How Does Wind Damage a Roof?

Wind itself needs no formal introduction as it is such a comment type of weather. It is essentially the bulk movement of air. Wind does so many things, it is capable of taking hot air balloons on short trips, carrying sail boats across bodies of water, shaping land forms, and dispersing seeds from plants allowing them to produce new plants; however, it has its share of destructive capabilities. When strong enough, wind determines the spread of a wildfire, destroys animals’ homes, and make airplane flights difficult and dangerous. Wind also has great consequences on a house, a gust of wind strong enough can compromise the shelter of home.

The most obvious example of wind damage would be tornadoes and hurricanes; these weather events have the potential to completely destroy structures. There are; however, wind events that can cause hidden damage to a roof and wind damage can happen to any asphalt shingle in severe enough conditions. Typically shingles are with wind resistance up to 60 miles per hour (mph); in extreme cases some specialty shingles resist as much as 130 mph. Installation of shingles also play a part in wind resistance though; no matter how much wind resistance a shingle is supposed to have, if shingles aren’t nailed down with enough nails or aren’t nailed properly, they are all the more vulnerable to wind storms.

When wind damages a roof, it is typically believed the shingles have to be blown off the roof, and while that is one way one can easily tell the roof has been compromised, that’s not the only way wind damage happens. When a storm strong enough the shingles begin to loosen and flap around, adding rain to the mix will cause water to get into the wood where the shingle should be protecting the house, so leaks are caused even if shingles are intact. When a shingle has weakened by wind; it can be found by looking for small creases where granules are no longer present and bare asphalt is starting to show. These creases are where the shingles have been flapping around and indicate that they are susceptible to letting water in or possibly falling off the roof in the next bad storm.

Atlas Chalet and CertainTeed Horizon shingles have been recalled due to wearing down ten times faster than an average shingle. They are also susceptible to wind compromising their already low life span. If minimal wind damage is found on a roof with these shingles. The home insurance company will typically pay to completely replace the roof due to having no like, kind or quality anymore.