hurricane season preparation

By Andrews Roofing | September 8, 2025

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Category: Andrews Roofing, Commercial Roofing, Rapid Rain Gutter System, Residential Roofing, Roof Flashing, Roof Leak, Roof Maintenance, Roofing Repairs

Hurricane Prep for Homeowners in Southeast Virginia

Hurricane season is an unfortunate, but familiar reality for homeowners in Hampton Roads and across Southeast Virginia.

Every year the local and national meteorologists take their best bet on how many storms we’ll have and how severe they may be, but anyone who has lived here long enough knows – you truly can’t predict the weather when it comes to tropical storm systems. But even if you can’t control how and when the storms will hit, there are things you can control around your own home —starting from the top down. Your roof and gutters are your first line of defense against high winds and heavy rain, and proper preparation can make a major difference in minimizing potential storm damage.

As we head into high hurricane season, when historically the storms in our region are the most frequent and severe, we’ve compiled some practical ways you can prepare your home, including steps that can help you in the event you need to file an insurance claim.

Inspect Your Roof for Weak Points

Before hurricane season ramps up, schedule a professional roof inspection. A roofing contractor can check for:

Loose, missing, or damaged shingles
Exposed fasteners or flashing issues
Soft spots in decking that may indicate water damage
Signs of aging or deterioration in your roof system

If issues are found, addressing these small problems now, by having a professional do the repairs, can help prevent much larger issues if a storm rolls through. If major damage occurs, you’ll also have paperwork showing that your roof was recently inspected and/or repaired and so any subsequent damage was, in fact, caused by the storm itself. This can come in handy when filing insurance claims.

Clean and Secure Gutters and Downspouts

Gutters play a critical role in keeping water away from your home’s foundation. Before a storm, clear out any leaves, sticks, or debris that may be clogging them. Also, check that your gutters and downspouts are securely fastened to your home—strong winds can easily tear loose systems away, creating projectiles that could cause even more damage. Consider installing gutter guards if you live in a heavily wooded areas where pine needles, leaves or other debris buildup is a recurring problem.

Trim Overhanging Branches

Tree limbs that hang over your roof or gutters can break during high winds and cause serious damage. Trimming back trees from around your house before storm season will reduce the likelihood of branches penetrating and damaging your roof. It also reduces the impact of leaves clogging your gutters. Call out a professional tree company before the storms hit, because once they do, it could be months before any tree company in the area will have availability again.

Document Your Roof and Home Exterior

If you’ve ever had to file an insurance claim for storm damage you know how important this step is. In the event of storm damage, having clear, up-to-date photos of your roof and home exterior can make the insurance claims process much smoother. Take detailed photos and videos of your roof, gutters, siding, and yard before hurricane season begins and before each major storm is predicted to come through the Tidewater region. Store them digitally in case you need to access them quickly. Having them on your phone is ideal, in case computers or other hardware is damaged or inaccessible.

Review Your Insurance Coverage

Now is also the time to check your homeowner’s insurance policy. Make sure your coverage is current and that you understand what is and isn’t covered when it comes to wind and water damage. If necessary, update or increase your insurance coverage. This is especially important for homeowners without mortgages. While individuals with mortgages typically have to keep their insurance at a particular level to satisfy the lender, unmortgaged homes don’t have this requirement. If your home is paid off and it’s been a while since you’ve updated your coverage, now is the time to do so. Keep a copy of your policy and your insurance company’s contact information in a safe, waterproof location as well as in your phone for easy access.

Schedule Regular Maintenance

The best preparation is ongoing care. Regular roof and gutter maintenance not only protects your home during hurricane season but also extends the lifespan of your roof. Consider setting up annual inspections with a trusted local roofing company to ensure your roof is always ready to face the elements.

Trust Andrews Roofing to Help You Weather the Storm

At Andrews Roofing, we’ve been helping Hampton Roads homeowners protect their homes for decades. From routine inspections to emergency repairs after a storm, our team has the expertise for our particular region to keep your roof performing at its best. If you’d like to schedule a roof inspection before hurricane season, contact us today.

By Andrews Roofing | September 23, 2022

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Category: Andrews Roofing, Rapid Rain Gutter System, Residential Roofing, Roof Installation, Roof Maintenance, Roof Warranty, Roofing Repairs

Common Roofing Storm Damage

If you watch the local news or even just tune in for the weather forecast, you know that we’ve reached peak hurricane season and that the tropics have been very active thus far.

Fortunately, the Mid-Atlantic coast including Southeast Virginia and Hampton Roads have been spared from any direct hits. But there are still two more months of hurricane season, and now is the time to be prepared for anything that may come our way. Not to mention that as soon as hurricane season is over, nor’easter and winter storm season will be upon us.

When it comes to your home and your home’s roof, there are plenty of things you can do in advance to avoid certain types of damage during storm season. But there are some things you simply can’t prevent from happening, and being responsive after the fact is the best you can do. Here are a few common types of roof damage to keep an eye out for as we weather hurricane season this fall.

Tree Damage

Tree damage isn’t always as obvious as an entire tree crashing through your roof and into your home. Some tree damage can go unnoticed until it causes interior damage – days, weeks or even months later. A stray limb with enough wind and force behind it can cause shingles to fly off, roof sheathing and decking to be pierced and make your roof vulnerable to leaks.

Tree damage can even come from overhanging branches that simply rub along shingles and cause unwanted wear and tear. It’s always a good idea to keep low hanging or potentially destructive branches trimmed back from the roofline where possible.

After a storm, visually inspect your roof as well as you can from the ground to see if any limbs, branches or even leaf buildups can be seen. If so, they should be removed immediately and the roof should be inspected to ensure no damage was caused. If damage was caused, a roofing contractor will typically be able to do a repair confined to that area without a major overhaul of your roof.

Loose or Missing Shingles

Perhaps the most common damage after a storm is loose or missing shingles. While it may not seem like a big deal if one or two shingles come off, their absence makes the shingles all around that area more susceptible to blowing off, and jeopardizes the roof sheathing beneath. Depending on when and how your roof was installed, the material manufacturer or installer may have specific warranties to cover shingle replacement. In any case, the shingles should be replaced as soon as possible to prevent further damage.

Loose or Missing Flashing

Flashing is the metal sheets that are used in roofing around joints in a roofline and around other roof penetrations such as pipes, chimneys and vents. They play an important role in protecting your roof decking and if jeopardized, major interior damage can occur. Loose flashing can actually cause quite a bit of damage to the rest of your roof, tearing up or removing shingles around it, especially in a wind event.

Missing flashing can allow water intrusion and will also make it easier for nearby shingles to be blown away. Some flashing you may be able to visually inspect from the ground, but if you have reason to believe that flashing may be loose in spots that you’re not able to inspect from the ground, call in a qualified roofing contractor to inspect for you – don’t risk causing damage to yourself to find damage on your roof.

Clogged or Broken Gutters

Particularly if you live near a lot of trees, storms can cause debris to fly off of nearby vegetation that can eventually land right into your gutters. This debris will cause your gutters to work less effectively, which means water will build up and potentially seep up underneath your shingles and sheathing, causing damage to the roof decking below, often seen as dark water spots in the corners and along the top of the walls in your home. Ideally, have your gutters cleaned before storm season so that they are cleared and ready to carry all that stormwater away from your home. But it’s also a good idea to check on them after a storm and make sure nothing has caused any clogs or damage to the gutter itself.

Broken or loose gutters are also common after a storm, and if you see evidence of that, call in a licensed contractor to fix the problem before the next rain event occurs. Broken gutters can funnel water into places it should not go including near your home’s foundation and onto walls and windows, causing even more damage. If you don’t have gutters, or your home’s gutters need to be replaced, you may also want to consider installing a Rapid Rain ™ gutter system which is designed for high capacity that comes with living in a storm prone area.

Contact a Local Roofing Contractor

This hurricane season, if your roof sustains any damage during a storm, contact Andrews Roofing. We are locally owned and operated and we are highly experienced in the issues that are unique to the Tidewater region. We know what to look out for and how to best fix and repair an issue to withstand future weather events.

Peeling paint on an interior ceiling a result of water damage caused by a leaking pipe dripping down from upstairs a result of substandard plumbing completed by an unqualified plumber. A common house insurance claim.

By Andrews Roofing | August 16, 2021

Tags: broken slate tiles, Check roof for leaks, damaged shingles, hampton roads, hampton roads roofing, hurricane roof damage, hurricane season preparation, loose roof flashing, metal roof dents, Post-Storm roof Inspection, Pre-Storm roof Preparation, repair missing shingles, replace missing shingles, roof damage, Tidewater region, tidewater roofing

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Category: Andrews Roofing, Roof Maintenance, Roof Warranty, Roofing Repairs, Safety

Prepping for Common Hurricane Roof Damage

Here in southeast Virginia we are solidly inside of hurricane season, and while we have been lucky not to be hit with a direct storm recently, the impact of some kind of tropical system is inevitable.

As most of us know all too well, with storms comes storm damage. Thanks to Hampton Roads’ proximity to the coast, we often feel storm surge and hurricane force winds the worst. There are things you can do to be personally prepared for a storm, as well as things you can do to help secure and protect your home, including your roof. But there are also things that you simply can’t protect your home against, and instead need to be rigorous about post-storm inspection of your property to identify any damage as soon as possible. Let’s talk about how you can play both defense and offense to protect your home from long-term storm damage.

Pre-Storm Preparation
While you can’t control or prevent all possible damage, there are things you can do to prepare your roof for a storm. Here’s a quick checklist you can use to offensively protect your roof from the next hurricane or tropical storm.

Check for any loose flashing. If any flashing is loose or missing, repair it before a storm comes to avoid any water damage and possible leaks. Loose flashing can also become a hazard if blown off your home during wind gusts.
Check your gutters. Clean gutters will keep water away from your roof when those torrential rains start. You should also check to ensure gutters are well secured to avoid them becoming projectiles during strong winds.
Repair and replace missing shingles. It may seem counterintuitive to replace missing shingles or repair damaged ones before a storm, but the reality is that one missing shingle makes the rest of the shingles around it vulnerable to winds. If one or more shingles are missing or damaged in such a way that they are more likely to blow off, then the rest of your roof is at risk. Replacing a few shingles now can prevent the need for dozens of replacements after the storm.
Inspect your roof from the inside. Take some time to inspect your roof from inside your attic, paying careful attention to where any rooflines join up, looking especially for any wet or dark spots that may indicate an existing leak. If there is an existing leak, even one that has not been problematic before, it will only get worse during a storm, and could cause major interior damage. Repair a small leak now before it becomes a major leak in the middle of a “shelter in place.”

Post-Storm Inspection
After a storm, doing an inspection of your property will help you identify issues quicker, making it easier to fix them before they become a major problem as well as being able to file for any necessary homeowners insurance claims. Here’s a quick post-storm roof inspection list of things to look for:

Missing shingles
Loose or clogged gutters
Loose or missing flashing
Debris that may still be on the roof
Visible leaks or holes from inside your attic
Damaged or warped shingles
Dents in metal roofing
Broken slate tiles

What to do if there is damage
If you find any of these items during your inspection, contact a roofing company right away. If possible, get familiar with roofing companies in your area before a storm rolls through so you know who to call if needed. Do research online and read client reviews, websites and get neighbors’ opinions. Only call companies that are licensed and insured and have a good reputation in the community.

Getting a professional opinion and estimate will be critical when filing any necessary homeowners insurance claims. Remember that after a major storm, roofing companies will be swamped with calls, so getting in touch early is the best way to get your issues taken care of as quickly as possible. Do not attempt to fix these issues yourself as roof repair work is potentially dangerous, not to mention any repairs you make yourself may not be covered by your insurance and may void warranties on your roofing materials.

Andrews Roofing Can Help
Whether it’s before a storm or after, if you have concerns about your roof, please contact Andrews Roofing. We’ve worked in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Newport News and Hampton for decades and we have an excellent reputation in the Hampton Roads community for quality workmanship and customer service. We understand the unique roofing issues that homeowners encounter in the Tidewater region, and we can help you make the best decision for your home.

By Andrews Roofing | May 21, 2021

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Category: Andrews Roofing, Homes, Residential Roofing, Roof Installation, Roof Insulation, Roof Maintenance

Hurricane Season is Coming: Does Your Home Need a New Roof?

Hurricane season starts June 1st, and Hampton Roads residents know that the key to surviving hurricane season is preparation. If you’re a new homeowner in the Tidewater region, don’t assume that Virginia Beach residents are the only ones who need to be concerned about potential storm damage. Homes in Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Hampton, Newport News and even as far west as Suffolk and Isle of Wight are all susceptible to hurricane force winds, storm surge and torrential rain.

Just as you would put together a hurricane preparedness plan and kit, you should prepare your home for the inevitable storms as well. The time to find out you need a new roof is not in the middle of gale-force winds and power outages. Fortunately relatively simple inspections and research can help you determine whether your roof is as hurricane ready as you are.

Research Roof Materials and Age

If you didn’t have your home built or if you haven’t had the roof replaced yourself, you may need to do a bit of detective work to determine its age and the materials that were used. If the previous homeowners didn’t leave any records, ask around the neighborhood and see if anyone knows the last time it was replaced. If the home is less than 20 years old, you can likely assume the roof is original. Regardless of its age, the materials and workmanship behind them is probably the biggest factor when it comes to whether reroofing is needed. Here are some rules of thumb when it comes to the lifespan of residential roofing materials:

Asphalt Shingles: the most common residential roofing material used on about 80% of homes generally lasts 15-30 years.
Architectural Shingles: a specific type of thicker, premium asphalt shingle that usually lasts 25 to 30 years.
Wood or Cedar Shake Shingles: less common, but sometimes used on beach homes, these roofs can last up to 30 years, but only if they are annually maintained and split shingles are repaired.
Clay Tile Roofing: a fairly uncommon material in Hampton Roads, these tiles can last as long as 50 years or more, which is good since they can be very expensive to replace and repair.
Metal Roofs: their lifespan depends on the gauge of the metal used. The higher the gauge, the thinner the metal. So a high-end 22-24 gauge metal roof can easily last more than 50 years, while a thinner gauge (26-29) can have a lifespan of 20-25 years.

Inspect Your Roof’s Condition

A visual inspection can also help you determine if an expert roofer needs to be brought in. If you’re concerned about the safety of doing this, call a licensed roofing contractor to inspect for you. Here are the most common red flags to look out for.

Shingle Deterioration: Do you see any shingles that are curled, split, or that seem to be crumbling away? These are signs of old shingles that need to be replaced. This kind of deterioration can cause structural rot and interior damage and will only get worse with time.
Flashing Deterioration: Leaks are often caused not by the roof itself, but by the flashing around it. Flashing should be strong and tight around chimneys, vents, skylights, and roof junctions, or water can enter, causing damage to walls, ceiling, insulation and even electrical wiring. A great time to inspect your flashing is when you’re cleaning the gutters. Make sure everything is secure and no pieces are missing.
Missing Shingles: Coverage is key. Wherever a shingle is missing, the effectiveness of the entire roof is compromised. The problem is also likely to spread – once one shingle is gone, the others around it are more vulnerable to wind. And while those missing shingles may not necessarily mean you need a whole new roof, they should be repaired and replaced as soon as possible.

Call a Professional

If you identify any of these issues, or are able to pinpoint the last time your roof was replaced and are concerned about its age, it’s time to call in a professional. Roofing repairs are not a safe DIY project, and the consequences of doing it incorrectly can be dire to both you and your home’s well being. Research roofers thoroughly and find a licensed and insured certified contractor. If they are a trustworthy, quality company, they will have these licenses and certifications in place and will provide a free estimate of the repair or replacement.

If you live in the Hampton Roads region and need an expert to help you determine if you need a new roof or roof repair, call Andrews Roofing. We have been serving Southeast Virginia for over two decades and have worked on hundreds of residential and commercial roofs. We are experienced in the exact types of roofing damage common in the Tidewater region and can give expert advice on the best materials and approach to providing a long-lasting, beautiful new roof for your home.

Tag: hurricane season preparation

Hurricane Prep for Homeowners in Southeast Virginia

Common Roofing Storm Damage

Prepping for Common Hurricane Roof Damage

Hurricane Season is Coming: Does Your Home Need a New Roof?

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