Roof replacement in Arlington, VA: the order of work and what decides each step

Order of work and decision points

The sequence below follows a tear-off from first question to final paperwork. The boxed items are the points where an Arlington rule can stop the job or change it. Settle those first, because they decide who signs, what is submitted and how much of the deck is touched.

1. Identify the building. House, townhouse, or multi-unit building, and the number of stories above ground. The county uses this to decide residential or commercial treatment.

2. Inspect and measure. Roof covering type and layers, flashing, penetrations, drainage, and the attic side of the deck.
3. Estimate decking. The full amount is known only once the old covering is off, so the scope should say how it is measured.

4. Check historic status. Look the address or building name up on the county's list before the scope is final.

5. Get approvals in place. Permit application where required, and any board or association consent.

6. Protect and tear off. Cover landscaping, vents and openings, remove the old covering and its fasteners, and inspect the exposed deck.
7. Repair the deck. Replace damaged boards or panels, record the area, and confirm the amount against the permit decision above.
8. Install the assembly. Underlayment and any ice barrier, drainage edge details, flashing at walls, valleys and penetrations, then the new covering.
9. Ventilate and finish. Confirm attic or rafter ventilation, clean the site, and keep the permit sign-off and written scope on file.

What the Virginia Residential Code says

The 2021 Virginia Residential Code reproduces the International Residential Code with state amendments. The text below comes from chapters 8 and 9 as reproduced on a code-reference website, because the publisher's own site was not available to automated download. Treat it as a reading guide and confirm against the official code with the county.

The Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association makes a similar point in plain words: shingles can go over an old roof, but not over hard or brittle materials, uneven nailing surfaces or a warped, rotted or unsound deck, and some local ordinances forbid reroofing over two or more layers. An owner who is offered a recover should ask for the layer count and the deck condition in writing.

Assembly items the chapter names

• Underlayment: section R905.1.1 requires labelled underlayment that meets the listed standards and is applied and attached per the code's tables.
• Ice barrier: section R905.1.2 requires one only where Table R301.2 designates a history of ice along the eaves. Where required it runs from the eave to at least 24 inches inside the exterior wall line, and at least 36 inches along the slope on pitches of 8 in 12 or steeper. Table R301.2 is a form each jurisdiction fills in, and the code text does not print Arlington's entry, so ask for the answer for your address.
• Deck and slope: asphalt shingles go on solidly sheathed decks, on slopes of 2 in 12 or more, with double underlayment from 2 in 12 up to 4 in 12 (R905.2.1 and R905.2.2).
• Flashing: required at wall and roof intersections, changes of slope and around openings, in corrosion-resistant metal at least 0.019 inch thick, with a cricket on the ridge side of a chimney or penetration wider than 30 inches (R903.2).
• Parapets and drains: parapet walls are coped with noncombustible weatherproof material (R903.3). Reroofing a roof with positive drainage does not require adding secondary overflow drains (R908.1).
• Reused materials: existing slate, clay or cement tile may be reinstalled, but damaged, cracked or broken pieces may not, and rusted or damaged flashings and vents are replaced (R908.5).
• Ventilation: net free vent area of 1/150 of the vented space, with a space of at least 1 inch kept between insulation and roof sheathing at the vent (R806.2, R806.3). The shingle manufacturers' association says ventilation moves heat and moisture out of the attic.

The state code also limits the permit exemption: replacing an unlimited amount of covering in groups R-3, R-4 and R-5 is exempt unless the nominal design wind speed is above 100 miles per hour. Whether that applies is a question for the county, since the code text read here gives no Arlington wind figure.

Documents table

These are the papers that govern a replacement and who holds each one. Ask for the ones that apply before comparing quotes.

Sources: Arlington County permit and historic pages; Code of Virginia 55.1-1965; Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation.

Scope checklist

A scope is a list of work, not a total. These are the lines to see in writing for a tear-off.

• Layers to be removed and what happens to the old material and fasteners.
• Deck: how damaged boards or panels are identified, measured and recorded, and what is done with the permit if the 256 square foot line is crossed.
• Underlayment type, and whether an ice barrier is included and where it stops.
• Drainage edge metal, valleys, wall and chimney flashing, with the metal named.
• Every penetration: vents, pipes, skylights, chimney crickets and whether each is re-flashed or replaced.
• Ventilation at eaves and ridge, and what is checked inside the attic.
• The roof covering product, its standard and how it is attached. The National Roofing Contractors Association recommends asphalt shingles that comply with ASTM D3462.
• Townhouse items: the county's permit page, in its new-house mechanical notes, says exhaust openings shall not penetrate the roof within four feet of a townhouse party wall without a parapet. Ask the county whether that applies to your job.
• Permit, historic and association paperwork: who files it and who pays any fee.
• Start and completion dates, payment procedures, who supervises, and site cleanup.

Comparing quotes

Put each written scope side by side and mark every line as included, excluded or not mentioned. Quotes that look alike on the surface can differ in what they leave out.

1. Same building facts. Each quote should state the same square footage, layers and pitch. If they differ, ask why.
2. Deck rules. One quote may price repaired decking per sheet or board, another may exclude it. Check how each handles the county's decking line.
3. Named materials. Compare underlayment, flashing metal and covering by name and standard, not by a general description.
4. Overlay offers. If a roofer proposes no tear-off, ask which Virginia Residential Code recover case it relies on and what the layer count is.
5. Approvals. Check who handles the permit or Certificate of Appropriateness and the association submission.
6. People and process. The National Roofing Contractors Association suggests asking for the planned supervision, the name of the person overseeing the job and the crew size on site, and it cautions that price is only one criterion.

Ask any roofer, including Roofers of Arlington, for the Virginia license number and class so you can check it on the state lookup. For a claim, see roofing insurance. A phone consultation with Roofers of Arlington starts with your address, the building type and what you can see; call (571) 397-6072 or book a phone consultation.

Related guides

Roofers of Arlington installs, repairs and replaces roofs, including flat and metal systems, in Arlington and nearby. Pick the guide that matches your building.

• Arlington roofing guide: permits, historic review and ZIP housing mix.
• Condo and co-op roof replacement: who decides and what the statutes say.
• Slate roofs in Arlington: what the historic papers say.
• Flat-roof apartments in Clarendon and Lyon Park.
• Flat roof systems, metal roofing and roofing materials, plus all services and Alexandria next door.