Signs Your Des Moines Roof Is Near the End of Its Life
Roofs in central Iowa don't fail all at once. They fade for a few years, then start leaking in three places the same spring. If you know what the fade looks like, you get to choose when the roof comes off instead of having the weather choose for you. Here's what we look for on a walked inspection, and what you can see from the ground.
Why roofs age faster here
The wrapper on an architectural shingle says 30 years. In Des Moines they last 20–25, and there are reasons:
- Hail. Every spring and summer, somewhere in the metro. Each event knocks granules off and bruises mats, even when it isn't a claim.
- Wind. Thunderstorm outflow, and every so often a derecho. The 2020 event broke the seal strips on roofs that otherwise look fine, and an unsealed shingle ages fast.
- Freeze-thaw. From November to March the roof crosses 32°F every couple of days. Water in a crack becomes ice, the crack grows.
- Sun. July on a south or west slope cooks the asphalt out of the shingle. The south side of a roof in Urbandale is always older than the north side.
- Hot attics. Old houses in Drake and Beaverdale have no soffit vents. A 140°F attic bakes the shingles from below.
From the ground
You can see these from the yard with binoculars or a phone zoom:
Granules in the gutters and at the downspout. A new roof sheds a little. A roof shedding a cup every rain is losing its armor. Look at the splash block after a storm.
Bald patches. Black, shiny areas where the mat shows through, usually on the south and west slopes and along the lower courses. Once the mat is exposed, UV eats it in a season.
Curling and cupping. Shingle edges lifting at the corners or the whole tab cupping. That's the shingle drying out, and it's where the next wind gets its grip.
Missing tabs after ordinary wind. If a 40 mph day takes shingles off, the seal strips are gone across the roof.
A wavy or sagging roofline. Usually decking or rafters, not shingles, and worth an inspection of its own. See sagging roofline causes.
Moss or dark streaks on the north slope under the oaks. Cosmetic mostly, but moss holds water against the shingle through the freeze-thaw season.
From the roof
What we check when we walk it:
Seal strip adhesion. We lift the edge of a few shingles by hand on each slope. If they come up freely, the roof is unsealed, and the next straight-line wind will peel it.
Hail bruises. Dark, soft spots, random pattern. A dozen per test square on one slope is a claim; a few old ones on a 22-year-old roof are age.
Cracking and thermal splitting. Straight cracks across the shingle, common on the 1990s shingles installed on the first wave of Ankeny and Waukee houses.
Flashing condition. Caulked-over chimney flashing, rusted valley metal, cracked pipe boots. On a roof near the end, everything fails at once.
Soft decking. Felt underfoot. Means water has been getting in for a while.
From the attic
Water trails on the deck, daylight through it, frost on the nail tips in January, mold, and insulation packed into the soffits. An attic tells us how the roof has been living.
Age, the honest guide
| Roof | Typical life here | Replace-by |
|---|---|---|
| Three-tab, 1990s–2000s builder grade | 15–20 years | Now, if not already |
| Architectural, 2000s | 20–25 years | Inspect yearly past 18 |
| Architectural, Class 4, six nails, membrane | 25–30 years | Inspect past 22 |
| Standing-seam steel | 40–60 years | Check fasteners and seams at 20 |
If you don't know the roof's age, look for the permit history, the closing documents, or ask us. We can usually place it within a few years.
Two or more signs, and what to do
One sign on a 12-year-old roof is a repair. Two signs on a roof past 18 is time to plan. Planning means:
- A walked inspection with photos and an honest estimate of remaining years.
- Small repairs now — boots, a valley — if the roof has three or more years, so it doesn't leak while you save.
- A written replacement quote to compare against, so a hail storm next spring doesn't turn into a panic decision on the porch.
- If a storm does hit, the inspection photos from before it are the best evidence you can have that the damage is new.
The roof replacement page covers what a new roof built for Iowa includes, and repair versus replacement has the math.
Need roof work in Des Moines?
Call for a free estimate. Mon–Sat 7am–7pm.