Where a shingle roof gives out first
Hail is the quick way a shingle roof fails: granules knocked loose, tabs lifted, the mat underneath bruised so that it leaks months later rather than the same night. The slow way is at the eaves, where ice dams back meltwater up under the first courses and the leak shows up as a stain on a ceiling well inside the wall line.
Houses around St Paul make both problems harder. A Victorian has valleys where three gables meet, dormers cut into the slope and a bay roof over the porch, and every one of those joins is a place where flashing has to be right. A plain gable ranch forgives a lot more than a turret does.
That is why a roof evaluation here starts with the damage, not the sales pitch. Austad looks at the shingles, the flashing, the vents and the eave edge, and tells you whether you need a repair, a restoration after a storm or a full replacement. The hail damage inspection is free.
An estimate from the person who owns the company
Mark O. wrote in a review of a flat roof job that his bid landed in the middle of four, but the estimator, the business owner himself, gave the most thorough explanation of how the work should be done, so he chose Austad. The same applies to a house. The person standing in your yard with a ladder is the one who will answer for the roof.
A tear-off takes the old shingle down to the deck so the deck can be checked before anything goes on top. Ice-and-water underlayment goes along the eaves and into the valleys, then the new system follows: asphalt shingles from GAF or Owens Corning, Class 4 hail-resistant shingles where you want the extra impact rating, or standing seam metal where the pitch and the style suit it. The metal roofing page covers the panels in more detail.
You are handed a packet before you decide: the materials, the warranty and references. Austad keeps references on file by neighbourhood, so you can call someone who lives near you and had the same kind of house re-roofed.
After the last course is nailed
The manufacturer warranty on the materials comes with the system, and extended warranties are available if you want longer cover. Scot J. put the logic plainly in his review: he got four estimates, and Austad had the best warranty and was the most likely to still be in business to honour it.
Cleanup is part of how the job is judged. Lori F. wrote that her neighbours were amazed at how clean the yard was and that no plants were damaged. Marc C. thanked the crew for cleaning up the site after the work was completed, and Liz M. said she was very impressed with how clean they left the yard and gardens.
Repairs and maintenance stay on the table after the new roof is on. Storm restoration, roof evaluations and architectural sheet metal around chimneys and dormers are all handled by the same Little Canada shop, so one call covers the whole roof.
