Wind Damage Shingle Repair in Newark, NJ

Which shingles can be repaired after a windy night?

Shingles flexible enough to lift without cracking can be repaired and resealed. Brittle shingles, which crack when touched, usually cannot be repaired without spreading the damage, and a technician will say so after testing a sample lift.

A technician tests a few shingles near the damage before any repair. A shingle that bends without cracking is a good candidate, while one that splits signals that the slope needs a wider plan.

Age is the best guide. Shingles on an older roof that have dried and curled over several seasons are likely to fail when handled, and a repair on them can open new gaps.

Where the surrounding material is brittle, the honest advice is to repair the most exposed section now and plan the slope's replacement, with that decision written down.

Why does the windward slope take the most damage?

Wind pushes under the edges of shingles on the side it reaches first and lifts the tabs where the seal is weakest. The windward eave, rake and ridge take most of the force, so those spots are checked before the rest of the roof.

Lift often starts at one corner or the edge of a tab, and then the rows above and below lose their seal over the next storms. A repair that ignores the surrounding seal will fail at the next gust.

Dormers and gable ends catch wind in ways flat slopes do not. A technician looks at those projections first, because the air moving over them pulls harder on the shingles at their edges.

The leeward side is checked too, since wind can lift shingles from below on a slope that did not take the direct hit.

What should a wind repair note include?

A wind repair note records the slope, each damaged course, the shingles replaced, the nail and sealant method and the photographs. It is the record that shows what the storm did and what was done about it.

Ask for the position of each repair, measured from a fixed point such as the ridge or a chimney. A later inspection can then find the same spot without searching the roof.

The note should say which shingles were tested and whether they were flexible. A future technician needs that fact to judge whether the next repair will hold.

The cost guide explains what moves the figure in Newark: slope pitch, the number of courses, access and the shingle type. The price itself is confirmed on site.

• Slope, course and position of each repair
• Shingles tested and whether they bent
• Replacement shingles and sealant used
• Photographs before and after