We always recommend inspecting your roof, at least visually, after any storm. This will help you identify any areas that need to be repaired, in order to prevent further or future damage, but also help you prepare for any possible repair or even a roof replacement. However, whenever your area or home is hit by a significant or major storm, you should have a professional Bryan roofer inspect your roof for safety, structural integrity, and proper maintenance.
In a compelling CNN piece, a family’s roof actually collapsed live, on-air. Thankfully, no one was injured and the family appears to be in high spirits. However, the episode is an opportunity to learn a valuable lesson. Several shingles were obviously blown away from their supporting base which allowed water to enter the home through a small and slow leak. During the course of the storm, the high winds kept driving more and more water into the home through the same small, slow leak. Unknown to the family, and most of us for that matter, the water then started to leak into the sheetrock around important structural supports. As more water entered the home, more sheetrock was exposed to the water, actively absorbing it, like a sponge.
When water interacts with sheetrock, it combines and the resulting conglomeration adds a tremendous amount of weight to the structural supports. As you will see below, entire sections of the roof started to collapse into the living room and common areas. At one point in the video, the roof collapses into the living room as you can see the open sky. Not even the original structural supports were intact. That is because a roof, when designed properly, is only designed for a certain amount of structural weight. It may not seem like it, but wet sheetrock really does weigh that much.
Even though the embedded video shows this process in a matter of seconds, the same issue happens very commonly after any heavy rain or windy storms. You most often see this issue resulting in sagging sheetrock, paint, or weather stripping. In the CNN interview the family did not even have time to call a Bryan roofing expert, but in the case that you find yourself in a similar position and with time, then you should call your roofer in Bryan, like Schulte Roofing, for a complete roof inspection.