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Roofing, siding, windows & gutters in Georgetown

Georgetown is the most design-constrained place we work. Nearly everything here sits inside a historic district, which means the Historic Preservation Review Board — not your preference and not the catalog — decides what goes on the outside of your house.

  • Reviewed by DC Department of Buildings (DOB)
  • Free inspection with photos and a written report
  • Fixed written price before work starts

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The housing here

What Georgetown stock means for your exterior

Georgetown’s building stock is among the oldest in the District, heavy on Federal and Victorian-era masonry rowhouses. Original roofing on this kind of housing was typically slate or metal rather than asphalt, and that history is exactly what the review board is protecting.

Who reviews your address

Historic Preservation Review Board approval must be secured before the building permit is issued, and for window and door work DC requires that approval in hand before you even apply. Check your address before you buy material.

Full DC permit, code & licensing rules →

Local knowledge

What we watch for in Georgetown

Material is a review decision, not a shopping decision

Where a home originally had slate or tin, HPRB will generally expect replacement in kind, or an asphalt product that closely mimics the historic appearance. Colour, texture, and installation pattern are all reviewable. Pricing an ordinary architectural shingle job here and then discovering slate is required is the single most common budget failure in Georgetown.

The review is the schedule

Historic review in DC commonly adds six to twelve weeks before a permit is issued. On a Georgetown project the calendar is driven by approvals, not by how fast a crew can work. If you have an active leak, we stabilise it while the review runs — we do not wait twelve weeks with water coming in.

Rowhouse party walls and flat roofs

Much of Georgetown is attached, with flat or low-slope roofs behind the front parapet. Those are TPO, EPDM, or modified bitumen systems, not shingle work, and the most frequent leak we find on attached housing is party-wall and parapet flashing rather than a failed roof covering.

Permits by trade

What needs a permit in DC

Georgetown follows DC rules. Local historic or municipal review can add a step on top — see the note above for your address.

Trade Status What that means
Roofing Permit required Roof replacement is not on the DOB Instant Permits list, so it goes through the normal Alteration & Repair permit process. Budget calendar time for this — it is the single biggest scheduling difference between a DC job and the same job in Virginia.
Siding Permit required Siding replacement is also absent from the Instant Permits scopes and is handled as an alteration. In a historic district the design review has to clear first.
Windows Depends DOB Instant Permits cover "replace in kind of up to 15 windows" — matching the original in appearance, material, design, detail, location, and size. Over 15 windows, any change in appearance or size, or a property in a historic or Commission of Fine Arts jurisdiction, and you are out of the instant path and into full review.
Gutters Depends Straight like-for-like gutter replacement is generally maintenance, but gutters are not on the Instant Permits list and a visible change on a historic property draws review. We confirm with DOB per address rather than guessing.

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