Roofing Contractors in Baltimore

According to our data, there are more than 450 roofing contractors that serve the Maryland and Baltimore areas. Roofing contractors provide expertise in the construction, maintenance and repair of roofs using knowledge about materials, building techniques, and local climates. Homeowners should hire licensed professionals to ensure their roofs are protected from rain, snow and other environmental conditions that may damage their homes.

Roofer Training Programs

Roofers Local 30, affiliated with the Roofers & Waterproofers International Union, offers training for individuals interested in learning the trade. The apprenticeship program requires three years of on-the-job training -- for a total of 3,600 hours --- and a minimum per year of 144 hours of related technical instruction. Trainees are paid fifty percent of a journeyman's (a fully qualified roofer) wages with a ten percent raise each of the three years of the program.

Getting a Roofer's License in Baltimore

Roofers in Baltimore are licensed and regulated by the Maryland Home Improvement Commission (MHIC) which controls a number of home improvement contractors, subcontractors and salespersons. Each licensed contractor is covered by the MHIC for claims by homeowners for up to $100,000. Individual homeowners can recover up to $15,000 for work done by licensed contractors but there are no funds available to compensate for unlicensed contractors.

Baltimore's Rooftop Gardens

According to a Baltimore Sun article of July 2009, the city is emerging as one of the nation's greener roofed cities, with approximately 150,000 square feet added last year -- to become the nation's fifth "greenest" city. Examples of green roofs -- some with gardens others just covered in plants but not open to visitors -- include Sinai Hospital, a BP gas station, and the planned Maryland Science Center.

Montgomery Park -- an old Montgomery Ward building redeveloped into an office complex -- has one of the oldest and largest green roofs. There are two sections on the main building and a third over another structure on the property which makes it the biggest in the Baltimore.

Typical Climate in Baltimore

Lying in a humid subtropical climate, Baltimore experiences high humidity and summer temperature averages in the high 90s and average lows in the 70s. While winters can be quite cold, warm fronts can bring periods of warm weather even during normally cold months. Average highs in the winter are in the 40s while lows are in the 20s. About three to four inches of precipitation falls most months in the form of rain or snow.

Hurricanes regularly bring heavy rains and flooding which cause trees to crash down on homes and other buildings. According to the National Weather Service, 17 hurricanes or remnants of hurricanes hit the Maryland coast in the last fifty years.

The City of Baltimore is situated on the Patapsco River, a tidal arm of the Chesapeake Bay on the Eastern Seaboard. The population of the city itself is 640,000 but that of the Baltimore Metropolitan Area is 2.7 million. The economic engine of the area is the services sector with John Hopkins Hospital and John Hopkins University as the largest employers. The port was once a major point of entry for immigrants second only to Ellis Island in New York City.