We are based here, on the strip of land between the Gulf and Little Lagoon. That means we know what this weather does to a roof — and we are minutes away when it does it.
Gulf Shores sits on a narrow band of land at the bottom of Baldwin County, with the Gulf of Mexico on one side and Little Lagoon and the Intracoastal Waterway on the other. Highway 59 brings everybody down from Foley and I-10, Highway 182 runs east and west along the beach, and Highway 180 heads west out the Fort Morgan Road corridor. There is very little of this city that is not within a few thousand feet of open salt water.
That geography is the whole story for a roof. There is no tree line and no neighbouring ridge to break the wind — a storm coming off the Gulf hits the first row of houses at full strength and keeps going. Salt spray reaches well inland of the beach itself. And the humidity means any water that does get past the covering does not dry out; it sits in the deck and grows mould.
Our office is at 1404 W 1st St Unit B, so when something comes through we are not driving down from Mobile or over from Pensacola. We are already here.
Hurricane-force wind, on a cycle. Hurricane Sally made landfall right here on September 16, 2020 as a Category 2. Southern Baldwin County took sustained winds of 75 to 85 mph with gusts past 100, and a 123 mph gust was recorded at the Perdido Pass Bridge just east of us. Ivan did comparable damage in 2004. Roofs in this city get replaced on storm cycles, not on schedules.
Salt-air corrosion. Airborne chloride attacks fasteners, flashing, drip edge and any exposed metal. It is why a cheap fastener package will undo an expensive roof here, and why metal roofing has to be specified for coastal exposure rather than bought on price.
Relentless UV and heat. Gulf Shores gets a punishing amount of sun. Asphalt shingles lose granules faster, the mat dries and becomes brittle, and a shingle rated for 30 years somewhere inland is realistically doing well to make 15 to 20 here.
Wind-driven rain. A roof can be watertight under vertical rain and leak badly under horizontal rain. Most of the leaks we chase in Gulf Shores start at a flashing, a pipe boot, a vent or a wall junction rather than in the open field of the roof.
After any named storm, get a free inspection even if the roof looks fine. Lifted shingles that did not blow off are the classic Gulf Shores problem — the seal is broken, the roof looks untouched from the driveway, and it leaks in the next ordinary rain. We do post-storm inspections at no charge. Call (251) 313-4853.
Gulf Shores is really several different roofing problems in one city. Along West Beach and the beachfront off Highway 182, a lot of the stock is elevated on pilings with high wind exposure and difficult access — steep, tall and nothing to set a ladder against. The canal and lagoon neighborhoods behind the beach have more conventional homes but sit in heavy salt air with boat lifts and docks to work around. Out the Fort Morgan Road corridor, houses get further apart, more exposed and further from help.
Inland of the Intracoastal Waterway, around the golf communities and the newer subdivisions, the exposure eases a little and the housing is newer — which usually means planned roofs reaching replacement age together rather than storm damage. And across all of it there is the rental and second-home stock, where the roof has to be done between bookings and the owner is often three states away.
We work all of it. Tell us which one you are and we will plan the job around it.
Most of our Gulf Shores work is roof replacement and storm damage repair, with a growing amount of FORTIFIED roofing now that homeowners have worked out what the $10,000 grant and the insurance discount are worth. We also handle roof repair, metal roofing specified for salt exposure, commercial and condo roofing, gutters and siding.
Every roof we install is built to Baldwin County’s requirements: rated for 130 mph or greater, ASTM D7158 Class H or D3161 Class F shingles, high-wind installation with a minimum of six nails, and synthetic underlayment — asphalt felt is not permitted on new installations here.
Gulf Shores is the middle of our service area. We also cover Orange Beach just east, Fort Morgan out west along Highway 180, and Foley, Elberta, Bon Secour and Magnolia Springs inland. If you are not sure whether you are in range, call and ask — the answer is usually yes.
Storm damage, a leak you cannot find, or a FORTIFIED upgrade with grant money on the table — we are local and the look is free.
📞 Call (251) 313-4853 Request an Estimate