It can be incredibly frustrating to see your roof failing before its time. No one wants to deal with the hassle and expense of premature roof issues, so you might wonder, “Why did my roof shingles fail?”. It turns out, there are many potential factors involved.

Understanding the common causes can give homeowners critical insights. With this knowledge, we can identify how best to fix a current problem and prevent future ones.

Installation Issues Can Lead to Roof Failure

The number one cause of premature roof failure? It is usually improper roof installation. Sometimes roofers take shortcuts that impact the long-term integrity of the roofing system.

It’s important to make sure shingles lay flat on a properly prepared surface. If not, you will get premature failure down the road because the shingles were improperly installed.

Choosing a Reputable Roofing Contractor is Essential

Working with a licensed, insured, and experienced roofing contractor can significantly lower the chance of issues, even when working with asphalt shingles. If an installer does provide an improper roof installation, you need to check if your roofing contractor will stand by their warranty. It may be tricky if you went with a roofer who gave you the cheapest price for your install.

Referrals from friends and family are often an excellent option. So it never hurts to ask for recommendations.

Ventilation is Necessary for Roof Health

Another common cause of roof failure is inadequate attic ventilation. A properly ventilated attic lets your home breathe and helps extend the life of your shingles. A stuffy, poorly ventilated attic can cause roof issues.

Excessive heat buildup in the summer can cook shingles from the inside out, causing adhesives in the roof decking to weaken. During winter, the opposite can happen.

Understanding Attic Ventilation

Without proper ventilation, humidity can create problems such as moisture damage, swelling of the roof deck, and loss of nail holding capacity. Proper attic airflow helps maintain even temperatures so these problems are less likely.

Roof Maintenance: Don’t Ignore The Need

Regular roof maintenance and inspections are a must for extending roof lifespan. Maintenance will give insight to future problems.

Without periodic checks, small problems with the protective barrier or granule loss on shingles may become bigger ones. Debris on the roof and heavily shaded sections can shorten shingle life due to trapped moisture and excessive granule loss. Catching these small issues with roof repairs is crucial before they become more significant.

The Benefits of Preventative Care

Routine roof maintenance will save you time and money on potentially larger, expensive roofing problems. Catching potential roof issues while they are still smaller in scale is worth considering. These often lead to simple and straightforward roof repairs.

Storm Damage is Always Possible

Storms can bring hail, high winds, and heavy rain that wreaks havoc on roofing materials. Strong winds will rip off missing shingles or even whole sections. The protective barrier on shingles might be weakened by large hailstones removing protective granules.

Damage like this causes a need to replace roof shingles, or in other words, it could be cause for a complete shingle replacement. A quality roofing professional might make the determination of whether this requires a full roof replacement or not. Contact Wolfpack Home Services if you are looking for a roofer in Bucks County or surrounding area.

Insurance Coverage for Storm Damage

You will need to verify with your own insurance plan if you have a viable insurance claim. Homeowners insurance may pay to replace roof shingles when damaged by weather events. However, the insurance provider could review your shingle warranties first and even assess things on their own first.

Manufacturing Issues: Why Materials Might Cause Problems

Sometimes shingles fail not due to the roofer, your home, or major weather, but because of problems in the manufacturing. Defects can happen during the asphalt shingle manufacturing process.

The Problem with Defective Shingles

Over the past couple of years, news stories were talking about product failure. These products apparently lead to water leaks, water penetration, premature blistering, granular loss, and roof failure. Defective products aren’t always subject to recalls.

Understanding Specific Asphalt Shingle Problems

Common roofing problems might involve a number of specific issues. This includes blistering, cracking, and granule loss.

Homeowners tend to look for help on review sites, message boards, and home maintenance forums looking for advice on how to deal with these problems. Here are more specifics:

Blistering

Blistering shingles show when moisture inside expands, popping through to the top and creating weak areas. Poor ventilation will exacerbate this.

Cracking

Cracking normally happens on aging shingle roofs. For newer roofs, this might be evidence of manufacturer defect or an improper installation process. Homeowners often seek assistance with things of this nature.

You might want to reach out and speak to an actual manufacturer if the issues do not appear to be due to weathering issues. They may have insight like exposed fasteners on different roofing types like 7/8″ corrugated, PBR panel/R panel, and 7.2 Panel/Western Rib. Depending on the roof, there are unique accessories too.

Granule Loss

Asphalt shingles depend on mineral granules for protection. When too many granules fall off due to impact or other issues, then shingle problems arise. Things will become significantly more complex, and roof replacement becomes unavoidable.

Granules come in many unique shades. It provides options to meet personal taste and aesthetic purposes.

Why Did My Roof Shingles Fail and Algae Growth?

Organic growth such as mildew, algae, and mold on roofs often will present black streaks. It tends not to affect the actual shingle itself.

Managing Organic Growth Issues

Specialized cleaning products help. Installing anti-algae shingles containing zinc or copper ions that inhibit algae is another solution. One option might be what GAF offers StainGuard Plus™, which is said to reduce algae growth.

Thermal Shock Can Take Years Off Shingle Roof Life

Rapid temperature swings cause shingles to quickly expand and contract, creating thermal shock. A recent study demonstrated something similar, in relation to temperature swing extremes, will cause infrastructure deterioration.

How Temperature Fluctuations Impact Asphalt Shingles

Curling shingles are sometimes a direct effect of the rapid temperature fluctuation that occurs. As shingles start to curl or buckle due to thermal shock, it compromises how effectively they overlap to lay flat.

Water eventually makes its way through if issues continue, especially if you have a roof underlayment issue.

Table Summarizing Why Asphalt Shingles Fail

Problem	Description	Potential Causes	Solutions
Improper installation	Shingles are not properly installed on the roof decking.	Cutting costs, inadequate installer experience level.	Use an established roofing contractor with a valid license and insurance.
Poor Ventilation	Attic doesn’t “breathe”.	Humidity problems, improper roofing material used, thermal shock, poor attic ventilation.	Discuss the options for a properly ventilated system with a roofing contractor.
Manufacturer Defect	Problems occur at the manufacturing facility.	Premature deterioration, blistering shingles, product failure, etc.	Call a professional to assess the cause and discuss it with the manufacturer for insight, such as when dealing with shingles versus when you are using aluminum or corten or corten components roofing.
Lack of Maintenance	Periodic lack of inspection of the roofing.	Missed identification of potential roofing issues and problems.	Do scheduled, regular reviews of potential problems, including reviews by professionals if you cannot assess yourself.
Storm Damage	Shingles are battered from weather issues.	Missing shingles from high wind conditions and granular issues from extreme weather with large hail, leading to damaged shingles.	Check your roof carefully after heavy rain, wind, and hail.
Algae	Typically dark streaks running along the roof, especially on the side of the home not facing the sun.	Issues occur on the shingles when they are not able to stay dry; moisture becomes trapped.	Discuss solutions to keep the roof cleaner or get specialized roofing material designed to resist organic material growth, including a standing seam metal roof.

FAQs about why did my roof shingles fail

What is the most common problem with roof shingles?

The most common issues often come down to a lack of maintenance and poor installation. It is surprising how many issues of maintenance, and even just problems in the install, can have long-term negative effects. These can potentially lead to significant future roof replacement needs.

Will insurance cover defective shingles?

It really comes down to each individual plan. If the problems stem from factors such as extreme weather damage, it might help your case to pursue a claim for compensation from the insurance company.

Reach out to your provider to understand your individual home plan coverages.

What is the average life expectancy of a shingle roof?

Most 3-tab asphalt shingles typically are designed to function for at least 15-20 years under general circumstances. Regular inspections give you the ability to improve this number. Metal roofing will typically exceed 20 years with normal wear, just realize there will be normal and regular trim and flashing maintenance.

What is the number one cause of roof failure?

More often than not, issues stem from not following guidelines provided by the manufacturer of products when completing installations. It is vital that the roofing contractors follow what has been asked of them in the requirements. This is so they can achieve their goals to support customer needs.

Proper adherence is so vitally important.

Conclusion

Seeing issues like curling shingles or granule loss on your roof is very frustrating. Knowing potential triggers and problems makes dealing with “why did my roof shingles fail” a lot less stressful. Roof issues typically have a solution once you pinpoint its cause.

Taking proactive steps in proper install and maintenance will lead to the longevity of most products. If you have found answers in the text above, then you know now what steps to take. If you ever experience failure with your shingles in your current or future home, do not delay speaking to the experts for help and assistance.