Cedar shake, slate and porch roofs in Cleveland Park (20008)

Several of the older detached houses along Newark and Highland Place were built with wood shingles or shakes on the roof and walls. Cedar weathers to a soft gray, but under the tree canopy here it stays damp, grows moss and splits sooner than it would in open sun. Once shakes cup and crack, water reaches the underlayment and the skip sheathing below.

We replace individual shakes where the roof is mostly sound. For full replacement, we install new cedar shake over an interlayment, with stainless steel ring-shank nails and copper valleys. Leaving room for air under the shakes helps them dry between storms.

Because these houses sit in a historic district, switching from cedar to asphalt on a visible slope draws scrutiny. Some owners consider fire-rated or synthetic shake products. We bring samples and discuss what preservation staff tends to accept before you commit.

Queen Anne houses here carry towers, eyebrow dormers, multiple gables and porch roofs that wrap two or three sides. Each change in plane is a valley or a wall flashing, and those are where the leaks start. A tower cap with failed copper flashing can drip into a second-floor bedroom long before the slate around it shows wear.

We work these roofs with roof brackets and toe boards, replacing slates piece by piece and rebuilding valleys in copper. Our slate repair approach keeps sound stone in place and only removes what has failed.

Wraparound porch roofs are often low-slope and covered with old roll roofing or soldered tin. Tin can be patched, soldered and painted if the pans are sound; otherwise, a new standing seam or a membrane with a metal edge is the replacement.

The porch-front rowhouses near the Uptown Theater and the Cleveland Park Metro have flat main roofs that drain to rear alleys. These roofs see the same issues as other Wardman rows across the city: worn modified bitumen, rusted scuppers and party wall seams. Hidden flat roofs usually clear historic filing simply, while front porch roofs and cornices draw more attention.

We schedule rowhouse work around rear alley access and keep the Connecticut Avenue side clear of trucks.

Tall oaks and tulip poplars cover most streets, especially near Rosedale and the Tregaron conservancy. Branches over the roof drop leaves, sticks and acorns that clog valleys and gutters. We clean valleys during every visit, trim small branch tips touching the roof and suggest an arborist when larger limbs overhang the house.

Shade has a second cost on cedar and slate: north slopes stay wet for days after rain, and moss roots lift shake butts and hold water against slate nails. We remove moss by hand rather than pressure washing, which can strip the wood surface and drive water under the courses. A strip of zinc or copper below the ridge slows regrowth as rain carries traces of metal down the slope.

Narrow streets like Newark and Ordway leave little room for a dumpster, so on detached houses we often use the driveway, and on rows we stage in the alley and haul out daily.