Roof repair in Clifton.

Clifton is two roofing worlds. Along Main Street, a 62-building national historic district holds homes built between 1868 and 1910, and repairs there have to respect the 19th-century streetscape. Old roofs on those houses tend to leak where aging flashing meets walls and roof transitions, and the fix needs material that suits the house as well as stops the water, so we match what's there rather than reach for whatever is on the truck.

Around the town, the Occoquan watershed designation has kept lots large and rural, and the homes on them are often custom estates with steep, cut-up rooflines under heavy mature canopy. Every valley on a roof like that is a place for leaves to pack and water to back up, freeze-thaw swings open small cracks further each winter, and limbs come down in strong storms. We inspect every slope and photograph what we find.

Outside the historic district, including the watershed estates, roof work falls under standard Fairfax County permitting. Small repairs generally don't need a permit; larger jobs that replace decking or a large share of the roof can, and we check and pull it when it's required. Inside historic Clifton, exterior changes also need a Certificate of Appropriateness from the town's Architectural Review Board, so we match the existing materials and prepare that submittal when the work calls for it.

Clifton's wooded lots take the same storms as the rest of Fairfax County. The June 29, 2012 derecho pushed 60 to 80-plus mph winds through the county and dropped trees across the area, and storms since have done the same. Wind, hail and fallen-limb damage is often covered by homeowners insurance, and we photograph and document every slope so your adjuster has a clear record.