Metal Roofs in Silver Spring, MD
Linden, platted in 1873 inside the area of the 1978 North Silver Spring Sector Plan, became a county historic district in 1993. The Council text that created it describes one house by its "standing-seam metal roof". On Linden Lane, Salisbury Road or Warren Street, metal is a preservation question before it is a product question.
The district text
How does the 1993 amendment sort Linden's 17 houses, and whose roofs does it describe?
| Category in the text | Houses | Scrutiny the text sets | Roofs it describes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outstanding | 6 | "the highest level" | A "picturesque roofline" at 2303 Linden Lane, a "mansard roof" at 2200 Salisbury Road, dormer windows at 2115 Salisbury Road |
| Contributing | 6 | "moderate" | A "standing-seam metal roof" at 2309 Linden Lane, the Sarah A. Barber House |
| Non-contributing | 5 | "the most lenient" | None described |
The amendment is Council Resolution 12-1107, and the roof sentence dates from the text's own time. It says what one house had then, not what any roof is today.
Does the text say metal is allowed or barred in Linden?
Neither. It describes one standing seam roof and sets scrutiny levels. No approval is promised here either.
Is the 2309 Linden Lane roof still standing seam?
We do not know. The sentence is a description from the 1993 text, and we claim nothing about the house today.
The listing decides, not the mailing line
The amendment is filed as site 36/2 and lists the houses by street number. A Silver Spring address that is not on that list is outside Linden, and none of this page's district text carries over to it.
Three sample owners
What would a repair, a mansard roof or an unlisted house each need to ask?
Each card below is built only from the public text above and the county pages named on this page.
A contributing house with an old seam roof
Situation
An owner of a late-19th-century gabled house in the contributing group sees rust and open seams on a standing seam roof.
What to check
Montgomery Planning lists roof repairs with materials and design matching what is in place as work without Commission involvement, and "other changes to exterior materials" as work needing a Historic Area Work Permit.
Likely path
Photos of the seams go to the Historic Preservation Office, 301-563-3400. The written scope then keeps repair in kind apart from any change of material.
An outstanding house with a mansard roof and wrap-around porch
Situation
An owner wants metal on a house of the kind the text calls outstanding, with a mansard, dormers and a wrap-around porch.
What to check
The text sets the highest scrutiny here. A porch roof is its own roof: the 2021 IBC puts the minimum slope for lapped metal panels without sealant at 3 in 12, so the slope of each roof decides which panel type is even possible.
Likely path
One scope per roof, and a call to the Historic Preservation Office before any panel is ordered.
A house elsewhere in Silver Spring
Situation
An owner a few blocks away, on a street the 1993 text never names, asks whether Linden's rules reach them.
What to check
Whether the parcel sits on the county Master Plan for Historic Preservation at all. Our Silver Spring guide covers the lookup and the county's covering-only line.
Likely path
If it is not listed, the Linden text does not apply. The wider Maryland picture is on metal roofing in Maryland.
Who to ask
Which office answers which Linden metal question?
| Your question | Ask |
|---|---|
| Is my house on the Master Plan? | Historic Preservation Office, 301-563-3400, with the street number. |
| Repair of an existing roof in the same material | The same office, to confirm it falls outside the Commission. |
| New material over or instead of the old | A Historic Area Work Permit, applied for through the county permitting department. |
| Which design guidelines apply | Linden carries no asterisk in the county's chapter on districts, so no Linden-only guideline set is listed. The county text on metal is read on our Kensington page. |
Is Linden a Silver Spring address?
The amendment is also an amendment to the 1978 North Silver Spring Sector Plan, and the county numbers Linden 36/2. The listing, not the mailing line, is the test.
Does a non-contributing house escape review?
The text gives it the most lenient scrutiny. Montgomery Planning's page says exterior work on properties within a historic district needs Commission approval, so ask staff about your house.
Does matching repair need the Commission?
The county page lists roof repairs with matching materials and design among work not needing it. Confirm the scope with staff.
What do the county's guidelines say about metal?
They are summarised on our Kensington page. Linden has no district-specific set of its own listed.
Next
Where should a Linden owner go after this page?
Neighbouring metal pages: Kensington, Chevy Chase and Rockville. Also metal on the materials page, and the other Silver Spring guides for EPDM and TPO.
Official pages used
Checked October 14, 2026: Linden and Forest Glen historic districts amendment (Resolution 12-1107), Design Guidelines, chapter 5 on districts, Design Guidelines page and Historic Area Work Permits.
Talk through the next step
Tell us the street and what covers the roof now
Give us the address and a photo of the current roof. We will help you work out which office to ask before any metal is ordered.
9220 Topaz St, Fairfax, VA 22031
Mon to Fri 7 AM to 8:30 PM, Sat 7 AM to 8 PM, closed Sunday