Metal roofing in Northern Virginia: who has to say yes first
There is no single Northern Virginia rule for a standing seam metal roof. The first yes comes from a town board, a city board, a county permit counter or a homeowners association, and which one depends on the parcel, not the mailing address.
Find which of four bodies answers for your address
Three places have written down what metal they accept: Leesburg, Alexandria and Old Town Fairfax. In Ashburn two associations require approval for a change of material and mostly never name metal.
Decision table
Who must agree before a shingle roof becomes a metal one, place by place
Every row rests on an official page opened on October 12, 2026, unless it says it was carried from an earlier reading. "Not checked" marks a gap, not an answer.
| Place | Review before metal? | What the text says about metal | Where the finding stops |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leesburg, Old and Historic District | Yes. A Certificate of Appropriateness covers every exterior change, in-kind material included, and a material change is Board work. | The 2009 guidelines say standing seam or stamped metal shingles can suit a building by its style, and call modern metal systems that look or install differently inappropriate. | Inside that district only. The Gateway and H-2 districts also need certificates, but their metal text was not read. Guideline wording is from an earlier reading of the PDFs. |
| Alexandria, Old and Historic and Parker-Gray districts and designated hundred-year-old buildings | Yes, when the roof is visible from a public right-of-way. Replacement of 25 square feet or more goes to staff. | Original metal is replaced in the same style: standing seam, flat seam or stamped shingle. Original composition roofing may be replaced with architectural composition "or any other stylistically appropriate roofing material". | Residential Parker-Gray work is sent to a different document that was not found. Flat and low-sloped roofs are not reviewed by the Board. |
| City of Fairfax, Old Town | Yes, for visible changes, after a pre-application meeting with staff. | Standing seam metal is named a typical local roof. The 2018 Guidelines ask for a thin raised seam and gray, dark green or black, and warn against wide flat strips over the seams. | Boundaries for a given parcel were not checked. The text speaks to keeping and matching, so a shingle-to-metal switch goes to staff and the Board. |
| City of Fairfax, a detached house outside the Historic Overlay | No design review under the Guidelines. The permit question stays with the City. | The Guidelines carve single-family detached homes outside that overlay out of the Certificate of Appropriateness. | A Fairfax mailing address can be a county parcel, where none of this text applies. |
| Great Falls, inside the Colvin Run Mill district | Ask. The county review board looks only at work that needs a permit, and roof replacement is on neither of its lists. | The January 2026 county guide lists metal cladding among the district's roof coverings. It does not say metal is allowed or refused on a house. | Only parcels inside the district. The county permit list names shingle replacement, not metal, so ask Land Development Services. |
| Ashburn Village | Yes. Any change of roofing material needs prior committee approval. | The roofing section never uses the word metal, so a switch is judged as a change of material. | Neighborhood standards can add to it. Ashburn Farm, Broadlands, Belmont and One Loudoun were not read. |
| Brambleton | Yes. Committee approval is required for every roof replacement, like for like included. | Standing seam appears once, as an example of a compatible material for additions, and a steel-to-shingle change is called a significant change of material. | Neither mention says a metal replacement roof is allowed or refused. |
| Reston | Ask. Reston Association reviews exterior changes under its covenants. | Its application's roofing section asks for the type of material and lists metal among the examples. | Carried from our Reston page, not re-opened today. Whether metal is accepted for a replacement roof was not checked. |
| Herndon, Town Historic District | Ask. The Town names roof replacement among common Certificate of Appropriateness requests. | No metal text was read. | Carried from our Herndon page, not re-opened today. Some Herndon mailing addresses are county parcels. |
| Arlington, Maywood district | Not checked. | The county guideline text for roofs could not be read. | Nothing here should be taken as a rule for Maywood. |
The parcel decides, and a second office may still sit behind the first
The City of Fairfax Guidelines are a City document, so a house with a Fairfax address but a county parcel does not answer to them. Loudoun County's permit page says an approval there does not replace approvals from an incorporated town or from a homeowners association.
Which office to ask
Which counter or committee answers which metal question?
Phone numbers come from the offices' own pages. Confirm with the office, because the table does not replace its answer.
| Question | Ask | Contact |
|---|---|---|
| Metal in Leesburg's historic district | Town Preservation staff | Preservation Manager, 703-771-2773; walk-ins Wednesdays at 15 North King Street |
| Metal on a visible Alexandria roof | City Historic Preservation staff, then Code Administration for the permit | 703.746.3833 and 703.746.4200 |
| Old Town Fairfax seam and color | City Community Development and Planning, pre-application meeting | Code Administration for permits, (703) 385-7830 (carried from our Fairfax page) |
| Does a metal re-roof near Colvin Run Mill need a permit? | Fairfax County Land Development Services, then the Architectural Review Board | 703-222-0801; Board 703-324-1380 (the second number carried from our Great Falls page) |
| Metal on an Ashburn Village or Brambleton house | The association first; Loudoun permitting for the county side | Loudoun permitting 703-777-0220; each association posts its own application and calendar |
Reading the texts
What do reviewers actually look at on a metal roof?
- Profile. Leesburg, Alexandria and Old Town Fairfax each name standing seam, and Alexandria adds flat seam and stamped shingle as separate styles. A panel with a wide flat strip over the seam is the type Fairfax's text says does not copy a historic roof. How a standing seam roof is built is explained in the metal section of our materials guide.
- Color. Leesburg's paint guidance for tin roofs names Spanish-brown, dark green, dark grey and black. Fairfax names gray, dark green and black.
- Original. Alexandria treats a roof by what was there first, so a roof that was wood shingle before someone installed standing seam can go back to either.
- Visible. Alexandria and Fairfax both hang review on what can be seen from the street. A flat section at the back is usually a different question, covered on our flat roof page.
Silence about metal is not permission
Ashburn Village's roofing section never names metal, and Brambleton names it only as an example. Both treat a change of roofing material as a matter for committee approval, and both say to reroof the whole structure at once unless a partial job exactly matches the existing roof. A metal slope on a shingle roof cannot match, so plan for the whole roof.
Read the page for your address
Which place-specific metal page matches your roof?
- Leesburg: Read metal roofs in Leesburg and the Leesburg page.
- Alexandria: Read metal roofs in Alexandria and the Alexandria page.
- City of Fairfax: Read metal roofs in Fairfax and the Fairfax page.
- Great Falls: Read metal roofs in Great Falls and the Great Falls page.
- Ashburn: Read metal roofs in Ashburn and the Ashburn page.
- Reston, Herndon, Arlington: no metal page yet; the Reston, Herndon and Arlington pages cover who reviews a roof there.
For metal compared with the other roofing materials, see the materials guide.
FAQ
Questions about metal roofing rules across Northern Virginia
Which Northern Virginia places have written down what metal they accept?
Of the places read here, three: Leesburg's historic district, Alexandria's historic districts and Old Town Fairfax. Each names profiles. Great Falls's mill district guide lists metal cladding but gives no rule for a house roof.
Is standing seam accepted wherever there is a historic district?
No. Leesburg says it can suit a building depending on style, and Fairfax asks for a thin raised seam in muted colors. The Great Falls guide is silent on houses, and Herndon's and Arlington's metal text was not read.
Why does a Fairfax or Herndon mailing address not settle which rules apply?
The City of Fairfax Guidelines are a City document, and our Herndon page notes that some Herndon addresses are Fairfax County parcels. The parcel decides which office answers.
If an association's roofing rule never says metal, can I assume metal is fine?
No. Ashburn Village's roofing text requires prior approval for any change of material and never names metal. Brambleton requires approval for every roof replacement. Ask the committee before ordering anything.
Can I put metal on one slope of a shingle roof?
In the two Ashburn associations, the whole structure is reroofed at one time, and partial work is allowed only if it exactly matches the existing roof.
Does the Fairfax County permit list mention metal?
The residential no-permit list names replacement of roof shingles and does not name metal, while roof repairs sit on the permit side. For a metal re-roof at a county address, ask Land Development Services.
What should I have ready for a reviewer?
Brambleton lists photographs of the roof, the manufacturer and color name, a sample and the neighbors' roof colors. Fairfax asks for a pre-application meeting. Leesburg asks you to call Preservation staff before any work.
Which colors do the historic texts name for metal?
Leesburg names Spanish-brown, dark green, dark grey and black for tin roofs. Fairfax names gray, dark green and black.
Does a flat porch or addition roof follow the same path?
Not always. Alexandria's roofing sheet says flat and low-sloped roofs are not reviewed by the Board because they are barely visible. Our flat roof page covers those sections.
Official pages used
Checked October 12, 2026 unless noted: Town of Leesburg, Certificates of Appropriateness; Alexandria BAR administrative policies; Alexandria roofing sheet; City of Fairfax historic district FAQs; Colvin Run Mill district guidelines, January 2026; Fairfax County, when a permit is required; Ashburn Village AERC guidelines; Brambleton design review; Loudoun County permitting. The City of Fairfax Design Guidelines (2018) were re-read today from the City's own file on its staging host. The Leesburg 2009 guideline chapters, the Reston application and the Herndon FAQ could not be opened today and are described as read earlier.
Talk through the next step
Tell us the address and the roof you have now
Give us the street, the neighborhood name and whether the roof is shingle or metal today. We will point you to the office or association document to read first.
9220 Topaz St, Fairfax, VA 22031
Mon to Fri 7 AM to 8:30 PM, Sat 7 AM to 8 PM, closed Sunday