When your area is hit by a storm with strong winds, you'll want to check your roof when the storm passes to see if it has any wind damage. Wind can lift shingles and rip them or tear them completely off. By calling a residential roofer and having repairs done right away, you can avoid a roof leak. Here's an overview of how a roofer might repair an asphalt shingle roof with wind damage.

Identify Areas of Damage

You might only see a few missing shingles from the ground, but the roofer will check your roof carefully to find shingles that might be loose or that pulled the nails out and are crooked. Then you can feel confident that all the damaged shingles are repaired or replaced and your roof won't leak.

Wind-damaged areas of the roof are usually easy to spot since the main problem is missing or loose shingles that are easy to see when walking across the roof while doing an inspection.

Repair Loose Shingles

Shingles that are loose might be straightened and secured with nails to hold them in place. It may not be necessary to replace the shingles as long as they are in good shape. The roofer may also use roofing sealant to hold the shingles down so wind can't lift them again.

Replace Missing Shingles

Replacing missing shingles is a little more involved since shingles lap over each other. A typical asphalt shingle consists of a shingle with three tabs that look like individual shingles when covered by a shingle on top. The top of the shingle is held in place with nails while the bottom is held with sealant. The roofer needs to go up a couple of rows above the missing shingle and loosen the sealant so the shingle below it can be loosened too. Putting in a new shingle is a matter of sliding a new shingle up under the shingle above it. Then the shingle is nailed down.

When the shingle is in place, the roofer uses sealant to cover any old holes without nails. They also put sealant along the bottom of the new shingle and the shingles above it that were loosened. This ensures the shingles stay flat and don't blow off again.

If you need to replace shingles, work with a local residential roofer. While you might be able to do the work yourself, it's a good idea to consider hiring a professional to stay safe and get the job done quickly.