Have a three-minute conversation with a five-year-old and you will answer about 100 questions: Why is the sky blue? Why do cats sleep so much? Why are the roofs of some houses blown off during a windstorm? Okay, maybe a five-year-old will not ask the last question, but it is still a great question. Let’s answer it!
Why?
Why would your Grand Rapids home lose its roof in a windstorm? Differences in air pressure account for most wind uplift and roof or shingle loss.
Owens Corning, a leading manufacturer of fiberglass-asphalt shingles, also points out degrees of damage:
- Wind hitting the side of your home travels up and over the roof with varying degrees of uplift pressure, tearing off shingles
- Uplift pressure is highest at your home’s roofline corners, and the pressure is nearly as high along your roof’s edges, which makes these areas vulnerable to complete roof tear-off
- As wind blows across your roof’s surface, negative pressure is created and may suck up, or lift, shingles off your roof’s field, or pull the entire roof away, depending on wind speed
How?
How can you prevent your home’s roof from being blown off? One technique more common to Floridians than Michiganders is the attachment of hurricane clips. These metal devices physically lock the rafters of your roof deck to the walls of your Grand Rapids-area home.
Another way to lower chances of losing your roof in high winds is to use Class H shingles, available from Owens Corning, which resist winds up to 150 mph.
When?
When should you consider preventive measures? Your home is already built; can these solutions be retrofitted to your existing roof? Hurricane clips can be installed by expert roofers years after the home is built. Of course, these are more easily attached during initial construction, but they can be installed.
Wind-resistant fiberglass-asphalt shingles can be installed at any time:
- During initial construction
- During emergency repairs
- During scheduled reroofing
(BTW, the sky is blue from Rayleigh scattering, and cats sleep so much to conserve energy for hunting.)
Moore And Sons Roofing can install high wind resistance Owens Corning Duration Shingles with the patented sure nail strip to help prevent shingle blow offs during high wind events. Contact us today to learn what measures we recommend and what our plan is to provide emergency roof repair after storms.
