What to Expect From a Free Roof Estimate in Ashburn

Before the visit

You can request an estimate online or by calling (703) 731-9208. We will contact you to talk about the roof and schedule a time. Before the visit, it helps to gather a few things:

• The year the house was built and, if you know it, when the roof was last replaced
• Records of any past roof repairs
• Photos of leaks, stains or storm damage, with dates
• Your HOA's roofing guideline, if you have it
• Access to the attic, if the house has one that can be reached

If you want a rough sense of size first, the Roofing Roughnecks instant roof size check measures your roof from satellite and elevation data and emails a ballpark range. It is a planning tool, not a quote.

During the visit

We start by listening: what made you call, what you have noticed, and what you want out of the project, whether that is fixing a leak, getting through the next few years, or a full replacement. Then we look at the roof, including the shingle surface, ridges, valleys, flashing at walls and chimneys, vents and pipe boots, and the roof edges and gutters. Where the attic is accessible, we look at the underside of the decking for staining, daylight or damp insulation. We also note anything about access, such as a tight driveway or a townhouse with shared roof lines.

What you get afterward

You get a straight answer on whether the roof needs a repair, a full replacement, or nothing yet, and a written estimate that defines what is included. For a replacement, that typically means tear-off, decking repair where needed, the new roofing system, a ventilation review and cleanup. If a repair is the honest answer, that is what we recommend. If both are reasonable, we explain the tradeoffs.

Questions worth asking any roofer

• Who will actually do the work: your own crew or a subcontractor?
• What is your Virginia contractor license number?
• What exactly is included, and what is not?
• How will damaged decking found during tear-off be handled and documented?
• What is the ventilation plan?
• Who handles a permit, if one is needed, and who prepares the HOA product details?
• How will my yard, driveway and siding be protected, and how is cleanup handled?

Our answers: the work is handled directly by Roofing Roughnecks, a division of Kenney Construction, licensed, insured and bonded under VA DPOR #2705187519, and the rest is spelled out in the written scope.

Reading the written estimate

When the estimate arrives, read it line by line. It should name the shingle manufacturer, product line and color. It should say whether the old roof is being torn off and how many layers, how decking repair is handled if damage is found, which flashing, vents and pipe boots are being replaced, what the ventilation plan is, and how cleanup and property protection are handled. If something you discussed at the visit is not in writing, ask for it to be added.

Ashburn-specific items to raise

• Whether your association requires an application, and the product details you will need for it
• Whether the scope could require a Loudoun County permit, and who is responsible for it
• For townhouses, how the new roof will meet the neighbors' roofs at shared walls
• For multi-gable roofs, how valleys and ridge venting will be handled

If you are comparing more than one Ashburn roofing company, give each the same information and ask each the same questions. That way the differences you see in the estimates reflect real differences in scope, materials and approach, not differences in what each contractor was told. Keep notes from each visit, too: who came out, what they looked at, and what they recommended. A contractor who explains clearly why a roof needs a repair or a replacement, and puts that reasoning in writing, is giving you something you can check.

No obligation

A free estimate is just that. You can take the written scope, compare it with others, check it against your HOA's rules, and decide when you are ready. When comparing, make sure the estimates cover the same work; a lower number that leaves out decking, flashing or ventilation is not really cheaper.