Open and Closed Valleys on Fayetteville Roofs
There are two kinds of valley and the code asks for different things from each, so the first question is which one is on your roof.
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Which kind of valley a Fayetteville roof has
The widths are set out by type and they are worth knowing before a quote arrives. Section R905.2.8.2 of the 2025 Residential Code of New York State requires open valleys lined with metal to be not less than 24 inches wide, open valleys of two plies of mineral-surfaced roll roofing to have an 18 inch bottom layer under a top layer of at least 36 inches, and closed valleys to be lined with one ply of smooth roll roofing at least 36 inches wide, with a self-adhering polymer-modified bitumen underlayment permitted in place of the lining. Fayetteville produces a lot of valleys, because only 58.7 percent of its housing is single-family detached and the attached and multi-unit forms here put roof planes against each other repeatedly.
What flashing repair involves
Reading a Fayetteville valley quote against the code
Ask for the type and the width in writing and you will immediately see which quotes have thought about it. An open valley shows a strip of metal between the two shingle edges and is the easier one to judge from the ground. A closed valley has the covering woven or cut across it and the lining is invisible, which is where an undersized or missing liner hides. In a village with 20.7 percent of its housing standing since 1939 or earlier, plenty of these roofs are on their third covering, and each recover was an opportunity for the lining to be reduced, omitted or laid short.
Identify open or closed first
Exposed metal down the middle is open. Shingles carried across it is closed. The code asks different things of each and the repair differs with it.
Get the lining width on the quote
Twenty-four inches for metal in an open valley, thirty-six for a closed valley liner. A written number makes two quotes comparable.
Expect history under the covering
On a village roof recovered more than once, what is under the valley is often not what the original builder put there. Opening it up is how anybody finds out.
What the code sets for a valley lining
Fayetteville village has 2,092 housing units of which 13.0 percent are single-family attached, the highest attached share of any place on this site, and 11.7 percent sit in three and four unit buildings, leaving 58.7 percent single-family detached. Owner occupancy is 76.9 percent and the median build year is 1961, with 20.7 percent of units built in 1939 or earlier.
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, tables B25034 year structure built, B25035 median year structure built, B25024 units in structure and B25003 tenure, accessed 2026-09-14
Section R905.2.8.2 of the 2025 Residential Code of New York State requires valley linings to be installed before the shingles go on, and sets minimum widths by valley type: open valleys lined with metal not less than 24 inches wide, open valleys of two plies of mineral-surfaced roll roofing with an 18 inch bottom layer and a top layer not less than 36 inches, and closed valleys lined with one ply of smooth roll roofing not less than 36 inches wide, or a self-adhering polymer-modified bitumen underlayment in place of the lining.
Source: 2025 Residential Code of New York State, via UpCodes, accessed 2026-09-14
In Fayetteville village the median year of construction is 1961. Of 2,092 housing units, 20.7 percent were built in 1939 or earlier, 24.6 percent before 1950, 77.2 percent before 1980 and 22.8 percent in 1980 or later. 58.7 percent are single-family detached and 76.9 percent of occupied units are owner occupied.
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, tables B25034 year structure built, B25035 median year structure built, B25024 units in structure and B25003 tenure, accessed 2026-09-14
Photograph the valley from the ground
Open metal or shingles across it. We arrange an insured contractor who relines to the width the code sets.
Valley questions from Fayetteville homeowners
Is an open valley better than a closed one?
Both are permitted and both work when built to the widths the code sets. An open metal valley moves a large volume quickly and is easy to look at. A closed valley is less visible and depends entirely on a lining nobody can see. If yours is closed and has failed twice, converting to open at the next repair is a conversation worth having.
Two roof planes meet over my front door and it drips there. Related?
Almost certainly. A valley is the busiest part of any roof because it carries the water off two planes at once, and the point where it discharges is where the volume is highest. A leak directly under the bottom of a valley usually means the lining is short, the covering is cut too close, or the water is overshooting at the eave.
Get the valley type and width settled
Send the Fayetteville address and a photo of the roof junction. No obligation, and this is a repair rather than a roof.