Storm Damage Roof Repair in LaPlace, LA
LaPlace has seen tornado wind lift roofs from inside the house. Our storm repairs start with how the wind got in, then how the roof is held to the walls.
When a garage door caves in during a storm, wind pours into the house and pushes up on the roof from underneath. LaPlace has lost roofs that way, with the walls below left standing. A repair that only replaces missing shingles can miss the decking that lifted and the nails that let go over that garage.
So storm damage roof repair in LaPlace starts below the roofline: which opening broke, then the attic above it, then the shingles and edges. Roofing in LaPlace is a long drive from our Mandeville office, so we plan each visit to answer all three questions in one trip.
Before the LaPlace Storm Visit
Our garage door blew in during the storm, but the shingles look fine. Do we need a roof inspection?
Yes. Pressure from inside can raise sheathing and pull nails over the garage without moving a shingle you can see from the yard. Have a garage door company look at the door itself.
How can two houses on the same LaPlace street need such different repairs after one tornado?
Tornado damage runs in a narrow band and depends on what gives way first: a door, the shingles, or the joint at the wall. In 2016 some LaPlace homes lost shingles and a few sheets of decking while others on the same track lost roof structure. Each house gets its own photos and its own scope.
When does a LaPlace storm repair turn into a replacement?
Once decking is gone across large sections or the framing has shifted. The structure goes to a framer or engineer first, and the storm-visit photos then carry over into a LaPlace roof replacement estimate.
Should we call while the storm is still blowing or after it passes?
Call 225-396-8122 in business hours, but expect the crew after the wind drops, since nobody should be on a roof before then. Mention any water inside when you call; a tarp under emergency roof repair is what holds a room dry until the permanent fix.
Can a hurricane bring tornado damage to LaPlace too?
It has. In August 1992, during Hurricane Andrew, a strong tornado crossed LaPlace and Reserve on an intermittent path of about 9 miles. Damage like that comes in narrow, uneven strips, so after a named storm we look for a band of heavier damage as well as general wind wear.
Does LaPlace get hail damage as well as wind damage?
Far less often. Since 2005, the reports of golf-ball hail in St. John the Baptist Parish come from two afternoons. On March 29, 2011, golf-ball-size hail was reported a few miles west of town. On April 15, 2015, golf-ball hail was reported in LaPlace and Garyville, and stones of about 2 inches in Reserve. When hail comes with a storm, the inspection sorts the hits on each slope into cosmetic or functional damage, using drone photos and a hands-on check of the shingles, the same split our hail damage roof repair work follows.
Can a storm repair make our roof hold better next time?
On the part we rebuild, yes: new decking goes down with fresh fasteners into solid framing, and where the edge tore away it gets new edge metal. Raising the wind resistance of the whole roof is replacement-level work, and FORTIFIED roofing is the fullest version of it.
The 2016 LaPlace Tornado and the Three Ways Roofs Failed
On February 23, 2016, an EF-2 tornado ran its whole 4.5-mile path inside LaPlace. Along that one track, roofs failed in three different ways.
Covering and edges torn away
It touched down at New Wind Fellowship Church and stripped much of the roof covering, then tore roofing and fascia from several buildings at US 61 and Belle Terre Boulevard. In Carrollwood, most of the roof damage was lost shingles and some decking. That is the common LaPlace storm repair: replace and re-nail the sheathing, dry the roof in, then shingle, with fascia, drip edge and starter course rebuilt wherever the edge came off.
Lifted from inside on Greenwood Drive
In Riverland Heights the tornado ran roughly parallel to Greenwood Drive. Many homes took roof damage and a few lost part of the roof structure. Two homes each lost an exterior wall, likely because garage doors failed and the wind lifted the roof off from inside and pushed the wall out. The tops of the walls that stayed up were barely marked, though the roof above them was gone. On those houses the trouble started at the opening below.
Let go at the wall in Cambridge
Near Heritage Cove and Virginia Colony Avenue, a few homes and duplexes lost part or all of their roof structure and decking with no sign of a garage failure. The worst of it, near Nicole and Gail Streets and on Sawgrass Drive, left houses with no roof at all. Over a failed opening, the roof has to be re-secured; where the structure failed with no breach below, framing is rebuilt before any roofer starts.
Opening, Attic, Tie-Down, Edges
Each of these goes into CompanyCam with photos, in this order:
The opening that broke:
Garage door, window, slider or porch: we note which one failed and photograph it, since a breach there changes what we expect overhead. Doors and windows go to their own trade; we deal with what the breach did to the roof.
The attic over that opening:
Over a garage that blew in, we look for sheathing pushed up off the framing, nail shanks showing above the plywood, and rafters or trusses that slid at the wall.
How the roof is tied down
Straps, clips or plain nailing at the top of the wall get photographed for anything bent or pulled. Movement there is a job for a framer or structural engineer before roofing goes back on.
Shingles and edges, by drone:
Missing tabs, exposed decking, torn fascia and loose drip edge, mapped slope by slope. Wind often starts peeling a roof at its edges.
Repair Bands After a LaPlace Storm
One area of damage, such as shingles and starter torn along a single eave or a few sheets of decking to replace, is a $400–$1,800 repair. Decking loss on several slopes, or uplift over a garage that needs new sheathing plus edge work, puts the job at $2,000–$5,000.
Our workmanship warranty on the repair is written, shorter in terms than a replacement warranty, with its terms stated in your scope. A stain that dates back to Ida, with no fresh storm behind it, needs its water path traced first, which is where roof repair in LaPlace begins.
Claims, Framing and the Crew in LaPlace
A documented file, with the claim left to you.
Drone, attic, and edge photos- the core of our insurance claim roofing- help you go to your adjuster. Louisiana RS 22:1684 keeps roofers out of the public adjuster's role, so we do not negotiate or settle claims, though we will be on site for the adjuster when invited. No contractor may legally cover or waive a deductible in Louisiana.
Framing handed to the right people.
Structural framing is outside Epic's work. When rafters, trusses, or wall connections move, we give the engineer or framer our photos and line up the roof work behind theirs.
Owner-run, no subcontractors.
Joey Noto founded Epic in 2020 after about ten years managing commercial construction around Baton Rouge, and Epic's own crew does the LaPlace work it scopes.
Start With What Broke First
Tell us what gave way first, whether a garage door, a window, or the roof itself, and your street. The visit is free and takes in a drone pass over the slopes, and the attic above any breach, and the written estimate and photos reach you within 2–5 business days, with no deposit taken.
137 Girod Street, Suite 3, Mandeville, LA 70448