Tree damage and storm roof repair in the Palisades (20016)

Lots on the west side of MacArthur drop toward the canal and the river, and nothing stands between those roofs and a storm moving down the Potomac valley. Gusts hit the gable ends and rake edges of houses on the bluff harder than they hit the same style of house a few blocks inland. The damage pattern gives it away: shingles torn from the river-facing slopes, ridge cap missing on the windward end and rake trim pried loose.

When we reroof a bluff lot, the edges get extra attention. We run adhesive starter strip along every eave and rake, nail six per shingle, add metal drip edge on both edges and hand-seal the first rake course. Gable vents and soffit panels get checked too, since wind-driven rain often enters through them instead of the roof surface.

For houses that take the worst of it, standing seam metal fastened on concealed clips is a strong choice, and it suits the modern rebuilds going up between the older houses.

The canal side of the neighborhood is thick with tall tulip poplars, oaks and sycamores, and Battery Kemble Park runs through the middle of it. In a summer thunderstorm or a heavy wet snow, big limbs land on main roofs, porch roofs and gutters. A limb through the deck leaves an open hole that will pour water into the attic with the next band of rain.

Call (202) 771-7443 as soon as everyone is safe. We tarp the opening that day, working around the tree service if the limb is still up there. Once it's lifted off, we sister or replace broken rafters, lay new decking and underlayment, and shingle the patch so it ties into the existing courses.

Photos and measurements from that first visit go into the scope you send your insurer. Our storm damage repair notes keep wind and tree damage separate from normal wear, which is the line adjusters care about.

Many original Palisades houses are modest bungalows and Cape Cods with front porches under shallow shed roofs. Those porch roofs are often rolled roofing over old boards, and they leak at the wall where the porch meets the house. We replace the covering with a membrane or a low-slope shingle system, then install new step and counter flashing along the wall line. The porch roof repair page explains the options and costs.

Custom rebuilds keep appearing on the same blocks, and a teardown next door brings dust, vibration and the odd stray board onto your roof. If construction is underway beside you, have the roof and gutters looked at once the framing is up and again when the project wraps.

Pine needles, poplar seeds and oak leaves fill gutters on almost every lot here by late fall. Overflow at the corners soaks fascia boards and undermines porch footings, and in winter it freezes into ice along the eaves. Guards help a lot on the most wooded lots, especially fine-mesh styles that stop needles, and they usually run $8-$17 per foot on existing gutters.

After a wind storm, a quick walk around the house tells you whether to call. Look for these:

• Missing ridge cap at the end of the house facing the river
• Shingle tabs folded back along the rake edges
• Gutters pulled off the fascia by a falling branch
• Wet sheathing or daylight in the attic near a gable vent