Whole-roof rebuild after wind or tornado damage in Springfield, following the sequence the June 2011 tornado made necessary.
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After a wind or tornado event the roof is usually more than shingles. The work runs in order: make the building safe and dry, document the damage, pull permits, repair structural sheathing and rafters, then recover the roof. The June 2011 tornado that crossed Springfield is the local benchmark for how much a roof can lose.
On 1 June 2011 a tornado came through the Pioneer Valley. NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information rated it EF3, with estimated winds of 160 mph and a maximum width of about half a mile. It touched down in Westfield, crossed West Springfield and Springfield, and continued through Wilbraham, Monson, Brimfield and Sturbridge to Charlton. NCEI puts the path at about 38 miles and ranks it as the second longest in Massachusetts history, behind the 1953 Worcester tornado.
Roofs were a large part of what the storm took. NCEI counts about 1,400 houses damaged or destroyed, roughly 300 of them destroyed, with 51 homes destroyed in Monson and 13 in Wilbraham. NCEI also reports three direct deaths, two in West Springfield and one in Brimfield. The damage started with uprooted trees and snapped limbs in Westfield, then became heavy damage to industrial buildings and homes in West Springfield, and reached the south side of downtown Springfield, where many homes were destroyed and the South End was badly damaged.
A rebuild after storm damage is a sequence, and a homeowner is well served by knowing the order. The roof is made safe and dry first, the damage is recorded before anything is moved, the permit steps are taken, any structural work is done, and only then does the new covering go on. Each step depends on the one before it.
A storm-damaged roof is unstable. Do not walk on it, do not climb a ladder onto it, and do not pull debris off it from the edge. Keep off any roof with sagging or cracked framing, and call 9-1-1 from outside the building if the structure looks unsafe, following the state's warning signs. Do not start structural work, or remove framing or sheathing, before the permit and the inspector's view are in place, because a roof-covering specialty license does not cover structural roof work. Keep electrical equipment and wet areas clear of standing water until a qualified person has checked them.
The first step is to keep people off the roof and away from the base of the building. A storm-damaged roof is unstable, and loose covering, broken framing or a leaning chimney can fall. The technician assesses from outside first.
The roof is temporarily covered and the water is kept out of the building. The attic is drained and dried where that is safe, and wet insulation is removed where it has taken on water. The aim is a dry building and a weathertight opening, which is what a temporary dry-in is for.
Photographs and notes are taken of the damage before the debris is cleared, the covering is removed or the framing is touched. Each slope, each opening and each damaged member is recorded with a date.
The sheathing, rafters, framing and masonry are checked for damage that the covering hides. Structural repair is a separate step from the covering, and where sheathing or rafters are involved, the inspector and the building department confirm the scope.
Once the permit and the structural repair are complete, the permanent covering goes on. The flashing, gutters and trim are restored or replaced to match, and the chimney crown and flashing are checked as part of the job.
That depends on the policy wording and the insurer's review, and this page cannot say what a given policy covers. The homeowner should document the damage fully and ask the insurer what applies.
Storm claims turn on the policy, the cause of the damage and the insurer's own review, and each of those varies. A homeowner should not assume coverage, and a technician will not promise it. What the technician can provide is a dated written record and photographs of the damage, taken before anything is moved, which is the evidence an insurer will ask for.
Most storm repairs that touch the covering, the decking or the framing need a building permit. The city's Building Division, part of Code Enforcement, decides what each repair requires, and permits must be obtained before construction begins.
Springfield's one- and two-family permit application includes a roof covering category, and a storm repair that replaces the covering falls under it. Structural repair of sheathing or rafters is a further question for the building division. The permit has to be in place before the permanent work begins, and the temporary dry-in should be recorded as temporary in the documents so the permit history reads correctly.
Water that gets past the covering can soak into the decking, insulation and framing, and the damage shows once the wood has swelled, the shingles have lifted or a stain has spread across the ceiling.
A storm can open a small gap in the covering that lets water into the decking and the insulation. Wet insulation loses its ability to hold heat, and wet wood swells and can crack or warp over the following weeks. The stain on the ceiling is often the last sign, not the first, which is why a roof that looked fine after the storm can leak after the next rain.
The extent of the structural damage, the number of roof planes, the access and staging, the height of multi-family buildings, the condition of the decking and the permit scope decide the price. No figure is printed on this site, and the price is explained and approved before work starts.
A roof with missing shingles and sound decking is a much smaller job than a roof with torn sheathing and cracked rafters. Each damaged structural member adds inspection, repair and sometimes an engineer's view, and each one has to be done before the covering goes on. The number of roof planes and the height of the building change the access and the equipment, especially on a three-story multi-family building in a dense street.
Keep people clear of the building, photograph the damage from the ground, and call the phone line. The line is answered around the clock, but no arrival time is promised, and the visit depends on when a technician is free.
Start with safety. Keep people and pets away from the base of the building and from any area where the covering, the chimney or a tree limb could fall. Do not go into an attic where the framing is sagging, wet or making noise. Photograph the damage from the ground and from inside, with dates, and note any water in the rooms below. Do not start removing debris from the roof yourself.
A temporary covering that keeps water out of a storm-opened roof until permanent work is approved and scheduled. It is the first thing done after the roof is safe to reach, and it is done before any permanent repair is designed. A dry-in does not finish the job, and it should be documented as temporary so the permit record is accurate.
Used when the wind or debris has damaged the decking or the framing under the covering. The state's roof-covering specialty license stops short of structural roof work, according to the exam handbook. The license page lists a share of sheathing and rafters within scope, and the two sources conflict, so the line is drawn by the inspector and the Office of Public Safety and Inspections, not assumed.
The new covering goes on once the decking and framing are sound and the permit is in place. The work is inspected in the usual way.
The 2011 track ran through Westfield, West Springfield, Springfield, Wilbraham, Monson, Brimfield and Sturbridge, and on to Charlton. In the towns on the service map, a rebuild is most likely to look like the sequence on this page, because those are the places the storm crossed. The South End of Springfield was badly damaged, and the older housing there, with its multi-family roofs, takes a different kind of repair from a single house.
NOAA's NCEI describes late spring to early summer as the season for severe thunderstorms and, rarely, tornadoes in this part of Massachusetts. The June 2011 tornado is the local benchmark for that risk, and it is the reason a rebuild plan should assume that wind can take coverings, decking and framing at the same time rather than one at a time.
For the four Connecticut towns on the service map, Enfield, Suffield, West Suffield and Somers, the sequence is the same, but contractor registration follows Connecticut's rules rather than Massachusetts'. A storm repair in one of those towns is still bound by the local building department and by Connecticut's own requirements for home improvement contractors.
Most wind and tornado damage rebuild calls are scheduled the same day when a technician is free, and you approve the price before any work starts.
Not sure if you're covered? Check your ZIP code.
Making a Springfield roof dry after wind or tornado damage, documenting it, and the permit steps that follow.
Full tear-off and new roof covering for pre-1940 houses, multi-family buildings and mill-era roofs across Springfield.
Repair of the metal at valleys, dormers, ells and wall joints, where most leaks on additions and older houses begin.
Leak tracing and repair at eaves, valleys, chimney flashing and wall joints on Springfield's older roofs.
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.
It depends on the extent of the damage, the permit review and the weather. The sequence, which is dry in, document, permit, structural repair and then recovering, sets the order rather than a number of days. The building permit review cannot exceed 30 days once a complete application is submitted. No arrival time or completion date is promised for any visit.
Only if the decking and framing under them are sound. Replacing the covering over damaged sheathing or rafters hides the problem for a season and can lead to a second leak. The technician checks the structure before the covering goes back on, and the inspector confirms the scope where structural members are involved.
The state's roof-covering specialty license stops short of structural roof work according to the exam handbook, and the license page lists a share of sheathing and rafters, so the sources conflict. The inspector and the state's Office of Public Safety and Inspections confirm where the line falls for a given job. The technician will describe the scope and the approvals it needs.
Tell the insurer about the loss as soon as practical, and keep the dated photographs and the written record. What the policy requires before repairs begin depends on the policy wording, so the insurer should be asked directly. The technician will not decide the claim or promise how it will be settled.
A chimney or flashing loss is still a storm loss, and it still follows the sequence: safe, dry, documented, permitted where needed, then repaired. A chimney with cracked masonry needs a structural view, and a flashing repair alone may not be enough if the decking under it is wet. The written note says what was found in each part of the roof.
Yes, for exterior work visible from a public street or park. The Springfield Historical Commission must approve that work before it begins, and the temporary covering can also be part of that question. Ask the Commission early, since the permanent repair waits for the approval route.