Wind and Storm Roof Damage

Many home and business owners are unaware of the effects of weather over time on their roof. One may think that wind has not damaged your roof if you don’t see any shingles blown off. Think again. Wind can cause a multitude of damages to your roof that will decrease its life and leave it susceptible to leaks and further damage. The truth is that any amount of sustained stress on your roof decreases its efficacy over time. And you may never even know it! Which is why it is always advised to maintain your roof with regular clearings and inspections. In this way you can catch damage while it is still small enough to repair easily.

How Wind Effects Your Roof

When the wind blows, it creates an enormous amount of pressure on the shingles. It can run at varying speeds both under and over your shingle or particular roofing structure. Damages don’t occur from the wind itself getting underneath the shingles in most cases, but rather from the vacuum-like forces created on the surface. This can create a pulling on the support systems of the roof making way for leaks and failures across its surface. Have you ever watched video of a tornado approaching a house, and suddenly the entire roof lifts off the house as though it were a lid? It is the same uplift force that can cause damage to your shingles, albeit on a smaller scale.

The first thing wind uplift will do to your shingles is break the adhesive seal. Once that seal is broken, the shingles become susceptible to tearing off completely. These loose shingles will often flap up and down during the next thunderstorm, allowing rainwater to get underneath, where it isn’t supposed to be! This is what we call shingles flapping in the wind, a common sign of early failure. Wind-driven rain can then cause leaks and damage the interior of your home. Though many insurance companies and their engineering firm partners claim a broken seal is not damage, there is no doubt that it is damage. The truth is that this is a very clear sign your roof is beginning to fail and must be dealt with quickly to avoid costly damages in the future. The shingles must be sealed down in order to do their job correctly. Every manufacturer’s specification emphasizes the fact that the shingles must be sealed. Another reason this should be resolved as quickly as possible, the manufacturers insist upon it. At a bare minimum, these shingles must be hand-sealed back down. This may not be possible with older shingles, depending on their condition. If you are curious about this simple solution, then give The Roof Repair Guys a call today for your free wind damage roof repair inspection and estimate.

Quality materials and quality service make all the difference!

Cheap or improperly installed shingles can result in wind damage more easily. The example below shows sub par shingles blowing off a brand new roof because the product and service was cheap.

Replacing Shingles From Wind Damage

In some cases when the seal of the shingle is broken, it will cause de-lamination of that shingle, or the one it was sealed to. In this case, the shingle cannot simply be resealed. Both shingles must be replaced. This is a clear example of wind damage to laminate shingles, which often requires a more extensive repair. It is very possible an entire roof could need replacement because of de-lamination, even though all of the shingles are still in place.

Another common form of damage caused by wind that cannot be seen from the ground is creasing. This happens when the seal has been broken, and with the shingle flapping in the wind, it folds it back far enough to form a crease. This will usually happen before the shingle tears off completely, which is the most obvious form of damage, and readily visible from the ground. Wind damage shingles like these may appear intact but are already compromised and at risk of failure.

Delamination test to simulate wind damage

From this short article you can now understand how wind effects the integrity of your roof regardless of the appearance of the shingles themselves. We can see how the wind lifting and pulling on the individual structer can cause more serious issues over time, if not treated. We can also begin to understand how one slightly delaminated shingle can cause a chain reaction on your roofs systems, leading to far greater problems down the road.

The moral of the story is don’t wait until your roof springs a leak! Have your roof inspected at least once a year, and following any major storm to insure you are aware of its condition. You may be able to get a new roof through your homeowners insurance but at the very least can save yourselve thousands on costly repairs by getting issues dealt with quickly.