Roofing Materials Guide
Most DC homes have one of two roof types: a pitched roof with shingles, or a flat rowhome roof. The material decides how it ages, how it leaks, and whether it needs a repair, a coating, or a replacement. Here is the straight version — no jargon, no sales pitch.
Pitched roofs
Asphalt shingles — the pitched-roof standard
Most pitched roofs in DC are asphalt shingles. A shingle roof in good shape sheds water for decades — shingles generally last 20–30 years. What tells you where yours stands is age, missing or lifting shingles, and whether water has come in before. Small problems get repaired at the source; when the roof is near the end of its life, replacement is the honest answer. Our 5-question repair-or-replace quiz walks through the same questions we ask on an inspection. Details on roof repair and roof replacement.
Flat roofs
Flat rowhome roofs — four ways we handle them
Flat roofs fail at the seams, the flashing, and the drains — that is where we look first, and we fix the actual leak before anything else. Then, depending on the roof's condition, it is one of these:
- Torch down rubber — rolls of rubberized roofing heat-welded onto the flat roof with a torch, sealing the seams into one watertight layer. A full flat-roof system, not a coating.
- Silicone coating — if the roof itself is sound, a silicone coating protects it and can add years of life, for much less than a tear-off.
- Fibered aluminum roof coating — a reflective coating, aluminum pigment mixed with fibers, rolled or brushed on to protect the roof surface and reflect sunlight.
- Replacement — if the roof underneath is too far gone for a coating, we will show you why and quote the replacement instead.
The free inspection settles which one your roof needs. Details on flat roof repair, coating & replacement.
Which one is yours?
Not sure what you have?
Stand across the street: if you see shingles sloping up, it is a pitched shingle roof. If the roof looks flat from the street, it is a flat roof — common on DC rowhomes. Still not sure? Take the 5-question quiz, or call us and we will tell you straight on a free inspection.