Residential Roofing for Chicago-Area Homes and Two-Flats
Bungalow, ranch or two-flat, a licensed local roofer inspects it, photographs what’s wrong and prices the fix in writing.
About residential roofing
Chicago-area housing stock is unusually varied for one metro. Frame cottages and two-flats from the 1890s, brick bungalows by the tens of thousands from the 1920s, postwar ranches, split-levels, and forty years of suburban subdivisions. Each comes with its own roof geometry, deck construction and set of predictable failure points.
That variety is the whole job. A dormer-heavy Victorian in Old Irving Park and a 1998 colonial in Naperville need the same standard of work but a different plan to get there. A good roofer scopes the job around the house that is actually there.
Residential Roofing by area
Roofs on the houses here
Roof repairs and leak detection
Pinpointing and resolving water intrusion before it causes structural or ceiling damage.
Roof replacement
Full tear-offs down to the deck, then architectural asphalt shingles laid to the manufacturer’s nailing and flashing detail.
Shingle roofing
Professional asphalt shingle installation and repair with a variety of architectural styles and colors.
Storm damage and emergency repairs
Rapid response for hail, wind, and severe weather impacts.
Roof maintenance
Preventative maintenance plans designed to extend roof lifespan and save money.
Ventilation and ice dam mitigation
Addressing the attic conditions that cause ice dams instead of only repairing the damage they leave behind.
Residential work, close up
The details that decide whether a roof reaches its rated life, most of them invisible once it is finished.
Residential Roofing in the city itself
Residential work in the city means knowing which of three worlds you are in before quoting: the bungalow belt with its shallow hipped roofs and finished attics, the two-flat corridors with parapets and low-slope roofs, or frame housing that has been raised and added onto for a century.
The bungalow attic question
Most of these attics were finished at some point without the ventilation being reworked. That single fact explains most of the roofing problems on the bungalow belt.
Two-flats are low-slope buildings
They need membrane, parapet and drainage work rather than anything a shingle crew does, and the rear porch roof is a separate scope again.
Additive frame housing
A cottage raised in 1915, dormered in 1960 and extended in 1998 has several roofs joined at transitions of wildly varying quality. The joints are where the water is.
Roof stock changes by neighbourhood across the city. The Chicago area page covers the bungalow belt, the two-flats and three-flats, and the greystones block by block.
Residential roofing questions
More questions are answered on the main FAQ page.
Do you work on townhomes and condo buildings?
Yes. On attached housing the roofer usually works through the association or property manager, because the roof is typically a common element rather than individually owned. Check who has to approve the work before it is scheduled.
My roof is only 12 years old and it is leaking. Is that normal?
It is common, and it usually is not the shingles. Pipe boots, chimney flashing and valley details fail well before the field of the roof does. A 12-year-old roof with a leak is a repair conversation, not a replacement conversation.
Will a new roof help with my heating bills?
The roof surface itself has limited effect. What does matter is attic ventilation and insulation, which a roofer should check as part of a replacement. If the attic is under-insulated or the intake is blocked, fixing that is where the comfort and ice dam improvement comes from.
Residential roofing by town
Roofers cover Chicago and the surrounding suburbs across Cook, DuPage, Lake, Will, Kane and McHenry Counties.
Related Roofing Services
Book a free roof inspection
Call with the address. A licensed local roofer inspects the roof, photographs what is wrong and prices the fix in writing.