaves and valleys, synthetic underlayment, starter strips, architectural or designer shingles, matched ridge cap and balanced ventilation. On a qualifying GAF system it can register the Golden Pledge® warranty, and on an Owens Corning system, Platinum Protection. Both include lifetime workmanship coverage. Compare the warranties.
Neighborhoods we serve in and around Harrison
- Downtown Harrison
- Sunny Ridge
- Brentwood Plaza
- Sterling Ridge
- Purchase
- West Harrison