Making a Springfield roof dry after wind or tornado damage, documenting it, and the permit steps that follow.
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Storm damage roof repair starts with making the building safe and dry, then documenting what the wind, snow or debris did before any permanent work. Covering damage is usually repairable, while damage to sheathing or rafters is structural and needs the building official's involvement. The 1 June 2011 tornado is the city's local benchmark for what that sequence involves.
Wind and snow damage to a roof is often visible from the ground as missing or lifted shingles, bent metal and debris on the covering. What the ground view misses is the water. A torn covering lets rain into the underlayment and then the deck, and a wet deck keeps the house damp long after the rain has stopped. The first job after a storm is to get the roof dry, and the permanent repair comes after that.
The Pioneer Valley knows what a severe storm can do. On 1 June 2011 an EF3 tornado ran from Westfield through West Springfield and Springfield, on through Wilbraham and Monson, and on to Charlton. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Centers for Environmental Information estimates the path at about 38 miles, with a maximum width of about half a mile. NCEI reports three people killed and about 1,400 houses damaged or destroyed, roughly 300 of them destroyed. Sources differ on the exact figures, so the numbers here are attributed rather than smoothed over.
Phones are answered 24/7, and a crew is dispatched as fast as one is available. No arrival time is promised. A storm call is often urgent, because the first hours decide how much water gets into the structure. Keep the homeowner's record of the damage simple and clear, and do not go onto a damaged roof to see it better.
Do not climb onto a storm-damaged roof, and do not walk on sagging or wet decking. Keep clear of fallen limbs, loose metal and the drop zone below any damage. Overhead wires and downed lines belong to the utility, and nobody should touch them. If a ceiling sags, a wall cracks or wood visibly splits, leave the building without touching light switches and call 9-1-1 from outside.
The first step is to keep people away from the building and away from anything that could fall. Trees, limbs and loose metal are checked from the ground, and overhead wires are left to the utility. If the structure is threatened, emergency services are called. A technician arrives with the equipment to make the roof dry when it is safe to reach it.
A temporary cover is fixed over the damaged area and battened or weighted so it holds in wind, and water is directed away from the opening. Wet insulation and damaged ceiling material that hold water are removed so the structure can dry. The temporary cover is a holding measure, not the permanent repair.
Photographs are taken of each damaged area from the ground and from the attic, along with the debris pile and any damaged items inside. Damaged shingles and pieces of metal are kept, and the missing items are listed. This record serves the homeowner, the technician and any insurance or permit conversation that follows.
Where damage is deep, the sheathing, rafters and any trusses are checked by a technician who knows the difference between covering damage and structural damage. Cracked or split members, bent supports and sagging are structural signs. A structural problem brings in the building official, and the roof-covering specialty license does not cover that work.
The damaged sheathing, flashing, underlayment, covering and gutters are replaced. Matching the existing product is attempted where it can be found, and the eave barrier is checked where the code requires it. Larger work is permitted, and the building official's final inspection confirms the job.
That depends on the policy, the cause and the insurer. This page makes no coverage promise and states no deadline. The Massachusetts Division of Insurance is the complaint route for a claim.
Photographs, the list of damaged items and the kept pieces of roofing are the record a claim will need. Mitigation work, such as the temporary cover, should be documented as it is done, so the insurer can see what was protected and why.
An adjuster may want to see the roof, and the technician can explain what was found and why. The policy language decides what is covered, not this website.
Building permits must be obtained before construction begins, and storm repair is often covered by that rule. The building official decides whether a repair is ordinary or structural, and the Springfield Building Division in Code Enforcement is the office to ask.
Structural work on sheathing, rafters or trusses is more likely to need a permit and an inspection. A temporary cover to keep water out is a protective measure, but the permanent repair that follows is judged on its own scope.
The city's permit fee follows its current schedule, and this site does not print one.
The extent of the damage, the number of coverings, any structural work, access to the roof and any debris removal decide the job. No price figure is published on this site, and the price is explained and approved before work starts.
Storm work often adds staging, debris handling and the time to document what was found. A multi-family building with several owners adds coordination, and a building in a local historic district needs Historical Commission approval before exterior work begins.
In Enfield, Suffield, West Suffield and Somers, Connecticut's registration and that town's building department set the requirements for the work, and Massachusetts rules do not apply across the line.
Photograph the damage from the ground, keep any pieces of roofing that come down, move valuables away from the wet areas and do not climb onto the roof to look.
A tarp can be put up from the ground if it is safe and the wind allows, but do not use a ladder in wind or on wet ground. Keep people and pets away from the drop zone below any damaged section.
Write down the time the damage was seen and the weather at the time. That note helps the technician and any later claim discussion.
Wind lifts seals, cracks shingles and loosens nails, and the damage shows at the next heavy rain or freeze-thaw cycle. Weathered covering can take less load than it did before the storm.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology notes that weathering can compromise how asphalt shingles withstand mechanical loads. A covering that survived the storm may fail in the next winter, which is why a technician should look at the whole roof and not only the obvious damage.
A follow-up look after the next heavy rain or thaw is a simple test, and the homeowner should watch the same spot as well.
The most common storm pattern: shingles lifted, creased or missing on the exposed slopes, with the damage following the wind direction. It is repairable in most cases, and the wind damage page covers the work in detail.
A limb that lands on the roof can puncture the covering and crack the sheathing below. Removing the limb is tree work and is not done by the roofing crew, and the roof is then checked for the hole, the sheathing and any rafter damage underneath.
Whole roof sections can be lost, and the work becomes a rebuild rather than a repair. The sequence is to make safe and dry, document, check the structure, obtain the permit and then recover. The wind and tornado rebuild page describes that sequence.
Where water has already entered the ceiling or wall, the source is traced and the damage is dried and replaced. The leak repair page covers the tracing, and the storm work covers the opening that let the water in.
The 1 June 2011 tornado touched down in Westfield at about 4:17 in the afternoon, crossed West Springfield and then the south side of downtown Springfield, and lifted in Charlton after about 70 minutes on the ground. NCEI notes that the path was the second longest in Massachusetts history, behind the 1953 Worcester tornado. The South End was badly damaged.
The storm's lessons for the city are practical. Whole roofs, not just shingles, were lost in some places, and the difference between covering damage and structural damage became the decision that set the sequence of work. A roof-covering license did not cover the sheathing and rafters, so structural repair went to the building official and a qualified professional.
NCEI counts 51 homes destroyed in Monson and 13 in Wilbraham. Homeowners in any town on the track should ask their own building department for the permit answer.
If it's an emergency, call now. For non-urgent storm damage roof repair, send the form and we'll call you back.
Not sure if you're covered? Check your ZIP code.
Lifted, creased and missing shingles after nor'easters and gusts, with the seal and underlayment checked before anything is replaced.
Whole-roof rebuild after wind or tornado damage in Springfield, following the sequence the June 2011 tornado made necessary.
Leak tracing and repair at eaves, valleys, chimney flashing and wall joints on Springfield's older roofs.
A written roof condition report for Springfield owners and buyers, covering decking, flashing, ventilation and remaining life.
A tornado NOAA rated EF3 touched down in Westfield on 1 June 2011 and tracked through the valley, including the south side of downtown Springfield.
A roof storm claim turns on whether the damage was sudden and not caused by lack of maintenance, and the policy and the insurer decide the outcome.
Only from the ground or from a low, dry, safe position, and only when the wind allows. A tarp on a damaged roof is a fall risk, and a ladder in wind or on wet ground adds more. A technician can cover the area properly once the roof is safe to reach.
Look for sagging lines, cracked or split wood, bends or ripples in supports, cracks in walls or masonry and creaking. Those signs mean leave the building and call 9-1-1 from outside. Shingle damage alone does not mean the frame is damaged.
An adjuster may ask to see it, and the homeowner should have photographs and the kept pieces ready. The technician can explain what was found. The policy and the insurer decide what is covered.
A roof can look sound from the ground and still have damage that shows only in the attic or at the flashing. A technician check of the attic and the joints is the way to know.
Not for structural work. The state's roof-covering specialty license stops short of structural roof work, and the inspector and the Office of Public Safety and Inspections confirm where the line falls on a given building.
No. Enfield, Suffield, West Suffield and Somers are in Connecticut, where the Department of Consumer Protection's home improvement registration applies. The Massachusetts license pair does not apply across the line, and the town's building department sets the local requirements.