Roof Storm Damage Repair in Downers Grove and the Western Suburbs
Hail and wind inspections, roof repairs, emergency tarping, and full replacements. We photograph everything, document it for your insurance, and tell you honestly whether you need work at all.
- Same or next day inspections, free and with no deposit
- About a third of our storm inspections end with no work needed
- 10-year transferable workmanship warranty
Water coming in right now? Active leaks jump the queue. We tarp day or night, then schedule the permanent repair. Call whichever line is open. See emergency roof leak repair for what happens on an emergency call.
Storm Damage We Repair
Storm damage falls into three buckets, and they need different fixes. Here is how we sort them on an inspection.
Hail Damage
Bruised shingles, granule loss, cracked mats, and dents in vents, gutters, and flashing. Hail bruising is the damage homeowners miss most, because it does not leak until the mat fails.
- Test squares marked and photographed
- Soft metals checked for impact
- Repair, claim, or no action, stated plainly
Wind Damage
Lifted, creased, or missing shingles, and broken seals along ridges and edges. A creased shingle looks fine from the ground and fails on the next storm.
- Ridge caps, flashing, and vents checked
- Shingle matching where available
- Spot repair when a repair will do
Leaks After a Storm
Ceiling stains, wet attic insulation, damaged roof decking or sheathing, and failed skylight flashing.
- Attic inspected, not just the roof surface
- Tarping to stop the damage spreading
- Written scope before any work starts
What Storm Damage Roof Repair Costs
Most roofers will not put numbers on a page. Here is the honest version, with the caveat that no range replaces an actual look at your roof.
| Scope | Typical range | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Minor repair | $400 to $900 | A handful of shingles, one flashing detail, a vent boot |
| Larger repair | $900 to $2,500 | A slope section, multiple flashings, ridge cap replacement |
| Full replacement | $12,000 to $28,000 | Tear-off, decking repair as needed, new underlayment, shingles, ventilation |
Ranges reflect typical western suburbs homes and are not a quote. Price moves with roof size, pitch, number of existing layers, material choice, decking condition once we tear off, and how many penetrations the roof has. Our estimates are itemized and free, and there is no deposit.
The part that actually decides your cost
On storm work, the number that matters is usually not our price. It is your deductible. Most Illinois homeowner policies carry a wind and hail deductible of 1 to 2 percent of dwelling coverage, so a home insured at $400,000 often has a $4,000 to $8,000 deductible on storm claims specifically, separate from the flat deductible on everything else. Check your declarations page for the wind and hail line before you assume a claim is worth filing.
If the damage will not clear your deductible, we will say so and you skip the claim. If a repair will do the job, that is what we will recommend. For whole-roof budgeting, our guide to what a new roof costs in Chicago goes deeper than this page does.
What is the 25% rule for roofing?
The 25 percent rule comes from building code, and it is the single most useful thing to know before an adjuster visit. Under Illinois-adopted code, if more than 25 percent of a roof section is damaged or replaced within a 12-month period, the entire section has to be brought up to current code rather than patched. A repair below that threshold can be a patch. Above it, the work becomes a replacement.
Two reasons this matters on a storm claim. First, it is why a roof with scattered damage across several slopes can end up approved for full replacement when a single damaged slope would not. Second, insurers must cover code-required work when your policy includes ordinance or law coverage, so the rule can pull the whole roof into an approved scope.
Worth knowing alongside it: if your shingles are discontinued and cannot be matched, that is a separate argument for replacing a full slope rather than patching it. Bring both up at the adjuster meeting. Our guide on whether to repair or replace a roof covers the non-insurance side of that decision.
Storm Damage by Town in the Western Suburbs
Hail falls in narrow bands. On July 27, 2026, Westmont took 2.5-inch stones at 12:18 PM and Darien took 1 inch at 12:26 PM, nine miles and eight minutes apart. That is why a neighbor saying they were fine tells you almost nothing about your own roof.
| Town | July 27, 2026 hail | Time reported |
|---|---|---|
| Westmont | 2.5 inches, baseball | 12:18 PM |
| Clarendon Hills | 2.0 inches, hen egg | 11:56 AM |
| Downers Grove | 1.75 inches, golf ball | 12:15 PM |
| Lisle | 1.5 inches, ping pong ball | 12:14 PM |
| Darien | 1.0 inch, quarter | 12:26 PM |
| Naperville | 1.0 inch, quarter | 10:23 PM, second round |
The National Weather Service confirmed seven tornadoes from that event, three of them in DuPage County, including an EF-0 that tracked two miles south through Downers Grove. Full breakdown in our July 27, 2026 storm report, including tornado paths and our own inspection photos.
Towns we cover from both offices
- Downers Grove
- Hinsdale
- Westmont
- Darien
- Woodridge
- Lisle
- Willowbrook
- Western Springs
- La Grange
- Clarendon Hills
- Burr Ridge
- Naperville
- Oak Brook
- All service areas
How a Storm Damage Insurance Claim Works
We have walked hundreds of these. The sequence below is the one that goes smoothly, and the order matters more than most homeowners expect.
We photograph every slope, soft metal, and penetration, and mark test squares. You get the photos whether or not you hire us.
Repair, claim, or nothing. If the damage will not clear your deductible, we say so before you call your carrier.
You call your insurer and get a claim number. We hand you the documentation and the date of loss.
We meet the adjuster on your roof and walk the documented damage together, including code items.
We check the approved scope for missing code items, ventilation, flashing, and disposal before anyone starts.
Owens Corning shingles, proper ventilation and flashing. You pay your deductible and any upgrades. Photos and warranty documents at the end.
Two things we will not do
We will not cover your deductible. Anyone offering to waive, absorb, or discount it is committing insurance fraud in Illinois, and they are putting you on the hook alongside them.
We will not tell you to file a claim you do not need. A denied claim sits on your record. If your damage is cosmetic or under your deductible, filing costs you and gains you nothing.
What Neighbors Said After the Last Storm
“Professional honest local company. Franco provided great insight. No pressure. Nothing serious after roof inspection and no pressure tactics.”
Cindi S., Naperville. Yelp, July 31, 2026. Free inspection, no damage found, no work sold.
“We had Home Hero Roofing replace our roof shingles after storm damage. They were able to complete the job in one day and did a great job. They cleaned up the yard and did a great job. They were responsive to our questions and explained the process thoroughly.”
Roxanne V. BBB review, July 28, 2026. Shingle replacement, completed in one day.
Cindi’s is the one worth reading twice. We drove to Naperville, inspected the roof, found nothing serious, and sold nothing. That is roughly a third of our storm inspections, and it is the reason the other reviews exist.
Transparency runs both ways. You can verify our Illinois license on IDFPR in two minutes, and you should do that for anyone who knocks on your door this month.
Recent Storm Roof Replacements
More completed work across the suburbs is in our project gallery.
Before You Sign Anything at Your Door
Every major storm brings out-of-state trucks into these neighborhoods within 48 hours. The June 2021 EF-3 tornado brought a wave of them and many are still working here under new names. We investigated 7 roofing contractors in Downers Grove and concluded three should be avoided entirely.
Illinois law is on your side and storm chasers count on you not knowing it. Any home repair over $1,000 requires a written contract. You get three business days to cancel anything signed at your home, even after work has started, and up to 15 business days if you are over 65. You are also owed a Home Repair Consumer Rights pamphlet before you sign. Our guide on local roofer vs. storm chaser covers the rest of the warning signs.
Storm Damage Repair FAQ
What is a fair price for a roof repair?
In the western suburbs, most storm-related repairs land between $400 and $2,500 depending on how much of the roof is involved and how many flashings or penetrations need attention. Anything quoted without someone getting on the roof is a guess. Be cautious of a number that arrives before the inspection does, and of anyone who will not itemize.
How do I know if I have hail damage on my roof?
From the ground, look for granules collecting at downspout exits, dents in gutters, downspouts, and metal vents, and any shingles on the lawn. Dented soft metals almost always mean the shingles above took the same hits. Hail bruising itself is usually invisible from the driveway and has to be found by hand on the roof, which is what a free inspection is for.
Will insurance cover a full roof replacement after a storm?
If hail or wind caused functional damage, many policies cover replacement. Whether yours does depends on your policy language, your wind and hail deductible, and how much of the roof is affected. The 25 percent rule and unavailable matching shingles both push a claim toward full replacement. We document everything before you file so the decision is based on evidence rather than a guess.
Should I file a claim before or after an inspection?
After. An inspection tells you whether the damage clears your deductible and gives you dated photo documentation to hand your adjuster. Filing first, with no evidence, can leave a denied claim on your record for damage that never justified one.
Do you do emergency tarping after a storm?
Yes, day or night. Active leaks are prioritized ahead of scheduled inspections during a post-storm rush. Tarping stops the damage spreading tonight and buys time for the permanent repair to be scoped properly.
How long does storm damage repair take?
Inspections are same or next day. The claim timeline varies by carrier and is the part nobody controls. Once a scope is approved, most replacements on these homes are finished in a single day, tear-off to cleanup.
How long do I have to cancel a contract I signed at my door?
Three business days under the Illinois Home Repair and Remodeling Act, even if work has already started, and up to 15 business days if you are over 65. Any project over $1,000 also requires a written contract and a consumer rights pamphlet before you sign.
Free Storm Damage Inspections, Running Daily
Full photo documentation, an itemized estimate, and no deposit ever. Most inspections are same day or next day.
Schedule an Inspectionor call the office nearest you
Downers Grove HQ
2333 Wisconsin Ave, Suite 5
Downers Grove, IL 60515
(630) 827-8732
Mon-Sun, 6:00 am to 9:00 pm
La Grange Office
14 W Burlington Ave, Ste 5
La Grange, IL 60525
(708) 412-7922
Mon-Sun, open 24 hours
