Bungalow Roofing in Berwyn, Block After Block
Hipped roofs, low pitch, dormer front and centre. The failure points repeat here, so a roofer knows where to look first.
Dense blocks, tight lots, flat roofs behind parapets
Berwyn is bungalow country in the most literal sense. The city contains one of the largest concentrations of Chicago-style brick bungalows in existence, block after block of them, built largely in the 1920s to a remarkably consistent pattern. That consistency is useful, because a roofer knows what to expect before climbing up, but it also means the same failure points recur across thousands of houses.
The classic Berwyn bungalow is a one-and-a-half story brick house with a low-pitched hipped roof, wide overhanging eaves, a front dormer, and an attic that was often finished into living space at some point in the last century. That finished attic is the crux of most roofing problems here: it eliminates the ventilation path the roof assembly was designed around, which drives ice damming at the eaves and cooks the shingles from underneath on sunny slopes. Rear additions and enclosed porches typically carry separate low-slope roof sections, and the detached brick garages that come with these lots need their own attention.
What freeze-thaw does to masonry and roofs
Ice dams are the signature winter problem in Berwyn, and they are almost always a ventilation and insulation story rather than a shingle story. Warm air from a finished attic melts snow at the ridge, the meltwater refreezes over the cold, uninsulated eave overhang, and water backs up under the shingles. Ice-and-water shield at the eaves and a genuine intake-to-exhaust ventilation path are what actually solve it.
Services called in most here
What gets called in most around Historic Bungalow District and Depot District, roughly in the order it comes up.
Getting a roofer out
Call with the address and a licensed, insured roofer working Berwyn takes it from there: inspection, photographs, then the price in writing. Who does the work.
Roofing questions from Berwyn
Specific to Historic Bungalow District, Depot District and the rest of Cook County, with everything else on the FAQ page.
Why does my Berwyn bungalow get ice dams every winter?
Almost always because the attic was finished into living space. Warm air leaks up into the roof, melts the snow, and it refreezes at the colder eaves into a dam that backs water under the shingles. It is an insulation and ventilation problem rather than a shingle problem, so new shingles alone will not stop it.
Can a finished attic be ventilated properly?
Usually, though it takes more thought than an open attic. The air path has to run behind the finished walls and ceiling, from the soffit to the ridge, with a clear gap kept open. Sometimes that means baffles, sometimes rethinking the insulation. Raise it at the inspection, because it is easiest to sort out during a replacement.
Should I knock the ice dams off my roof?
Not with a hammer or a shovel. That damages the shingles and the gutters and does nothing about the cause. A roof rake used from the ground to pull snow off near the edge is safer. For a lasting fix, the attic has to stop leaking heat into the roof.
Is ice and water shield worth paying for on a bungalow?
Yes, here especially. It is a self-adhering membrane laid along the eaves and in the valleys, under the shingles. It seals around the nails and stops water that backs up behind an ice dam from reaching the deck. On a house prone to ice dams it is one of the most useful things on the roof.
Nearby communities
Cicero, Oak Park, Chicago, Lombard, Wheaton. Each has its own page covering local housing stock.
From the Roofing Education Center
Talk to a roofer in Berwyn
Give the address and what you are seeing, and a roofer who already works Historic Bungalow District and knows the stock takes it from there.