Shingle replacement
County guidance lists replacement of roof shingles as work that does not need a building permit. Replacing under 256 square feet of roof plywood is also exempt, unless the roof must be fire rated, as on townhouses.
Roofing Company in Burke, VA
Sterling Roofers repairs and replaces roofs on the houses and townhouses of Burke. This page covers what makes Burke different for a roofing job: it is unincorporated Fairfax County, about a third of its homes are townhouses, and most of it went up in the 1970s and 1980s.
5.0 rated across 28 Google reviews · see the Google profile
Tyco Road8466 Tyco Road, Suite B, Vienna, VA 22182
(703) 436-4445We visit by appointment
Start by phoneA free 15-minute consultation
What we do here
What does a roofing company in Burke, VA actually do for a house or townhouse?
Burke calls tend to sort into two piles. One is a leak or a patch of lost shingles somewhere on an older roof, and the job is tracing the water to its entry point: a chimney surround, a wall junction, a cracked vent boot. That is roof repair, and the aim is to fix the cause rather than paint over the ceiling stain.
The other pile is a roof that is tired everywhere at once. Then a roof replacement makes more sense: the old covering comes off, the deck is checked, flashing and venting are renewed, and the debris leaves with the crew, all written down before work starts.
Not sure which pile you are in? A roof inspection gives you the visible facts first. The full menu is on the roofing services page, and asphalt shingle roofing explains the covering most homes carry.
Permits and approvals
Is a roof permit handled by a Burke office, or by Fairfax County?
Burke has no town hall and no permit office of its own. It is an unincorporated section of Fairfax County, so Fairfax County Land Development Services acts as the building official and county zoning applies.
Repairs, chimneys and solar
Roof repairs, chimney repairs and solar panels sit on the other list, the one that needs a permit. How your scope is worded decides which list a job lands on.
Because the rules turn on scope, never rely on a blanket claim that a re-roof needs no paperwork, or that it always does. Confirm the exact scope with the county before work begins, and ask your contractor to put that confirmation in writing. The statewide building code also lets a building official require a permit in a locally designated historic district, and the county list of historic overlay districts does not include a district named for Burke.
| Your situation | Who to ask |
|---|---|
| Swapping shingles on a detached house | County Land Development Services at 703-222-0801, to confirm the scope |
| Repairing a roof or a chimney | County Land Development Services at 703-222-0801 |
| Townhouse with wet or rotted decking | Fairfax County, because fire-rated decking can trigger a permit |
| Burke Centre planned community | The Burke Centre Conservancy or your own association, before ordering materials |
| Cost, timing and what the job includes | Sterling Roofers, (703) 436-4445 |
The roof insurance claim help page covers the paperwork side if weather caused the damage, and service areas by jurisdiction shows how other places compare.
Burke and Burke Centre
Is Burke Centre part of Burke, and does that change who approves my roof?
Census data treats them as two places. The Burke CDP and the Burke Centre CDP are separate, and Burke Centre is also a planned community of about 1,700 acres lying west of the Burke CDP. Both sit in unincorporated Fairfax County, so the county permit rules above are the same for either one.
What can differ is the association. If your home is in the Burke Centre planned community, check with the Burke Centre Conservancy or your own association before exterior work, since color and product choices are often what a community cares about. Our roofing materials compared page helps you narrow the options before you apply.
Mailing addresses blur the map too. Many homes people call Burke carry Springfield, Fairfax Station or Fairfax addresses, and the parcel decides who reviews it. We confirm the jurisdiction for your address on the first call. Nearby pages cover Springfield, Annandale and Fairfax.
The housing stock
What do Burke roofs sit on?
Census data describes the buildings, not the roofs. It does not record roof age or material.
Median build year 1979
Across 13,878 housing units in the Burke CDP, per Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020 to 2024 estimates.
81.8% built 1970 to 1989
The 1970s alone account for 6,734 units and the 1980s for 4,622. Only 8.5% date from before 1970.
64.7% detached, 33.5% attached
About 98% of units are houses or townhouses, and 89.5% of occupied homes are owner-occupied.
Two things follow. A home from 1979 may well be on its second or third roof by now, so look at the roof itself rather than the build year. And with roughly one home in three attached, the townhouse caveat from the permit section matters here more than in most places: a shared-wall roof can need fire-rated decking, which is the case the county flags.
How a job runs
How does a Burke roofing job run from first call to finish?
Five steps, with a document you can ask for at each one.
1. Phone call
Tell us what the roof is doing, whether the house is detached or a townhouse, and if an association is involved. The 15 minutes cost nothing.
2. Visit by appointment
We come out when it suits you, walk the visible surfaces and mark the spots we cannot judge until the covering is off.
3. Written scope
You get the work spelled out: what is repaired or replaced, how the old layer is removed, what happens if rotten wood turns up, and what is left out.
4. The work
Crews follow the scope. The county question is settled, and any association application is filed, before the first shingle comes off.
5. Closeout
The documents you receive describe what was actually installed.
Storms and trees
What did the June 2026 microburst do near Burke?
On June 22, 2026 the National Weather Service estimated peak winds of 90 mph around Lake Royal, about a mile northwest of Burke. Trees were snapped, uprooted or stripped of large branches and fell on cars, power lines and homes. Forecasters called it high straight-line wind rather than a tornado, and reports mentioned some roof damage. Nobody has published a count of damaged roofs.
The lesson for any Burke homeowner is simple. After a hard wind, walk the property, look for limbs resting on or near the roof and for shingles in the yard, and photograph everything before cleanup. Then read storm damage roofing and call. Related reading: storm damage roof inspection guide and roof replacement in Fairfax.
Reviews
A review from a Google customer
Copied exactly 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
Burke roofing questions
Do I deal with a Burke permit office for a new roof?
No. Burke is unincorporated, so Fairfax County Land Development Services handles building permits and county zoning applies. Call 703-222-0801 with your scope and ask before work starts.
Does replacing shingles in Burke need a building permit?
County guidance lists replacement of roof shingles as work that does not need one. It lists roof repairs and chimney repairs as permit work, so describe the job precisely when you ask. We check your exact scope with the county and put the answer in the written scope.
Why do Burke townhouse roofs get extra attention when decking is replaced?
The county exempts replacing less than 256 square feet of roof plywood unless the roof must be fire rated, as on townhomes. Roughly a third of Burke homes are attached, so a rotted section of decking on a shared-wall roof is worth a call to the county first.
Is a 1979 house likely to be on its original roof?
Probably not, though Census data does not track roof age. With a median build year of 1979 and most homes built between 1970 and 1989, many roofs have been replaced at least once. Judge by granule loss, curling, flashing and how many spots leak, not by the calendar.
Are Burke and Burke Centre the same place for roofing purposes?
They are two Census places but both are unincorporated Fairfax County, so the county permit rules match. The difference is the association: Burke Centre is a planned community with a Conservancy, so check with it, or your own association, before choosing shingle color or product.
My address says Springfield or Fairfax Station but people call it Burke. Who reviews my roof?
The parcel decides, not the mailing name. Many such addresses are unincorporated Fairfax County and use the same Land Development Services office, but ask us to confirm your address on the first call.
What should I do right after a windstorm drops limbs near my Burke roof?
Stay off the roof, photograph the limbs and any missing shingles from the ground, cover nothing yourself that you cannot reach safely, and call before cleanup if you may file a claim. Our roof insurance claim help page lists what to document.
Does the county offer a roofing program after a storm like the 2026 microburst?
The County Board waived debris drop-off fees for homeowners through July 29, 2026, but that was for hauling debris, not for roof work, and it has ended. It did not apply to contractors.
Our office
Where is the Sterling Roofers office, and do you take Burke calls?
The office is at 8466 Tyco Road, Suite B, Vienna, VA 22182, and the number is (703) 436-4445. Burke calls are handled from there, and the roof itself is looked at on site, so ring before visiting.
Learn more about Sterling Roofers, browse every service area, or see our neighbors in Oakton and McLean.
Talk through the next step
Discuss your roof with Sterling Roofers
Share the property address, the condition you are seeing and the decision you need to make.