Northridge neighborhoods we cover
- Sherwood Forest
- Devonshire Highlands
- Northridge East
- Northridge West
- Northridge South
- CSUN area
- Devonshire Downs area
- Oakridge Estate Park area
- Parthenia Street
What's hard on roofs around Northridge
Ranch roofs from the 1950s
The Traditional Ranch houses of Devonshire Highlands and similar tracts have long gabled roofs that run over the garage, with wide eaves and trim boards. Those long runs and deep overhangs mean a lot of roof edge and fascia to keep sound. Rot in eave boards and fascia often shows up during a re-roof and gets fixed at the same time.
Chimneys after two big quakes
Northridge was shaken by the 1971 San Fernando earthquake and again in 1994. In the 1994 quake, damage to masonry chimneys was widespread across the region. A chimney that was repaired or rebuilt afterward still meets the roof at a flashing joint that can crack and leak. A licensed roofer checks that flashing on every visit.
Big trees on big lots
Sherwood Forest and the larger-lot areas of Northridge have decades-old shade trees over many roofs. Leaves and needles pile up in valleys and gutters, keep shingles damp and shaded, and break down into debris that holds water against the roof. Overhanging limbs also rub shingles in the wind and drop branches in storms.
Apartment buildings near CSUN
The 1994 quake brought down the Northridge Meadows apartments, a tuck-under parking building, and Los Angeles later required soft-story buildings to be retrofitted. Apartments are a big part of Northridge's housing, many of them near the campus, and low-rise apartment roofs are often flat or low-slope. Owners and managers can have a licensed roofer check drains, membranes and parapet walls.
Apartment and commercial buildings here often have flat or low-slope roofs, where ponding water and worn seams are the usual trouble.
