Storm damage repair and shingle roofs in Springfield (22150)

When a line of storms rolls in from the west, we often get calls from North Springfield, West Springfield and the streets around Lake Accotink within an hour of each other. Our first goal on every call is to stop water. We cover the opening with a heavy tarp fastened to wood battens, not loose sandbags that blow off overnight.

Once the house is dry, we come back to measure, photograph and plan the permanent fix. If limbs broke rafters, we sister or replace them before new decking goes on. Our storm damage repair work includes a written photo report you can hand to your adjuster.

• Battened tarp over any open area the same day
• Photos of each slope, close-ups of creased and missing shingles
• Written scope of repair or replacement for your insurer
• Permanent repair scheduled once the claim is decided

A shingle that has folded back in the wind and laid down again often looks fine from the yard. Up close, there is a horizontal crease across the tab, and the sealant strip underneath has broken. That shingle will lift again in the next storm and can tear off completely.

On older three-tab roofs, creasing tends to show up across whole slopes, especially on the side facing the prevailing wind. When that happens, spot repairs rarely hold up, and replacing that slope or the whole roof is usually the better use of money. Our page on insurance claim roof help explains how we document it.

Builders put up thousands of homes here in the 1950s and 1960s, and many of the split-levels off Old Keene Mill Road and Backlick Road follow similar plans. Their low upper roofs meet tall walls over the garage level, so step flashing and kickouts are crucial.

The two-story colonials in West Springfield and Orange Hunt usually came later, with steeper roofs and more valleys. Those valleys load up with oak and maple leaves, and if gutters are not cleaned, water backs up under the shingles at the eaves.

Townhouse communities around Springfield Town Center and Kingstowne add another layer. Those roofs are shared, color-controlled by an HOA and often have firewalls between units that rise through the roof. We cap those firewalls with new metal coping or shingle over them according to the original design, and we keep each unit's work separate so neighbors' roofs stay sealed.

When we replace a roof here, wind is what we plan around. Starter strip goes along every eave and rake, shingles get six nails each in the manufacturer's nail zone, and we use a shingle rated for high winds where the budget allows. Hip and ridge caps are nailed with longer fasteners into solid wood.

We also look up. Limbs that hang over the roof are the biggest storm risk on most Springfield lots, and we will tell you which ones worry us so you can call an arborist. Clean gutters and clear valleys are the other half of the job, since wind-driven rain backs up fast when they are full.