Whereas asphalt shingles have taken some serious hits in the summer of 2015, it’s the older cedar shake roofs in Illinois that have been beat up the most. Neglected cedar and roofs over 15 years old are susceptible to the hard blows that 2+ inch hails stone can bring when wind driven. Roofing Annex’s cedar roofing division, Shake Guys, has seen and dealt with some of the worst damage seen in the region in years. The northern Illinois region needs a lot of cedar roof repair and replacements!
The Summer Storms Damage to Illinois Cedar Roofs is Most Prevalent in the following towns for the August 2nd, 2015 Storm:
The images below demonstrate the summer storm damage to Illinois cedar roofs.
Don’t laugh… we refer to this as “Butt Grinding”. When the butt of a cedar shake is ground down too much it can expose fasteners but a properly installed roof won’t suffer for this aside from an eyesore. This Inverness homes had much more damage to warrant a full replacement due to the August 2015 storm.
Divots are nothing more than unsightly blemishes while punctures can wreak havoc of one sort or another. Even if a puncture doesn’t immediately harm what lies beneath it will likely after time thru the growth of lichens or freezing water. This Barrington Hills home had 45 of these punctures and much more from the Aug. 2nd hail storm.
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The Funny Thing about the Summer Storms Damage in Illinois
Okay… make that the scary thing. Whether we were on the ground looking at a home in Inverness, St. Charles, Barrington, Deerfield, or any other hot spot in northern Illinois, we couldn’t see much damage from the ground. These summer storms had far few wind damage telltales than most. Even the hail and wind storm on July 13, 2015 which hit Naperville, Woodridge, and Burr Ridge had light wind damage.
Homeowners, like our client, Bernie Brooks of Waukegan, called in saying things like “I see some wood chips in my pool” or “I can see specks of pink wood on my roof”. John Jay of Bannockburn said “My cedar roof looks fine but I just know it took a beating”. His car had been torn up by the 2 inch hail there.
The following cedar shake roofed home in Arlington Heights was hit with hailstones said to measure over 2 inches. When Shake Guys got on the roof the damage was quite similar to the photos above.
Cedar Roof in Arlington Heights, IL with severe hail damage. Note that you can’t see or really sense the damage from the ground.
Example of the damage found on the Arlington Heights cedar roof. This was one of a dozen puncture/split combos.
The Good News about the Summer Storms in Illinois
The good news, if any in all of this, is that for most homeowners with fresh damage, their insurance providers may pay for their cedar roof to be repaired or replaced! It is hard for an ordinary nail and hammer roofer or small roofing company to have any experience with getting claims approved. That’s where Roofing Annex and Shake guys come in. Our HAAG trained and certified restoration experts are storm damage technicians with the forensic skills to understand and document a roofing system failure. In short, they can turn what is often a gray area on an insurance policy into a clear cut case for approval. Insurance providers in Illinois have come to respect both Roofing Annex and Shake Guys for our strong reporting skill and for offering their clients the best roofs possible, saving them money in the long run.
Shake Guys is an insurer’s best friend. Why? Because we use the best quality cedar shakes (100% Edge Grain), our fasteners are guaranteed for life, and our installation practices are second to none. Nobody in the Illinois market offers the cedar roof exams, cedar roof repairs, cedar shake quality, cedar roof preservation, or expert cedar roofing system installations that Shake Guys does.
If you or someone you know in the areas outlines in this post have or think they have hail damage to their cedar roofing, please call Roofing Annex (847.278.2272) or Shake Guys (847.278.2278) today and Schedule a FREE Roof Inspection.
