Free roof inspection with deck photos before we talk money - GAF and Owens Corning certified installation
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterWhat’s Happening
When shingles blow off during a windstorm, your roof deck is exposed to the sky – and every hour it stays that way, water is one rain event away from getting in. This is an active roofing emergency, not a “watch and wait” situation.
What you’re looking at is almost always one of two things: shingles that were already at the end of their life and the wind finished the job, or shingles that were never fastened correctly in the first place. Either way, the bare wood underneath – called the decking – is now unprotected. If it rains before that section is covered, water soaks into the decking, works its way under the surrounding shingles, and can reach the insulation, the sheathing, and eventually the ceiling below. A handful of missing shingles can turn into a rot problem or an interior leak faster than most homeowners expect.
Why It Happens
The shingles were already aging
Asphalt shingles have a finite life. As they age, the adhesive strip along the bottom edge – the strip that bonds each shingle to the one below it – dries out and loses its grip. When that strip is compromised, a strong gust can get underneath and peel shingles off cleanly. If the shingles that blew off look brittle, dark, or have granules missing from the surface, age is almost certainly the cause. You may also notice that other shingles nearby are curling at the edges or lifting slightly.
Improper nailing during the original install
Each shingle has a nailing zone – a specific band where fasteners are supposed to go. If a roofer nailed too high (above that zone), the nail doesn’t hold the tab down, it just pins the upper portion. The tab is free to lift in wind. You can sometimes spot this if the shingles that came off are otherwise in decent condition – the material wasn’t the problem, the fastening was. This is also common on roofs where a second layer of shingles was added over an original layer without accounting for the change in fastener depth.
Wind got under a previously loose or lifted shingle
One loose shingle is a starting point. Wind finds the gap, gets underneath, and the pressure peels adjacent shingles off in a chain. If the missing shingles form a cluster or a rough line rather than scattered random spots, this is likely what happened. Check the edges of the remaining shingles around the gap – if they’re lifting or flapping, the same process is still underway and more shingles may come off in the next wind event.
A valley, ridge, or flashing failure let wind in from the side
Ridge shingles – the cap pieces at the very top of your roof – are exposed on two sides and take a direct hit from wind. When ridge caps blow off, the underlying felt and decking are exposed along the peak. Similarly, if flashing around a chimney, vent, or skylight has pulled away, wind can work its way under the surrounding field shingles and lift them from the edges inward. If you can see bare felt paper or raw wood along the ridge line or around any roof penetration, tell the technician that specifically when you call.
What to Do Right Now
- Stay off the roof. We mean this firmly. A wet or wind-damaged roof is unstable, and a fall from roof height is serious. Do not climb up to inspect the damage yourself – take photos from the ground or from an upstairs window.
- Photograph everything you can see from a safe position. Take photos of the missing section, any shingles you find on the ground, and the surrounding area of the roof. These photos help your local Birchbark Roofing team assess the scope before they arrive and can also support an insurance claim if you file one.
- Move anything underneath the exposed area inside your home. If there’s a bedroom, a closet, or a storage area directly below the missing shingles, move valuables, electronics, and anything water-sensitive away from that zone. If the ceiling shows any bubbling, staining, or soft spots, that’s a sign water has already gotten in.
- Do not attempt a DIY tarp over a steep or wet roof. Tarping a roof sounds simple and sometimes it is – but on a pitch above a single story, in wet or gusty conditions, the risk isn’t worth it. If you’re on a low-slope roof over a porch or garage and you can do it safely from a ladder without stepping on the roof itself, a temporary tarp can slow water entry. When in doubt, call first.
- Call (424) 766-4937 right now. A live person answers every call, including tonight and this weekend – no voicemail, no callback queue. Your local Birchbark Roofing team can get eyes on the situation quickly.
How We Fix It
When a technician arrives, the first thing they do is a full inspection of the affected section and the surrounding area – not just the obvious gap, but the shingles on either side and below, the decking condition underneath, and any flashing near the damage zone. Missing shingles have a habit of revealing a bigger picture.
For a contained area of wind damage, the repair is targeted: remove any remaining loose or partially lifted shingles in the affected zone, inspect the decking for water infiltration or soft spots, and install new shingles matched as closely as possible to what’s already on the roof. We work with materials from GAF, CertainTeed, Owens Corning, IKO, Atlas, Tamko, and Boral, which covers the vast majority of residential roofs. If the damage is more widespread – or if the inspection reveals the roof is near the end of its serviceable life – your technician will walk you through whether a full roof replacement makes more sense than continued repairs.
Either path starts with a written price before any work begins. That’s not negotiable on our end – it’s part of the Cedarwell Care Promise on every Birchbark job. Most targeted wind-damage repairs are completed in a single visit. The 365-Day Done Right Promise covers the work after we leave.
Frequently Asked Questions
It can’t wait if rain is in the forecast – exposed decking absorbs water quickly, and even one wet event can start rot or cause interior damage that costs significantly more to fix than the original shingle repair. Treat missing shingles after a windstorm as an active emergency and get a technician out as soon as possible. Call (424) 766-4937 and a live person will help you figure out the next step right now.
Your local Birchbark Roofing team moves quickly on active wind damage because we know the clock is running. Call (424) 766-4937 – someone answers day or night – and we’ll get you on the schedule as soon as your local team is available. We won’t make a same-day promise we can’t keep, but we also won’t leave you waiting while exposed decking sits in the weather.
Wind damage to shingles is one of the more common covered perils under a standard homeowner’s policy, but coverage depends on your specific policy, your deductible, and whether the damage meets your carrier’s threshold. Take photos before anything is touched and document the date of the storm. Your local Birchbark Roofing team can walk you through what the repair involves and give you the written scope and price you’ll need to submit a claim – but decisions about filing are always yours to make.
The honest answer is that it depends on how many shingles are missing, what the decking looks like underneath, and whether any flashing or ridge caps are involved – and we don’t know any of that until a technician looks at your specific roof. What we can tell you is that every Birchbark job comes with a written price in dollars before any work starts, and that price doesn’t change once work begins. Call (424) 766-4937 to set up your free written estimate – no surprises, just the number.
Get It Fixed
Call (424) 766-4937 right now – a live person answers every call, day or night, including weekends. Your local Birchbark Roofing team will get out to you, assess the damage, and hand you a written price before anything starts. Every job is covered by the 365-Day Done Right Promise.
Written by Erik Lindgren, Owner at Birchbark Roofing, part of the Cedarwell family of roofing companies since 2000.
What Our Customers Say
"Roof repair after a leak. What won me over was the cleanup, they ground sheeted the flower beds so no debris fell in, and they ran a magnet over the whole yard for nails. Careful crew."
- Gordon Fiske"They repaired some lifted shingles and were so neat about it. Covered the deck, cleaned the gutters of debris when they were done, and checked the yard twice for nails. Kids play out there so that mattered."
- Lena Hargrove"Roof repair and they were meticulous about the cleanup, tarps over the garden beds and a magnet sweep for nails. We have a dog and a toddler so that mattered a lot."
- Thaddeus Bloom