Springfield Gardens, 6116 Cumberland Avenue
The study describes 220 garden-style multifamily units in the Community Business Center, Land Unit B, with 46 of them marked market affordable. Its roofs are not mentioned.
EPDM Roofing in Springfield, VA: Is Your Apartment Building a Candidate?
We opened the county's Springfield planning study, its permit page and the Census tables, and not one of them names EPDM. What they do give is the size of the buildings, which is where a rubber membrane question comes from.
Short answer
EPDM is a rubber sheet used on low-slope roofs. Springfield has about 3,100 homes in buildings of five or more units, but no document we read says what any of those roofs are made of.
- Find out the roof's shape before the material
- Ask the owner or manager who decides
Building sizes
Where in Springfield would a membrane roof even be on the table?
Census counts homes by the size of the building around them. It cannot see roofs, so every row below ends in a question for the owner, not an answer.
| Building type | Homes (Census) | The roof question |
|---|---|---|
| Detached house | 6,157 | Ask only about a flat section, such as a rear addition or porch top. |
| Attached townhouse | 1,401 | Ask the association first, since the row may share one covering decision. |
| 5 to 9 units | 162 | Ask whether the building is flat-topped or pitched. |
| 10 to 19 units | 961 | Ask management for the roof drawing or last report. |
| 20 to 49 units | 448 | Ask who holds the roof decision: owner, board or lender. |
| 50 or more units | 1,525 | Ask for the written scope to name the sheet material. |
Add the four apartment bands and you reach 3,096 homes. The same study that supplies the Springfield figures says the place has a larger share of buildings with 20 or more units than the county as a whole.
Plainly
Nothing we opened names EPDM for Springfield
Not the county's permit page, not the planning study, not the Census. Anything that says Springfield apartment roofs are rubber, or are not, is going beyond those sources. Only a look at the roof can say.
Named complexes
Garden-style, 220 units and 242 units: what does the study say about the roofs?
Lee Valley, 6535 Lee Valley Drive
Built in 1968, with 242 garden-style units, all identified as market-rate affordable. It sits just outside the study boundary, and its roofs are not mentioned either.
“Garden-style” describes how buildings sit among lawns and parking. It does not say pitched or flat. That one fact is the whole reason to ask the manager what the roof looks like from above before anyone talks about material. If the answer is a low-slope roof, the sheet covering is a real option to discuss. If it is pitched, this page does not apply, and the roof replacement page does.
Read the sources
Two assumptions the Springfield documents do not back up
Common assumption
The plan for Springfield wants green roofs, so flat roofs there will be rebuilt as green ones.
What the source says
The September 2025 existing-conditions report summarizes the adopted plan's environmental guidance as including “low-impact development techniques such as green roofs”. That is guidance for the station area and business center, framed around new development. It names no membrane and puts no requirement on an existing roof.
Common assumption
The county's permit page says how a membrane re-roof is handled.
What the source says
The page has no entry for membranes, low-slope roofs or flat roofs. Under its commercial heading it lists “Roof repairs” as permit work and “Replacement of less than 100 square feet of roof covering” as work needing none. Where a larger apartment re-roof falls is left unsaid, so the office answers it. The Springfield hub page lays out the house-side list.
Order of questions
Who to ask, and in what order, about a flat apartment roof
First: the owner or property manager
Whose roof is it, and is the top flat or pitched? A tenant or unit owner usually cannot sign for it.
Stop here if the roof is pitchedSecond: the existing paperwork
Ask for the last roof report or data sheet, so the covering is named on paper and not guessed from the ground.
Third: Fairfax County Land Development Services, 703-222-0801
Put the scope to them, since the permit page is silent on membranes. Our consultation can help you frame the question.
Questions
EPDM questions from Springfield building owners
Does any Springfield document say its apartment roofs are EPDM?
None that we opened. The county study, the permit page and the Census tables are all silent on roof material, so the question goes to the building owner.
Do Springfield Gardens or Lee Valley have flat roofs?
The study does not say. It calls both garden-style and gives unit counts, nothing about the roof shape or covering.
Does the green roof wording mean EPDM is required?
No. The plan guidance lists green roofs as one low-impact technique for development and says nothing about membrane type.
Where does a flat apartment roof fall on the county permit page?
The page lists roof repairs as permit work on its commercial side and exempts less than 100 square feet of covering. Larger work is not addressed, so ask the office.
Is a 1950s house a candidate for a rubber membrane?
Only a flat section would be. The Census shows 2,893 Springfield homes from the 1950s, but it says nothing about the roof of an addition.
What should a written scope call the sheet material?
The name on the manufacturer's data sheet, copied exactly, not a color or a nickname. Our flat roof guide explains why color does not identify a membrane.
Who signs for a roof shared by several households?
The owner or the association, not an individual household. Say so on the first call, before any roof visit is arranged.
Keep reading
Related pages and the sources used
Start from the Springfield roofing page, then see the flat roof guide and roofing materials. Neighbors with their own EPDM pages: Fairfax and Alexandria.
Official pages used, checked October 12, 2026: Franconia-Springfield existing conditions study, county list of work needing a permit, Census housing tables and Virginia code on work exempt from permits.
Talk through the next step
Talk through your roof with King's Roofing
Share the address, what you are seeing on the roof and the decision you need to make. We will tell you what to expect before anything is scheduled.
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(703) 712-1506
9220 Topaz St, Fairfax, VA 22031
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