Its Not The Most Durable Roofing Option
Investing in a long-lasting roofing material makes sense since it may save you a lot of money and headache in the long run. Asphalt shingles are normally fairly long-lasting, with a well-placed and maintained roof lasting around 20 years.
On the other hand, metal roofing is frequently warranted for up to 50 years and may survive for 60 years or more. A tile roof typically lasts twice as long as an asphalt shingle roof.
Any Shingle With Inadequate Adhesion Is A Wind
It is important to explicitly define the characteristics that identify a wind-damaged shingle. In the absence of such a definition, many in the industry imply that any shingle with inadequate adhesion is a wind-lifted or wind-damaged shingle. This practice is particularly careless because it ignores the many reasons shingle adhesives can fail, even in the absence of strong wind forces. To be more specific, wind can lift and remove poorly adhered shingle tabs however, not all poorly adhered shingle tabs are caused by wind.
There are multiple factors that negatively influence the adhesion of shingles. These factors include manufacturing inconsistencies, improper installation, aging and deterioration, installations during cold weather, contamination of the adhesive, as well as cyclic thermal expansion and contraction.
When Do I Call The Professionals
If you have checked your roof and you are noticing shingles missing, shingles starting to curl, and even getting leaks, its time to call the professionals.
Doing an initial roof inspection yourself is a great way to stay ahead of the damage. But, when you notice the damage is increasing its time to call in the professionals for a full roof inspection.
On the bright side though, if you have enough storm-related damage you may be well on your way to having your insurance company cover a new roof.
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How A Public Adjuster Can Help If You Have Wind Damage To Your Roof
If youve made it this far, then you know that if youre dealing with wind damage on your roof, then one of the first things that you should do is a wind damage roof inspection starting with the roof inside and out, or have it inspected and locate the damaged spots and assess the extent of the damage.
Next, you or your contractor should mitigate the damage however you can by using tarps or other protective materials this will be important for your insurance claim later, so you can show that you took the necessary steps in order to not let the wind damage to your roof get worse.
Then, inspect your insurance policy and call your public adjuster to find contractors, get estimates, and plan the next steps.
Again, if you are not comfortable with clamoring around on your rooftop or in your attic, then you can call in professional contractors and inspectors.
Worried about paying for the repairs or how to bill your insurance company or contractors?
Thats when you should work with a public adjuster.
Their role is to be your advocate and they are always on your side with your best interests in mind, as opposed to the insurance company which is seeking to pay out the least amount possible.
Wind storms and the resulting wind damage to your property can be extremely stressful to deal with but your roofing contractor or public adjuster is your best friend during these times.
Consequences Of Vertical Racking
While shingles can be affected by temperature fluctuations, expanding and contracting in the heat and cold, methods like vertical racking make this process worse. As the shingles expand and contract, they start to pull apart on the vertical lines they were installed on. This creates the zippering appearance as the shingles zig-zag up the roof. Other side effects of this substandard method of shingle installation include:
- Uneven color distribution
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How To Identify Roof Wind Damage
Some signs of roof wind damage are easy to see, especially after severe storms.
However, if you need to identify more subtle signs of roof wind damage, a trained eye can help.
Here are a few ways to identify roof wind damage.
First, look at your ceilings.
Water spots on your ceiling are an early indicator of a roof leak that could be caused from wind damage on your roof.
Look at the roof itself.
Notice the shattered tiles on this roof.
Sometimes wind can cause roof tiles to “chatter” till they finally break, leaving tile chunks and debris on your roof.
Below is a picture of asphalt shingles with wind damage.
Strong winds can get up under roof shingles causing the edges to lift.
The resulting gap can leave underlying roof materials exposed to moisture during hard-driving rains.
Also, these shingles may eventually tear off if left unrepaired.
Now, let’s take a look at an old modified bitumen flat roof.
As you can see, this roof has been repaired using various roof cement materials.
However, due to breakdown of adhesives over time…
Wind forces inside and over the building cause the membrane to flex and bellow, breaking its seams.
Pooling water is also an indication that supporting materials under the membrane have failed.
When discussing roof wind damage, we can’t leave out the obvious.
Sometimes, external wind-blown objects can damage your roof.
Like the tree that crushed the edge of this roof.
This situation requires an immediate response to avoid interior damage.
Can A House Withstand 150 Mph Winds
According to a report by FEMA, new wood-frame houses constructed according to building codes perform well structurally, in winds up to 150 mph, while a steel homes can withstand winds up to 170 mph. However, building wind-resistance homes can cost about 7 to 9 percent more than less wind-resistant structures.
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How To Check For Damage
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Check for Roof Leaks This is the easiest thing to check! If its raining and you have water coming into your home, its time to call the experts.
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Missing Shingles Strong winds, rain, and falling tree branches can cause shingles to end up all over the place.
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Curling Shingles Look for shingles that have begun to curl up. You will typically find these around the edges, corners, at the ridge, and near the chimney.
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Lifting Shingles On these shingles, the nail has loosened causing them to begin to lift. This increases your likelihood of a leak.
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Check Your Gutters Loose granules from your shingles can end up your gutters. When cleaning your gutters check for those small granules.
Debunking Myths Surrounding Wind Damage On Asphalt Shingles
October 15, 2021 by
Asphalt shingles remain the roofing material of choice for most homeowners in the country. While theres no denying their popularity, they are not without their issues, especially when they are subjected to extreme weather. Wind damage on asphalt shingles continues to be a controversial subject in the roofing industry, with persistent misconceptions wrongly attributing such occurrences to wind effects. Today, we discuss and debunk each one of them.
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Roof Shingle Wind Damage Faqsquestions & Answers About Wind Damage To Roofs
- about inspecting, diagnosing, & repairing or preventing wind damage to roof shingles, tiles, & other roof coverings
InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. We have no relationship with advertisers, products, or services discussed at this website.
Wind damaged roof FAQs:
Frequently asked questions and answers about how to assess, repair, or prevent wind damage to roofs.
This article series discusses how to evaluate wind damage to asphalt shingle roofs and tells readers how to identify & explain the most-common failure mechanisms such as improper nailing, failure of shingles to seal. This information is useful when considering how to obtain asphalt roofing shingle failure claims assistance. These defects occur on both organic-mat or fiberglass-mat asphalt roof shingles.
We also provide an ARTICLE INDEX for this topic, or you can try the page top or bottom SEARCH BOX as a quick way to find information you need.
High Winds Can Damage Shingles
High winds may be a big source of anxiety for Florida residents. You are no stranger to windy days if you live near the seaside. Preparing for tropical storms and hurricanes is also a major concern.
Asphalt shingles can be damaged or pulled off your roof during high-wind conditions, so keep this in mind. In addition, if a storm damages your roof, your homeowners insurance may cover the cost of a new roof.
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Debris Tree Branches And A Wind Damaged Roof
Wind storms and other significant weather events can also cause debris like broken glass from windows, tree branches, and other items that could potentially damage your property can often be just as or even more damaging to your roof than the strong winds themselves.
Tree branches and glass can gouge, scratch, or even puncture your roofing materials in addition to the wind damage.
You can protect your property as much as you can by keeping any trees trimmed and free of overhanging branches near your roof.
After a major wind storm, thunderstorm, or similar weather, you should check out your roof and the rest of your property for debris on the roof along with the gutters and downspouts, because tree branches, leaves, and such can clog them up, which can cause plenty of issues in the future.
Fallen trees and other large objects are best removed by professionals with the experience and equipment to execute these tasks safely do not attempt to remove fallen trees, large branches, or similar debris from wind damage on your own.
Minneapolis Ice Dam Prevention: Roof Repair Project Success Story
The harshness of winters past will remain in the memories of Minneapolis homeowners. Conditions including cold temperatures and ice provided the optimum opportunity for ice dam damage.
An ice dam is a sheet of ice that forms on the edge of a roof that prevents melting snow from being able to exit the roof. Instead, the sheet of ice causes water to back-up underneath the roofs shingles, into the soffits, and eventually into the interior of a home.
Story-and-a-half homes, like the one our client, Jack, owns are particularly susceptible to ice dam damage because they lack a conventional attic, making them tricky to insulate and ventilate. Jack attempted to use heat tape on his roof to alleviate ice dams, but to no avail. The zippering of his homes shingles was further evidence that a new roof was also needed.
Here was the long-term solution our team proposed in order to ward off future ice dam quandaries.
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You Could Have Wind Damage: Learn How To Catch It Before It Catches You
The winds come and you start to see those shingles fly! You look around your home and see shingles laying in your yard, maybe even a gutter about to fall off. Wind damage can be horrific!
Heavy winds can cause missing shingles, gutter problems, and even leaks.
Most shingle roofs are rated to withstand 90 mph winds, but damage can start when your roof experiences 50 mph winds. Knowing how to check your roof for damage can save you from waking up one night to a leak dripping on your head.
Expanding And Contracting Cycles
We cant blame all roofing repair on the wind: some problems stem from environmental temperatures. When shingles start lifting in a uniform, diagonal stairway pattern, they are known as racked. When they lift in a straight-up line like a zipper, it is known as zippering . These are usually a result of repeated cycles of expanding in the heat and contracting in the cold.
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How To Tell If You Have Wind Damage To Your Roof
The effect that wind damage has on your roof depends on roof types and material used, as well as the range and power of the winds.
Thats why its important to immediately inspect your roof after a storm or wind event .
You can start by checking for missing or curled, cracked, torn, or otherwise damaged shingles on your rooftop and around your home or other property, since shingles or other roofing materials may have blown off during the wind events.
Sometimes, you may be able to address the wind damage problem yourself, particularly if you are handy and experienced with DIY repairs and the damage is relatively localized .
However, if you suspect the damage is significant, do not try to get up on your roof yourself call a professional roof inspector who has the proper experience and tools to climb up and check out your roof for wind damage safely.
If youre tech-savvy type and have a drone , you can use that drone to inspect your roof safely and get detailed images of potential damage.
You should also be sure to examine the chimney, ventilation pipes, roof flashing, fencing, and gutters, since they can also become damaged by strong winds.
Inspect the roof from inside the attic or wherever you can access it from the inside is also essential this may show you a different view of potential damage or spots where roof leaks may occur and a temporary roof leak repair may be required.
What Is Tomato Zippering
Tomato zippering is not often spoken about, but it is quite common. On the long list of potential tomato problems, it is one of the least damaging or concerning, contributing to its lack of focus.
Zippering is a purely cosmetic problem appearing on the fruits of certain tomato plants. The name says it all zipper-like lesions appear on the skin of the fruit, ranging in length and depth. If the problem is severe, large holes may develop in the fruits.
In most tomatoes, only one zippered scar appears from the center of the fruit. In some cases, multiple lesions appear but dont affect the flesh of the fruit underneath. Holes in the fruits can make them more vulnerable to pest and disease problems, but again do not affect the flesh at all. It also wont affect all fruits on the plant at the same time only a few.
Symptoms of zippering can look similar to tomato cat-facing or cracking. Fruits may experience these problems along with zippering, but they are distinctly different issues with separate causes and fixes.
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Whats Wrong With My Asphalt Roof
Asphalt shingles are the most used roof covering in the U.S. because of their affordability and versatility. However, there are many issues with asphalt roofing shingles that are falsely attributed to wind damage . What some would call wind damaged shingles, are actually results of poor installation, natural aging, weathering, cold weather roofing, faulty glue, and expansion or contraction due to climate changes. Read on to find what qualifies as wind damage and what doesnt.
Areas And Properties That Are More Prone To Wind Damage
Anyone living in an area thats prone to thunderstorms is susceptible to wind damage is at risk for experiencing wind damage, since most thunderstorms produce straight line or damaging winds.
Also, keep in mind that high winds dont hit or impact evenly across your roof or buildings surface, so even if some part of the surface look undamaged to the naked eye, it might not be safe to walk on or even to inhabit the building it covers.
Whats more, experiencing strong winds may result in more than the immediate and obvious wind damage roofs, siding, and other parts of the property subject to wind damage may show more damage or increased problems with stress points over time since the integrity of the property has been compromised.
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The Vertical Racking Method
Many roof problems like zippering are a consequence of the installation process that occurred on your roof. Theres a very popular, yet controversial, method to installing shingles called the vertical racking or staggering method that the NRCA does not recommend using.
Vertical racking means the shingles are installed in vertical columns up your roof as opposed to the stair-step method installing shingles from the corner up the roof diagonally. Installing shingles from the eave to the peak of the roof is a much faster and easier method for the roof installer to use. They can keep the bundle of shingles right next to them and simply install in a straight line up the roof before returning to the eave to begin again. The roofer saves time from not having to move back and forth in the stair-step motion and can keep the shingles closer to them.
Empirical Tests Can Easily Demonstrate The Strength Reduction Of A Shingle After A Storm Event
Some in the industry refer to ASTM D7158, Standard Test Method for Wind Resistance of Asphalt Shingles as a proper and simple method to empirically demonstrate the strength of a shingle after a storm event. In particular, they aim at comparing field-measured strengths to the rating originally determined by the manufacturer. The major difficulty that arises is that the manufacturers list compliance with ASTM D7158 on material packaging and/or reference documents. They do not list uplift coefficients or the calculated uplift forces determined from ASTM D7158. Typically, this information is not readily available from manufacturers. Thus, the uplift forces must be calculated by the interested party using test results from an independent laboratory. We note, however, that laboratories with the capacity to perform ASTM D7158 are not common, and when available, testing may be cost-prohibitive .
As a result, rather than performing ASTM D7158 , some opt to calculate the design or intended uplift forces using other methods. This is incorrect uplift loads calculated using ASTM D7158 and those calculated using other tools can vary substantially. For this reason, there are no provisions in ASTM D7158 for an alternative calculation of design loads.
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