Roofing Services in Chicago, IL

Chicago has more distinct roof types packed into one city than almost anywhere else in the country. Within a few miles you move from lakefront high-rises with fully adhered membrane roofs, to blocks of brick two-flats with parapet walls and low-slope rear additions, to the bungalow belt with its low-pitched hipped roofs and deep overhangs, to frame cottages that have been raised, dormered and re-roofed four times since 1910. Working here means knowing which of those you are standing on before you quote it. We do roof repair, replacement, flat roof work and storm damage restoration across the city, on everything from single-family homes to courtyard buildings and mixed-use commercial properties.

The city roughly divides into three roofing worlds. The bungalow belt - the broad arc through the Northwest and Southwest Sides - is dominated by 1910s to 1930s brick bungalows with shallow hipped roofs, wide eaves and, very often, an original attic that was finished at some point without anyone reworking the ventilation. The two-flat and three-flat corridors through the North and West Sides bring parapet walls, low-slope roofs, and rear porches and additions with their own separate roof sections. The lakefront and downtown add mid-rise and high-rise buildings on single-ply and modified bitumen systems. Older frame housing on the South and West Sides frequently carries multiple layers of shingles and decking that needs attention once the tear-off starts.

Chicago roofs take the full freeze-thaw cycle plus lake-effect moisture, and the dense urban form adds its own problems. Alley access constrains staging and dumpster placement on most city jobs. Attached and near-attached buildings mean party walls and shared parapets where flashing details matter enormously. Ice dams are a chronic issue on bungalows and older frame homes with finished attics and blocked soffit intake, and summer heat on dark low-slope roofs drives thermal cycling that opens seams.

Chicago commercial work runs from storefront and mixed-use buildings along the neighborhood retail corridors to warehouse and industrial properties on the South and West Sides and office and institutional buildings downtown. Most of it is low-slope: single-ply membrane, modified bitumen, and older built-up systems still in service. Parapet terminations, roof drain capacity and rooftop equipment curbs account for the majority of the leaks we are called about.