Roof replacement and leak repair in Prince George's County, MD

Mount Rainier, Brentwood, Cheverly and Riverdale Park are full of 1920s to 1940s bungalows, foursquares and small colonials, a few of them Sears kit homes ordered by catalog. Those roofs have been redone several times, and the leaks we find usually sit where old work meets new: chimney counterflashing set in crumbling mortar, a dormer cheek with no step flashing, or a porch roof tied into the main roof with tar.

We follow a ceiling stain's path from the attic side first, then from the roof. On a bungalow with a low shed dormer, water often enters several feet uphill of the stain and runs along a rafter before it drips. Our leak repair work starts with that trace, because patching only the wet spot rarely survives the next storm.

• Chimney counterflashing pulled loose from soft brick joints
• Porch roof tie-ins sealed with roof cement instead of flashing
• Pipe boots cracked by sun on south-facing slopes
• Valleys packed with oak leaves from street trees

Outside the Beltway the county shifts to 1950s and 1960s subdivisions in places like Temple Hills, Oxon Hill, Clinton and Glenn Dale, with ramblers, split-levels and brick colonials under long, simple gables. Bowie's Belair sections add the Levitt models, covered in detail on the Bowie roofing page. These houses suit a straightforward tear-off with new ridge vents and fresh flashing.

Around Largo, Upper Marlboro and National Harbor, townhouse communities built from the 1980s to the 2000s are reaching their second roof. HOA approval of shingle color and style comes first there, and we coordinate with neighbors on attached units so the ridge line stays continuous from end to end.

Some of the original 1930s rows in old Greenbelt carry low flat roofs, and commercial strips along Route 1, Rhode Island Avenue and Branch Avenue are mostly built-up roofs, modified bitumen or rubber. Ponding water near clogged scuppers is the common thread. For these, we cut test patches, check the insulation for saturation, and price flat roof repair against a full membrane replacement.

A rooftop unit curb that was never properly flashed will keep leaking no matter how many times the field gets coated. We rebuild curbs and drains first, and only then talk about coatings or new membrane.

Some low commercial roofs along Route 1 still drain through interior drains with cast iron leaders. When those leaders crack inside a wall, the water looks like a roof leak, so we run a hose test on the drain before anyone tears into the membrane.

Reroofing permits in Prince George's County generally go through the county permit office, and some of the incorporated municipalities add steps of their own. We sort out which rules apply at your address before the dumpster arrives, so the crew isn't waiting on paperwork.

Thunderstorms rolling in from the west and tropical remnants moving up the Chesapeake both hit this side of the region. When wind lifts shingles or a limb punctures the deck, we photograph every slope, tarp what is open, and give you a written scope you can send to your insurer.