Roof deck and condo roof repair in Columbia Heights (20010)

Decks were bolted onto many roofs between Park Road and Florida Avenue during the condo boom. Some sit on sleepers set in pitch pockets, others on posts that pierce the membrane. Each penetration is a possible leak, and the deck hides it until the top-floor ceiling stains.

We start by pulling a few boards near the stain and tracing water back along the sleepers. Often the problem is a post base that was sealed with caulk instead of a proper flashing boot, or a membrane that was never designed to carry foot traffic. If the membrane is near the end of its life, roof deck waterproofing with a protection layer and raised pedestals is usually the longer-lasting answer.

When the deck comes off for the work, we stack it on the roof or in the rear yard, number the sections and put it back once the new roof is down. You should not lose the deck to fix the leak.

A pop-up adds a new third or fourth story, and its side walls rise right off the old roof or the party wall. Where the builder skipped proper base flashing, water runs down the new siding and under the membrane. We see this most on blocks of Harvard, Girard and Kenyon Streets, where additions sit next to original-height houses.

The repair is plain carpentry and flashing work: cut back the membrane, install a cant and base flashing up the new wall at least eight inches, then lap the siding or stucco over a metal counterflashing. Where the neighbor's lower roof meets your taller wall, we flash their side too, with their permission, because that joint drains onto both properties.

In a converted rowhouse, the roof usually belongs to the association, but the leak lands in one owner's unit. We document what we find with photos and a short written scope so the board can decide quickly. When a building needs a full new roof, we can phase the work around move-ins and noise rules.

Larger apartment buildings along 16th Street and near Meridian Hill Park have bigger flat roofs with internal drains, mechanical curbs and parapets on all sides. Our condo and multifamily roofing work covers those, from drain replacements to full membrane tear-offs.

Street parking near the Columbia Heights Metro and the DC USA complex is tight most of the day, so we schedule deliveries early and use rear alleys wherever possible. Many blocks have alleys behind the rows, though some end in garages and fences that leave little turning room. We size the trailer to the alley and carry debris out in more trips when we have to.