One good egg doesn’t make a dozen, but one missing shingle may make your life miserable. Shingles are social creatures; they love their neighbors. So when one goes missing, those around it won’t stay on your roof for too long either.
The conclusion is that you should always address problems while they’re small. If you wait and do nothing, the area without shingles will spread. And then you’ll see why we recommend 2 roof inspections per year and repairing your roof as soon as you notice any issues.
But let’s talk about the cause for a second.
What Causes Shingles to Go Missing?
Once you learn what makes your shingles abandon you, you’ll know how to make them stay. We’ll start with the obvious…
Wind
The wind is the big enemy of asphalt shingles. During storms, the wind rips shingles off the roofs, and it’s rarely only one shingle. So we recommend you to check your roof after every storm or particularly windy day.
Heat
Yes, the wind is dangerous because you get to see the damage it makes immediately. But heat is a slow venom that slowly kills every asphalt shingle. Enduring severe heat for a long time makes shingles crack and bend. Once that happens, even random wind gusts could blow them off.
Mechanical Damage
During storms, small objects fly around and hit roofs. Depending on the debris type and the condition of the shingles, the damage varies from nothing happened to they’ve massacred my boy (in Marlon Brando’s voice). Damaged shingles are more likely to go missing.
Time
Nothing is forever. Not even diamonds. So you can’t expect your shingles to last 3 generations. The average lifespan of a shingle roof is 12-15 years. But depending on the weather and maintenance, your shingles might degranulate faster (slower) than usual. Recoating your roof every 3-5 years will slow down the degranulation.
Here is What to Do If Your Roof Doesn’t Have All Shingles
But no matter what you do, sometimes you can’t prevent shingles from disappearing. Then you have a couple of options.
Be Your Own Roofer
If only one shingle is missing, you can replace it on your own if you have any spare shingles.
If a couple of shingles are missing, and you know how to do it, you can take care of that too.
Call Your Real Roofer
But if more than 4 or 5 shingles are missing, it’s better to call your contractors. We also don’t encourage people to work on their roofs if they’re afraid of heights or have never done it before. Sometimes homeowners do more damage than wind and heat together.
And don’t worry about the expenses because insurance companies cover shingle replacement.
The Best Way To Keep All Your Shingles on Your Roof
Prevention is the best cure (even though unexpected things can always happen). So, as mentioned, every homeowner should do 2 roof inspections/year.
In the best scenario, both inspections are done by a local roofing contractor. In the worst scenario, only one is done by pro roofers.
Pros can see tiny signs of weakness and suggest what to do next (if anything). And if you’re looking for a Statesboro roofer who knows local weather and keeps many roofs in perfect condition, you know who to call.
