Thread: Holes all over my composition shingled roof

Two years ago we moved into our house and the roof inspection, done by a very reputable roofing company, stated the roof was in good condition.

Recently, after the first heavy rain in months, we noticed a water stain on my daughter's bedroom wall. We live in a house with dormers and a very steep pitch to the front roof, so we assumed a leak had occured in the roof and run down a stud making the wall of her room wet.

Had the same inspectors come back today and they said there are holes all over our roof...about a half inch to an inch wide, sometimes straight through two layers of composition shingles.

Over our garage roof, there are probably 15, with another 15-20 just on the front side of our the house roof.

Inspector asked if we had woodpeckers, but we haven't heard one and frankly why would a woodpecker peck through composition shingles when wood eaves are just a few feet away? A squirrel? A rat? A raccoon? But why right in the middle of the shingles? Could it be roof failure? Could the adhesive or staples or some material be deteriorating the shingle itself?

Roof is only 13-15 years old according to original inspection and it was estimated it would last another 15 or so years.

We are perplexed. We can have the damage fixed (caulked), but need to determine the cause obviously. Any ideas? Your thoughts would be MUCH appreciated.

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Originally Posted by Anne Obsitnik

Two years ago we moved into our house and the roof inspection, done by a very reputable roofing company, stated the roof was in good condition.

Recently, after the first heavy rain in months, we noticed a water stain on my daughter's bedroom wall. We live in a house with dormers and a very steep pitch to the front roof, so we assumed a leak had occured in the roof and run down a stud making the wall of her room wet.

Had the same inspectors come back today and they said there are holes all over our roof...about a half inch to an inch wide, sometimes straight through two layers of composition shingles.

Over our garage roof, there are probably 15, with another 15-20 just on the front side of our the house roof.

Inspector asked if we had woodpeckers, but we haven't heard one and frankly why would a woodpecker peck through composition shingles when wood eaves are just a few feet away? A squirrel? A rat? A raccoon? But why right in the middle of the shingles? Could it be roof failure? Could the adhesive or staples or some material be deteriorating the shingle itself?

Roof is only 13-15 years old according to original inspection and it was estimated it would last another 15 or so years.

We are perplexed. We can have the damage fixed (caulked), but need to determine the cause obviously. Any ideas? Your thoughts would be MUCH appreciated.

Hi Anne,

Recognizing that the roof is steep, pictures would help. Difficult to give an opinion without a visual. If you were in Texas or that general area, I would suggest hail damage.

Having said that, I have seen woodpecker damage to shingles. Yes, it does seem counter intuitive, but it does happen.

Caulking the roof is not going to address the problem. From what you describe, the roof should be replaced.

One thing to understand is that roof warranties aren't worth much. A 30 comp shingle will probably last 20. A 50 year comp shingle will probably last 20.

Thank you for the reply. I really appreciate it and will try to take pictures of it tomorrow during light and post them.

We are in California and there hasn't been any rain nor hail here since the spring. Although hail rarely happens, occasionally it does. Could hail truly penetrate through 2 layers of composition shingle?

To be honest the whole thing kind of gave me the creeps...holes all over my roof. Shudder!!

I will try to get pics up by tomorrow. In the meantime, my sincere thanks!

Originally Posted by Anne Obsitnik

Thank you for the reply. I really appreciate it and will try to take pictures of it tomorrow during light and post them.

We are in California and there hasn't been any rain nor hail here since the spring. Although hail rarely happens, occasionally it does. Could hail truly penetrate through 2 layers of composition shingle?

To be honest the whole thing kind of gave me the creeps...holes all over my roof. Shudder!!

I will try to get pics up by tomorrow. In the meantime, my sincere thanks!

Hi Anne,

I am just a bit north of you in Sonoma County. California hail is pretty teeny, typically pea sized. Not likely to do any noticeable damage. Some hail can do damage to shingles, but it needs to be really large. My understanding is that large hail occurs across the south of the U.S. (Texas, Oklahoma, etc) and the damage is nothing like what you have described.

I have not seen rodents or raccoons do damage like you have described, but have seen woodpeckers. I might have some photos that I can share. I need to search for them first. I will try to post tomorrow after I find them.

Thanks so much for the response. If you do have photos that you could post it would be tremendously helpful. We obviously don't want to throw tons of money at a roof repair or replacement if we haven't actually stopped the cause of the damage, so determining if it is indeed woodpeckers would give me a sense of where to start. Truly appreciate it!

Large birds roosting or sitting on the roofs ridges will cause leaks. In my area Buzzards and the occasional Eagle are to blame for holes in roofs from their talons.

I can't say I have ever seen wood peckers damage a roof. All woodpecker damage I have seen are holes around an eighth of an inch or the size of their pecker.

Photos would be helpful. Also you might need to make a claim on your insurance if it is widespread damage.