Roof Problems · Missing Shingles
Chicagoland windstorms strip shingles every spring and fall. Here's how to judge the damage and how long you can safely wait.
The obvious sign is a shingle lying in your yard or a visible bare patch — a dark rectangle where the shingle used to be, often showing exposed underlayment or nail heads. From the ground, look for an irregular roofline pattern or patches that appear a slightly different color.
Less obvious is the 'creased' shingle: one that lifted in the wind and bent back but settled into place. It looks fine from the ground, but the crease has cracked the shingle's fiberglass mat and broken its seal, so it will fail soon and is vulnerable to the next storm.
Wind uplift is the primary cause in our service area. Shingles are held by nails and a factory adhesive strip; gusts get under the leading edge and peel them back. Once one shingle goes, its neighbors lose their wind resistance and failures cascade.
Age matters: the adhesive seal strips weaken after 15-20 years, and shingles nailed too high (above the nail line, a common installation error) have almost no wind resistance from day one. A new roof losing shingles in moderate wind is often an installation problem, not a weather problem.
Common causes
Treat missing shingles as a this-week problem, not a this-month one. Exposed underlayment is not waterproof — it's a second line of defense meant to work under shingles, and it degrades quickly in direct sun and standing water.
If a storm just came through and you can see exposed decking or felt from the ground, call sooner: the next rain will find that gap. If the storm damage is widespread, document it with photos before touching anything, since your insurer will want to see the condition as the storm left it.
A handful of missing shingles on an otherwise healthy roof is a straightforward repair — matching shingles can usually be sourced, though a perfect color match on a weathered roof isn't always possible. When shingles are blowing off in multiple areas after each storm, the roof is telling you the seal strips and mats are done, and spot repairs become a subscription you don't want.
Roofing cement can temporarily reseal a lifted shingle, but a creased or cracked shingle needs replacement, not glue. Also consider that walking a roof without fall protection causes injuries every year — and foot traffic on brittle cold shingles causes more damage.
Wind damage is one of the most commonly covered perils in Illinois homeowner policies. If a documented storm caused the loss, the repair — and in some cases replacement of the slope or roof — may be covered minus your deductible.
Standard felt underlayment can begin deteriorating within weeks of direct exposure. Synthetic underlayments hold up longer, but neither is designed as a permanent weather surface. Plan on days-to-weeks, not months.
Get a free, no-obligation inspection. We'll confirm the diagnosis, show you photos of what we find, and give you honest options.
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