Storm & wind damage roof repair · Lee County, Florida
First job: stop
the water.
Wind rarely takes a whole roof. It gets under one tile at an edge, takes the ones behind it, and leaves you with bare underlayment that was never meant to face the sky. Dry it in, document it, then rebuild it — in that order.
Call, don't email. After a named storm the phone is the only thing we can answer fast. Tell us if water is coming in right now.
- Free, with no obligation
- Written report with photos
- Office on Cypress Lake Drive
Dry-in first
Stop the damage before anyone talks price.
Documented before cleanup
Photographed the way a claim needs it.
Deadlines explained
One year to notice, 18 months supplemental.
Repair where repair holds
Storm damage is often an edge problem.
What wind actually does to a roof
It doesn't push. It pulls.
Understanding this is the difference between "my roof looks fine" and knowing where to look.
It starts at an edge or a corner
Air moving over a roof creates suction, and the suction is strongest at eaves, rakes, ridges and corners — not in the middle of a slope. That's why building codes ask for heavier fastening in exactly those zones.
One tile is all it needs
Get under the nose of one tile and the wind now has a handle. The tiles behind it are the next to go, and the failure runs up the slope. This is why damage tends to appear as a stripe rather than a scatter.
The underlayment takes over, briefly
A tile roof is a rain screen. The layer that actually keeps water out is the underlayment beneath it. Once tile is gone, that layer is doing a job it was never designed to do alone, in direct UV, and it will not last the season.
Fasteners loosen without anything visibly moving
The most expensive storm damage is often the kind you can't see: tiles still in place but no longer held down, waiting for the next gust.
Water travels before it shows
A ceiling stain is rarely under the hole. Water runs down a rafter, across the top of a ceiling, and appears wherever it finds a seam — sometimes rooms away.
Wind damage, by roof type
What wind damage on a roof actually looks like.
It rarely looks dramatic from the driveway. These are the signs that matter, and where on the roof to find them.
Shingle roofs
Shingles missing at the edges and ridge, tabs creased across the top where they were bent back by a gust, and shingles that have come unsealed from the course below and now lift in a breeze. A creased tab often stays in place and looks fine from the ground, but it has lost its grip and will go in the next storm.
Tile roofs
Tiles slipped out of line or missing at eaves, rakes and corners, broken tiles where loose pieces hit their neighbors, and ridge or hip caps loosened or gone. On foam-set tile, a tile can be released from its adhesive and still sit where it was.
Metal roofs
Panel edges and trim lifted or bent, fasteners loosened or pulled, and ridge cap shifted. Bent metal does not bend back on its own, so it is usually visible once you know where to look.
Flat and low-slope roofs
Membrane lifted or peeled back at the perimeter, edge metal loosened, and flashing pulled away from walls. Once wind gets under the edge of a membrane, it works its way across.
Want to check before you call? Nine checks you can make from the ground and the attic after a storm, no ladder needed.
The first 48 hours
In this order.
Make it safe, then photograph
Stay off the roof. From the ground and from inside, photograph everything before you move a thing — including debris on the lawn and the date on your phone.
Stop it getting worse
Tarps, buckets, move furniture, lift rugs. Your policy requires you to mitigate, and the cost of reasonable emergency measures is normally recoverable. Keep every receipt.
Tell your insurer
Notice of claim within one year of the date of loss under s. 627.70132 — but call within days, not months. Write down your claim number and the adjuster's name.
Get it inspected and written up
Then you have a document that says what was damaged, where, and to what extent, while it's still fresh. That's the part people wish they'd done when a supplemental claim comes up a year later.
Emergency dry-in, and what it is
Dry-in is not a repair. It's a temporary weather barrier — tarp, peel-and-stick membrane, or both — fastened properly so it survives the next squall rather than flapping loose by Thursday. It buys time for the claim, the material order, and the queue.
A dry-in done badly causes its own damage: fasteners through sound tile, tarps that hold water, edges that let wind back underneath. If somebody has already tarped your roof and you're not confident about it, we'll look at that too.
The roof gets photographed before it's covered. Once a tarp goes on, nobody can see what was underneath — including your adjuster.
The clock, precisely. Under s. 627.70132, Florida Statutes, notice of a claim or a reopened claim must reach your insurer within one year of the date of loss. A supplemental claim — the one you file when the full extent turns out to be worse than first thought — must be given within 18 months.
For a hurricane, the date of loss is the date of landfall. For a tornado, windstorm, severe rain or other weather event, it's the date verified by NOAA.
Those are outside limits. Carriers are entitled to ask why you waited.
Storm damage
What people ask us after a storm
How quickly can you tarp or dry in a roof after a storm?
As fast as we can get to you, and after a widespread event that is an honest "it depends" — everyone in Lee County calls a roofer in the same 48 hours. Call rather than email. Tell us whether water is actively coming in, how many rooms, and whether anyone in the house has a medical or mobility reason to be moved up the list. That's what the order is based on, not who called first.
Should I clean up and make repairs before the adjuster comes?
Stop further damage — tarp, dry in, move belongings, mop up. That's your duty under the policy and nobody will criticise you for it. But photograph everything before you touch it, and keep damaged material where you can. Throwing away the tiles that came off removes the evidence that they came off.
How long do I have to file a hurricane claim in Florida?
Under s. 627.70132, Florida Statutes, notice of a claim or reopened claim has to be given to your insurer within one year of the date of loss, and a supplemental claim within 18 months. For a hurricane the date of loss is the date of landfall; for other weather events it's the date verified by NOAA. Don't run it close — the deadline is the outside limit, not a target.
What does wind damage on a roof look like?
On shingle: missing shingles at edges and ridges, creased tabs, and shingles that have come unsealed and lift in a breeze. On tile: slipped, missing or broken tile at eaves, rakes and corners, and loose ridge or hip caps. On metal: lifted edges and trim and loosened fasteners. Much of it is invisible from the ground, which is why an inspection after a serious wind event is worth having even if the roof looks fine.
How do I tell wind damage from normal wear?
Wind damage tends to be sudden and concentrated where wind loads are highest: edges, corners and ridges, often in a stripe running up the slope. Wear is gradual and spread across the roof: granule loss, brittle shingles, faded and spalling tile. The difference matters on an insurance claim, because a covered event is not the same thing as age, so the photographs need to show which one you are looking at.
My roof looks fine from the ground. Is it worth checking?
After a serious wind event, yes. The common failure isn't tiles all over the lawn — it's a few fasteners pulled at an edge or a corner, underlayment torn where you can't see it, or flashing lifted a quarter of an inch. Those don't announce themselves until the next heavy rain, which in this state might be next week.
Do you do full replacements after storm damage, or only repairs?
Both. What we won't do is decide which one you need from the driveway. Wind damage is usually concentrated at edges, corners and ridges, which often means a genuine repair is possible even when the roof looks dramatic. Sometimes it isn't. The photographs decide it, not the sales conversation.
Report damage
Tell us what the storm did.
If water is coming into the house right now, call (239) 372-7400 instead — a form waits for someone to read it. For everything else, this is the right place.
Water coming in? Call now.
We'll tell you honestly how fast we can get there. If we can't get to you today we'll say that too, rather than book you and not turn up.
Book a free inspection