Wayne Quality Roofing has handled roofing in East Hanover for more than 20 years, and much of what we are called for begins after the weather has already moved on. A storm passes, the lawn is covered in branches, and the homeowner cannot tell from the ground whether the roof took a hit. We settle that question with a ladder, a camera and a look inside the attic.
We repair first when repair is honest, and we say so before replacement ever comes up. When a roof does need replacing, the written scope breaks tear-off, decking, underlayment, flashing, ventilation and gutters into separate lines. An owner holding two estimates can then compare them item by item instead of comparing two totals.
This page is about one kind of call in particular: the roof check after wind and falling limbs. It covers what the weather record shows about the township’s most recent damaging storm, what a limb does to a roof that a quick glance misses, and how to decide whether a storm warrants an inspection at all.
September 8, 2023: What the Weather Service Recorded
An Afternoon of Trees Down
On the afternoon of September 8, 2023, a line of thunderstorms crossed this part of Morris County, and East Hanover appears in the National Weather Service record three times within eight minutes. The reports, logged by NWS Mount Holly from public sources, describe damage across the township rather than a single fallen limb.
The first entry, at 3:30 p.m., was a report of trees down in East Hanover. Six minutes later came a large tree down near Hanover Park High School, with the power out in that area as well. Neither entry mentions a building, only the trees themselves and the outage that followed.
The Broadest Report of the Afternoon
At 3:38 p.m. the weather service logged its widest entry of the day: extensive tree damage and downed trees across East Hanover. The same East Hanover row appears in the SPC daily storm log for that date. The last two times were estimated from radar, and every report came from the public rather than from a damage survey.
The Measured Wind Nearby
No wind speed was measured inside East Hanover that day. The nearest measured gust came an hour earlier, at 2:30 p.m., when 59 mph was recorded at Morristown Municipal Airport, where several aircraft were lifted and damaged. That reading belongs to the airport, logged west-northwest of Florham Park, but it shows what the storm line was capable of an hour before the East Hanover reports.
What the Record Does Not Say
Every one of those reports names trees, not roofs. None describes a damaged house, and no damage survey was done for the township. That gap is the reason for a roof check: the record says limbs came down across a town of 3,290 detached houses, and it leaves open which of those limbs brushed or landed on a roof along the way.
The township’s wooded streets run between the Whippany River and the Passaic River, and 92.2 percent of its occupied homes are lived in by their owners. For most of those households, the roof over a house built in the 1960s or the 1990s is theirs alone to watch after a storm like that one.
Looking for roofing closer to River Edge? See Roofing in River Edge.
Limb Strikes and Creased Shingles You Cannot See From the Yard
How a Branch Damages a Roof Without a Hole
A falling limb rarely punches through. More often it lands, rolls and slides off, and along the way it bends shingle tabs upward past the point the material can recover from. The tab settles back down and looks normal from the lawn, but the sealant strip under it has let go and a crease runs across the mat.
Creased shingles are the most common thing we find after a limb strike. A crease breaks the asphalt mat along a line, and the next strong wind lifts that tab and peels it back. Water then reaches the nails and the underlayment, and the leak shows up weeks later on a ceiling, long after the storm has been forgotten.
Brushing Limbs and Worn Granules
A branch does not have to fall to cause trouble. Limbs that whipped across a roof in gusts scrub granules off the shingle surface and scuff the edges of tabs along the eaves. Exposed asphalt ages quickly in sun, so a bare patch under an overhanging tree is often the first part of an otherwise sound roof to fail.
Wooded lots get a line in our estimates for that reason. Overhanging limbs, leaf-packed valleys and shaded, mossy slopes are noted in writing, so an owner knows which trees are working on the roof. Trimming can then be decided separately from the roofing work itself.
What We Look for From the Ladder and the Attic
On a post-storm visit we walk the slope where it is safe and look for lifted or creased tabs, cracked shingles, streaks of missing granules and nails backing out. From inside the attic we check the underside of the decking around any impact area for fresh stains, daylight at nail holes or a cracked board. Tracing a stain back to where water enters keeps us from pricing a repair in the wrong place.
Every finding is photographed, so the owner sees the same evidence we do. If the roof came through clean, we say that in writing as well, which is worth having on file before the next storm arrives.
Gutters, Ridge Caps and Flashing After a Wind Event
Ridge Caps Take the Wind First
Ridge caps sit at the highest point of the roof, where gusts move fastest, and they are bent over the peak, which leaves them more brittle than field shingles. A limb dragged across the ridge can crack a cap cleanly without moving it. From the ground the line still looks straight, but the crack lets water into the ridge opening and down onto the framing.
Replacing a few cracked caps is ordinary repair work, and we match the profile to what is already there where the product is still made. On a vented ridge we also check that the vent itself was not crushed, since a flattened vent cuts the exhaust the attic depends on.
Gutters Pulled Out of Line
Gutters catch whatever slides off the roof. A heavy branch landing at the eave can pull hangers loose, kink a section or tilt the run so it drains back toward the fascia instead of to the leader. A gutter that has dropped even slightly holds standing water, and the overflow soaks the fascia board and the top of the siding all season.
We reset or replace damaged sections and, where a run has failed more than once, talk through seamless aluminum gutters and leaders. Gutter work appears as its own line in any scope we write, so an owner can see what it costs apart from the roof.
Flashing at Chimneys and Walls
Wind-driven debris and limb strikes also loosen the metal at chimneys, sidewalls and pipe boots. Step flashing can be bent outward at a wall, counter flashing can pull from its reglet, and a pipe boot can split where a branch caught it. Each of those is a common leak point that does not show from the street.
When those details are part of a replacement, we install new step, counter and chimney flashing rather than reusing the old metal under new shingles. On a repair we replace the damaged piece and tell the owner plainly if the surrounding flashing is near the end of its life.
When to Call for a Roof Check After a Storm
Signs That Justify a Visit
Call for an inspection if a limb landed on or slid across the roof, if shingle pieces or granules turned up in the yard or gutters, or if a ceiling stain appears in the weeks after a storm. A large tree down close to the house is reason enough even when nothing obvious is missing. A check costs less than finding the damage from inside after the next heavy rain.
Some storms do not call for a visit. If the wind brought only leaves and small twigs and nothing struck the house, a look with binoculars from the yard is often enough, and we will tell you so if you ask.
Same-Day Tarps and Photographs
When a limb has opened the roof, we put tarps and temporary repairs on the same day after a wind storm. Before anything is moved, we photograph the roof as it stands, so the record of what happened is not lost once the branch comes off.
Those photos and a written description of the damage go to the owner for their own claim. If the owner asks, our crew will meet the insurance adjuster at the house. What a policy pays is a matter between the owner and the carrier, so we describe the damage and leave the coverage question with them.
Repair or Replace After a Storm
Most post-storm calls end in a repair: a few creased tabs, a cracked cap, a gutter reset. We give a straight answer on whether repair is enough before replacement is mentioned at all. When the damage is spread across several slopes or the roof was already near the end of its life, a replacement scope is the honest answer.
If the old roof comes off and boards underneath are rotted or cracked, we photograph them and show the owner before replacing anything, at the per-sheet price written into the contract. Every contract follows New Jersey’s home improvement rules, including the three-day cancellation notice. On a replacement we also check the attic ventilation, because a roof that cannot breathe ages from underneath.
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