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4.9 Google rating, 1,100+ reviewsLicensed and insured, VA 2705155080Springfield and Fredericksburg
Home after a Roofing & Gutter Ethics project in Stafford, VA
4.9 on Google, 1,100+ reviews Northern Virginia  /  No sales pitch

Guides and Tools for Virginia homeowners

Work out whether your roof is finished, check your own property after a storm, size your gutters properly, or just find out what we would tell a neighbour. Everything here is free and none of it asks for your details.

Get my free inspection Call (703) 347-6482
Interactive tools Straight answers Nothing gated Written by the owner
6
Free tools, no sign up
4.9
Across 1,100+ Google reviews
2
Offices, Springfield and Fredericksburg
Free
Inspections, no pressure
Why this exists

Almost everything a homeowner reads about roofing was written to sell a roof. This was not.

We both sell and perform our own work, which means we are the ones who have to come back if it is wrong. That changes what is worth telling you. Most of what follows is the same thing we say standing in a driveway, including the parts that talk people out of spending money with us.

Interactive

Work It Out Yourself First

Six tools that give you a real answer in under a minute. None of them ask for an email address, and none of them are trying to talk you into a replacement.

Clogged gutter before cleaning in Northern Virginia by Roofing and Gutter Ethics Why Gutters MatterDamage mapCleaning calculator14 answers New shingle roof on a Roofing & Gutter Ethics roof replacement in Vienna, VA Repair Or Replace?Age checkWarning signsHonest answer Storm damaged roof in Northern Virginia by Roofing and Gutter Ethics Storm Self CheckClaim windowWhat to look forSame day photos Home after a Roofing & Gutter Ethics project in Dumfries, VA Gutter Sizing Tool5 or 6 inchDownspout countGauge warning Home after a Roofing & Gutter Ethics project in Stafford, VA Roof Visualizer4 systems32 colorsGutter finishes Storm damage in Northern Virginia documented by Roofing and Gutter Ethics Live Storm TrackerLive radarNWS alertsVirginia counties
Worth reading

The Things People Wish They Had Known

Short, specific and occasionally against our own commercial interest.

01

Gutter guards, the honest version

We could sell you these and we usually talk people out of them. A gutter’s whole job is to catch water, and a cover blocks most of where the water is supposed to get in.

02

How a roof claim actually works

What an adjuster looks for, why hail is diagnosed on the soft metals first, and why the roughly one year filing window catches so many people out.

03

What a real cleaning looks like

By hand and with air, never a hose. About fifteen minutes, before and after photos, and a look at the roof while we are already up there.

04

Ice dams and why gutters lose

Standing water in a clogged run freezes and the weight bends or rips the whole thing off the fascia. On a standing seam porch roof it takes the gutter with it.

05

What actually happens on the day

From the inspection through to the final walk through, including why a typical asphalt roof goes on in a single day and what that requires of the crew.

06

What the warranty really covers

Manufacturer cover and workmanship cover are two different things, and the difference is where most roofing warranty arguments start.

The short version

Three Things Worth Knowing Before Anyone Quotes You

Clogged gutters dump water straight against your foundation and back it up under your roof, which are two of the most expensive things in a house to fix. Never let anyone clean gutters with a hose or a pressure washer, because all that water shoves the gunk back into the wood behind them where it sits in the dark and rots. And make whoever quotes you put the metal gauge in writing, ours or anyone else’s, because the thin cheap stuff looks identical on the day and sags years earlier.

Reviews

What Virginia Homeowners Say

Questions

Questions about these guides

Why is there no blog on a roofing website?

Because most of them are written for search engines rather than for homeowners, and we would rather put the effort into a smaller number of pages that actually answer something. What is here is the stuff we end up explaining on driveways every week.

Who writes this?

Justin Stanley, who owns the company, with the crews checking the technical detail. The opinions in it are ours, including the ones that cost us work.

Are the tools accurate enough to make a decision on?

They are accurate enough to tell you whether you should be worried and what to ask about. None of them replace somebody getting on the roof, which is exactly why the inspection is free.

Do I have to give you my details to use them?

No. Everything on this page works without giving us anything. Use it, and call us if it turns up something you want a second opinion on.

Watch

Thirty seconds each, straight from Justin

Nine short videos covering the questions we answer on driveways every week. No sales pitch and nothing gated.

Storm damage checkWhat to walk out and look for the morning after weather comes through, and why most of it is visible from the ground.
Check your ceilingsThe one that turns up inside the house rather than on the roof, and why it usually means water has been getting in for a while.
Hail claim windowHow long you actually have to get a claim filed after hail, and why the evidence disappears long before the deadline does.
Repair or replaceHow we decide which one a roof needs, and why plenty of the roofs we get called out to look at are not finished yet.
Roof in a dayWhy a typical asphalt roof goes on in a single day, tear off through clean up, and what that asks of the crew.
Roof ageWhat the age of a roof does and does not tell you, and why it is never the only thing worth looking at.
Free roof lookWhat actually happens when we come out, and why it costs you nothing whether you hire us or not.
Who does the workWhy we both sell and perform our own work, and what that changes when something needs putting right.
No hose cleaningWhat a hose or a pressure washer does to the wood behind your gutters, and why you do not find out for years.
From the blog

Every post, newest first

Answers to the roofing, gutter and siding questions Northern Virginia homeowners ask us most, written by our team.

Still Want Somebody To Actually Look?

We get on the roof, photograph what we find and hand you the evidence. No charge, no obligation, and if it is fine we will tell you it is fine.

  • Free inspection, no pressure
  • Photos of everything we find, yours to keep
  • Licensed and insured, VA 2705155080
  • CertainTeed ShingleMaster certified
Get my free inspection Call (703) 347-6482

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