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Where Roofers of Arlington works: Arlington first, then 15 nearby areas
Roofers of Arlington installs, repairs and replaces roofs in Arlington County and nearby. This page starts with Arlington, where the permit, historic and building-type questions are covered in depth, then goes area by area through Northern Virginia, Washington, DC and two Maryland communities. For each one it names the nearest office whose page covers building permits and what that page says about roof coverings, so you know which rulebook to ask about before anyone climbs a ladder.
- 9 Arlington ZIP areas, from 1,805 to 24,089 homes each
- 15 nearby areas, each with its own page on this site
- 9 local permit offices read, one or two per area
Arlington County first
Arlington is where the permit rules, historic list and building mix are worked out in detail, so start there. The Arlington County roofing guide holds the county's permit table, the local historic district list and a Census table for every ZIP code. The short reads below show how different the nine ZIP areas are from each other (Census ACS 2024 five-year estimates, accessed October 17, 2026).
| ZIP area | Homes | What stands out |
|---|---|---|
| 22201 | 21,642 | Three of every four homes sit in buildings of five or more units (75.3%). |
| 22202 | 18,436 | The second-highest apartment share, 84.3%, and only 1.8% attached homes. |
| 22203 | 14,911 | 69.3% in larger buildings, with a median build year of 1992. |
| 22204 | 24,089 | The biggest ZIP area by homes, split between detached (22.8%), attached (11.4%) and larger buildings (61.2%). |
| 22205 | 7,005 | 81.0% detached, and the oldest median build year at 1951. |
| 22206 | 11,933 | 30.0% attached homes, the highest share, with 47.4% built before 1960. |
| 22207 | 12,837 | 78.1% detached; 79.0% of homes are owner-occupied. |
| 22209 | 9,684 | 90.5% in larger buildings, the most of any ZIP area. |
| 22213 | 1,805 | The smallest area, about half detached (49.9%) and 67.0% owner-occupied. |
Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas approximate USPS ZIP codes. Source: Census Bureau American Community Survey 2024 five-year estimates.
Five guides for specific Arlington building types
Columbia Pike garden apartments
Reads the documents for Arlington Village and the Commons of Arlington.
Clarendon and Lyon Park flat roofs
Flat-roof apartment buildings and what their papers say.
Slate in historic buildings
What Arlington's historic documents say about slate and substitutes.
Condo and co-op roofs
Who decides, and what the Virginia statutes say.
1940s subdivisions
Arlington Forest, Dominion Hills and Glebewood houses.
The county sorts roof work by building type first. A house or townhouse of three stories or fewer follows its residential table; anything else is commercial. The hub has the detail. Permit Arlington Center, 703-228-3800.
Who handles permits in each nearby area
Crossing a boundary can change the office that answers a permit question. Each row groups areas under the office whose page was read and says what that page states on the date shown. The pages do not assign every street address to an office, so confirm with the office which one covers your address. Where a page is silent on roof coverings, the table says so rather than guessing.
| Area | Office the page names | What its page says about roof work | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alexandria | City of Alexandria, Permit Center and Code Administration | Sorts jobs into residential and commercial; commercial includes buildings with 3 or more dwelling units, apartments and condominiums. Roofs are not named. | Oct 18, 2026 |
| Falls Church | City of Falls Church, Code Administration | Replacing your roof needs no permit as long as rafters or a major portion of the decking are not replaced (page for single-family houses). | Oct 18, 2026 |
| McLean, Annandale, Burke, Springfield, Oakton, Reston | Fairfax County, Land Development Services | No permit for replacing roof shingles or under 256 sq ft of roof plywood (unless fire rated, such as townhomes); roof repairs appear on the permit lists; commercial list exempts under 100 sq ft of roof covering. | Oct 18, 2026 |
| Vienna | Town of Vienna for zoning; Fairfax County as building official | Town reviews items such as roof height. The page gives no rule for roof coverings. | Archived copy, Jul 1, 2025 |
| Fairfax | City of Fairfax, Code Administration | Building permit for modifying or adding framing, rafters included; exemptions follow Building Code Section 108. Roof coverings are not named. | Archived copy, Sep 21, 2026 |
| Herndon | Town of Herndon, Building Inspections | The office takes permit applications and schedules inspections. The page states no roof rule. | Archived copy, Jul 12, 2026 |
| Sterling | Loudoun County (permits from county agencies and Towns) | Residential list names additions, decks and renovations or alterations; roofs are not named. | Oct 18, 2026 |
| Washington, DC | Department of Buildings | In-kind roofing and coping needs no building permit unless the property is in a historic district. | Oct 18, 2026 |
| Bethesda and Silver Spring | Montgomery County, Department of Permitting Services | "Roof (covering only)" is on the list headed No Permits Required. | Oct 18, 2026 |
Archived copies are from web.archive.org and are labeled with the capture date. The county, city and town pages can change, and the rows group areas by the office read, not by address; confirm with the office before you rely on a row.
How to read the table
Same wording is not the same rule
Fairfax County counts roof plywood by area, Falls Church by whether rafters or a major part of the decking change, and the District by whether the new roofing replicates the old. A job that fits one office's wording can fall outside another's.
Building type can matter more than the address
Alexandria sorts buildings of three or more dwelling units into its commercial category, and Arlington applies a similar building-type test. The pages for houses do not necessarily speak for a condominium roof.
Silence is not a yes
Several pages never mention roof coverings. That means the page answers nothing either way, so the office is the one to ask.
The state building code sits underneath all of these. Virginia's 13VAC5-63-80 exempts replacement of an unlimited amount of roof covering in groups R-3, R-4 and R-5 unless the nominal design wind speed is above 100 mph, and local pages may say more. It is a Virginia rule, so it frames the Virginia rows only. For the full Arlington reading, see the county guide.
Pages for each nearby area
The site has a page for each of these areas. They are listed by state and district.
Virginia, closest first
Virginia, farther out
DC and Maryland
For the work itself, see roof replacement, roof repair, flat roof systems, metal roofing, the materials overview and the full services list.
What to have ready for a phone consultation
Roofers of Arlington installs, repairs and replaces roofs, including flat and metal systems. If you book a phone consultation, the questions below are what the call covers, and answering them in advance helps. You can also call (571) 397-6072.
- The street address, so the permit office and any historic district can be identified.
- The building type: detached house, townhouse, condominium, co-op or apartment building.
- Whether the roof is pitched or flat, and what you can see of the covering from the ground.
- For an association building, who approves roof work and who would apply for a permit.
- Whether any decking or framing might need replacing, since several offices word their rules around it.
Offices and dates checked for this page
Pages marked archived were not available to automated download; their text comes from the web.archive.org copy on the date shown. Arlington County pages are covered in the county guide, which lists its own sources.
- City of Alexandria: Permit Requirements (opened October 18, 2026; page updated April 3, 2026)
- City of Falls Church: When a Building Permit is Required (October 18, 2026)
- Fairfax County Land Development Services: Does My Project Require a Permit? (October 18, 2026)
- Town of Vienna: Residential Projects (archived copy, July 1, 2025)
- City of Fairfax: Permit FAQs (archived copy, September 21, 2026)
- Town of Herndon: Building Inspections (archived copy, July 12, 2026)
- Loudoun County: Residential and Commercial Construction Permits (October 18, 2026)
- DC Department of Buildings: Get a Permit (October 18, 2026)
- Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services: Home Improvements (October 18, 2026)
- 13VAC5-63-80, Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code (October 17, 2026)
- Census Bureau American Community Survey 2024 five-year estimates, Arlington ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (October 17, 2026)
- Virginia DPOR license lookup
Questions people ask
Which areas does Roofers of Arlington have pages for?
This site has a page for Arlington County and for 15 nearby areas: Alexandria, Falls Church, McLean, Vienna, Fairfax, Annandale, Burke, Springfield, Oakton, Herndon, Reston, Sterling, Washington, DC, Bethesda and Silver Spring. Each is linked in the list near the end of this page.
Do the nearby areas follow Arlington County's re-roof permit rules?
No. Arlington County's table applies to Arlington addresses. Alexandria, Falls Church, the City of Fairfax, Fairfax County, Loudoun County, the District of Columbia and Montgomery County each publish their own pages, and the wording differs from one to the next, as the table above shows.
Is a re-roof in Washington, DC treated like one in Virginia?
The District's Department of Buildings is a separate office with its own page. That page lists in-kind roofing and coping among work that does not need a building permit, with the condition "unless you are in a historic district". It defines in-kind as like material that replicates the existing feature. Confirm your address with the Department.
Why does the Town of Vienna point to Fairfax County?
The Town's residential projects page, as archived on July 1, 2025, says the Town reviews certain residential work such as additions and roof height, and that Fairfax County serves as the building official for structural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire and health requirements before permits issue.
Does Montgomery County list roof work as needing a permit?
Its home improvements page puts "Roof (covering only)" on a list headed No Permits Required, with the introduction saying you most likely will not need a permit for those items. That wording covers a covering only, so structural changes are a separate question for the county.
What does the City of Falls Church say about replacing a roof?
On its page for work on a house, the City lists replacing your roof among things done without a permit, as long as you are not replacing rafters or a major portion of the decking. The page is written for single-family houses, so apartments and condominiums are a question for the City.
Where is a roofer's Virginia licence checked?
On the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation license lookup. Ask any roofer for the licence number, class and specialty before signing, and check it there. The Arlington guide linked above explains the three licence classes.
How do I start if my address is in one of these areas?
Book a phone consultation. Have the street address, the building type (house, townhouse, condominium, apartment building) and what you can see from the ground ready. The call is where the permit office and any historic or association approval for your address get identified.
Talk through your roof with Roofers of Arlington
Share the address, what you are seeing on the roof and the decision you need to make. We will tell you what to expect before anything is scheduled.