Sterling Roofers takes roof repair and replacement calls from Alexandria homeowners, townhouse owners and building managers. Alexandria is an independent city with its own Permit Center and its own historic review boards, so this page explains who approves what before you hire anyone.
What we can help with
Alexandria is not a city of detached suburban houses. Census estimates put about 14 percent of its housing units in detached houses, about 21 percent in rowhouses and townhouses, and about 61 percent in buildings of five or more units. That mix shapes the calls: a leak where a rowhouse roof meets a party wall, a worn flashing at a chimney, shingles lost after wind, or a flat roof over an apartment building that ponds water.
For a house or rowhouse that is leaking or has lost shingles, start with roof repair. When the covering is failing across the whole slope, roof replacement removes it, checks the deck and rebuilds flashing and venting under one written scope. If you only want facts first, a roof inspection records what can be seen. Flat and low-slope buildings are covered under commercial roofing.
The roofing materials comparison sets out the options, and the services page lists everything we handle.
Who approves the work
For a parcel inside the City, the answer is the City of Alexandria, never Fairfax County.
The City’s Department of Code Administration runs a Multi-Agency Permit Center at 4850 Mark Center Drive, inside the Dell Pepper Community Center. It asks customers to apply electronically through its APEX portal and answers questions on 703-746-4200.
In the two regulated historic districts, City staff and the Boards of Architectural Review look at visible roofing. The staff line is 703-746-3833, and a staff visit decides whether a roof is visible from a public right-of-way.
The City’s general permit page says permits are required for most construction and maintenance work on buildings, and it does not list roofing exemptions. The statewide building code is more specific: replacing the roof covering on a one- or two-family home or townhouse is generally exempt where the design wind speed allows, and so is replacing 256 square feet or less of roof decking unless that decking is fire-rated. The same code lets a building official require a permit for replacement roofing inside a locally designated historic district. We confirm your scope with the Permit Center before we price it.
| Your situation | Who to ask first |
|---|---|
| Any house or rowhouse inside the City | Permit Center, Code Administration, 703-746-4200 |
| Old Town or Uptown (Parker-Gray) street | Historic Preservation staff, 703-746-3833, plus Code Administration |
| Condominium or apartment roof | Your association or building owner, then the Permit Center |
| Alexandria mailing address west or south of the City | Likely Fairfax County Land Development Services, so check the parcel first |
| Scope, materials and price | Sterling Roofers, (703) 436-4445 |
Historic review
Only two districts are regulated by a City Board of Architectural Review: Old and Historic Alexandria, and Parker-Gray, the area known as Uptown. One Hundred Year Old Buildings designated by Council also fall under the Old and Historic board, even outside the districts.
Del Ray, Rosemont, Fairlington and Parkfairfax are National Register historic districts, but the City says no board approval is needed for changes there.
Inside a regulated district, replacement roofing that is visible from the public right-of-way goes to staff review, and work of 25 square feet or more is the staff-review threshold. Smaller in-kind repairs and drainage items need no review. Flat and low-slope roofs are not reviewed by the Board because they are barely visible. The City’s published policy also calls for a building permit when more than 100 square feet of roofing is replaced in those districts, and its current sheets send you to Code Administration to confirm.
Matching what is there
The City’s policy is to match the original roof, and it does not pre-approve a product line.
Original slate or tile is replaced with the same material, style, color and shape.
Original metal is replaced with the same style: standing seam, flat seam or stamped shingle. Solid copper may replace painted standing seam.
Original composition roofing can be replaced with architectural grade shingles. Three-tab is not appropriate unless it was the original material.
Staff will not approve removing historic roofing that can reasonably be repaired. Read our notes on asphalt shingle roofing before you decide, and check the materials rule with staff before ordering anything.
Condos and apartments
Renters are 58 percent of Alexandria households (44,031 of 76,096 occupied homes), and 42.1 percent are owner-occupied. A building roof is usually a shared part of the property, so the decision often belongs to an association board or a building owner rather than to one unit owner.
The City’s June 2022 memo for condominium alterations adds that changes must follow the association’s governing documents and that changes to load-bearing elements, including roof assemblies, need a Virginia registered design professional. Whether a particular roof is a common element depends on that building’s condominium documents, so ask the manager for them. The City lists apartment and condominium buildings of three or more units under its commercial permit category, so confirm the category with the Permit Center. Large flat roofs are handled as commercial roofing.
The housing stock
Census Bureau estimates for 2020 to 2024 describe the buildings. They do not record roof age or material.
Across 80,844 housing units, with 18.7 percent built before 1950 and 43.2 percent before 1970.
The City describes about 200 surviving early structures in Old Town, and mostly small row houses and townhouses in Parker-Gray.
A former military site of 164 acres where the first phase opened in 1999, with its own community association and an Architectural Review Committee.
Fairlington and Parkfairfax are garden-apartment complexes from the early 1940s that later became condominiums. Most of Fairlington lies in Arlington County, where different permit rules apply. The City’s design criteria list a ground snow load of 25 psf, so ask for the fastening and underlayment details in your written scope.
How a job runs
Four steps, with a document you can ask for at each.
We talk through the leak or worn area, the building type and whether a board or association is involved.
Someone comes to the property at a time you set, records what is visible and flags what is hidden.
It names the area, the material, tear-off, flashing, venting, haul-away, any deck allowance and what is excluded.
We confirm permit questions with the City, and you submit any association or review application before work starts.
After a storm, see storm damage roofing and our roof insurance claim help.
Storms
In the overnight thunderstorms of September 3 and 4, 2026, outages in the City peaked above 10,000, 16 critical facilities were affected, and at least five people were rescued from floodwaters. Trees came down, including some in the 700 block of North Columbus Street.
Those reports describe outages, trees and flooding, not roof damage. After wind, look for lifted or missing shingles, displaced flashing and limbs resting on the roof, and take photographs first.
Reviews
Word for word from the Google profile, rated 5.0 across 28 reviews.
“When some parts of my roof was damaged last winter, I had called another company. They said they would come by and email an estimate to me within a week. I waited for two weeks and never heard back.”
FAQ
No. Several ZIP codes are shared between the City and Fairfax County, and 22206 is shared with Arlington County. Places such as Huntington are in Fairfax County. The parcel, not the mailing city, decides which building office applies, so check the parcel before you call a permit office.
Not usually. Visible replacement roofing of 25 square feet or more goes to staff review, and staff decide whether a project needs the Board. In-kind repairs under 25 square feet need no review. Call 703-746-3833 with your address to learn which level applies.
The City says only Old and Historic Alexandria and Parker-Gray are regulated, so no board approval is needed in the other historic districts. Del Ray and Rosemont are National Register districts without that review. Building permit questions still go to the Permit Center.
City policy says original slate or tile is replaced with the same material, and original metal with the same style of metal. Architectural grade composition may replace original composition roofing. Ask staff before you choose a material.
The City’s roofing sheets say flat and low-sloped roofs, because of their limited visibility, are not reviewed by the Board. That does not remove permit questions, and a building owner or manager still has to approve the work. Confirm the permit category with the Permit Center.
It sits at 4850 Mark Center Drive, on the second floor of the Dell Pepper Community Center. Hours are Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with a lunch closure from 12 to 1, and the City asks applicants to use its APEX portal rather than paper.
The City’s design criteria sheet lists a ground snow load of 25 pounds per square foot and a 24 inch frost line. These are permitting values for the whole City, not readings for one street, so ask your contractor to state the underlayment and fastening in writing.
Nearby and our office
Sterling Roofers is based at 8466 Tyco Road, Suite B, in Vienna, VA 22182. Phone first, because we come to the roof. Call (703) 436-4445 and we will confirm your address is one we cover. Learn more about Sterling Roofers.
Neighbors with their own permit offices have their own pages:
Talk through the next step
Share the property address, the condition you are seeing and the decision you need to make.
