A roof can fail early even when it is built with high-quality shingles. In this episode of Roofs for Renovation, host Mike Downer speaks with Peterson Roofing founder and CEO Jody Peterson and COO Ryan Peterson about why roofs fail early Quad Cities homeowners should understand. Their key takeaways are clear: installation quality matters most, attic ventilation controls damaging heat and moisture, proper underlayment helps prevent leaks, and routine maintenance catches problems before they spread.
How Does Poor Installation Shorten a Roof’s Life?
Poor installation can turn a reliable roofing product into an early replacement. Jody explains that incorrect nail placement is one of the biggest causes of premature roof failure. When nails miss the manufacturer’s designated nailing area, shingles can loosen, blow off during storms, and lose warranty protection.
Ryan describes a roughly 15-year-old roof built with the same type of architectural shingles Peterson Roofing regularly installs. Despite the quality of the material, large sections were blowing off because the shingles had been spaced incorrectly and the nails were placed in the wrong locations.
The roof also appeared to have been laid out in a way that reduced the number of shingles needed. Stretching the courses created inconsistent exposure and weakened the entire system.
As Jody explains, “It always comes down to how well it is installed.” The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety similarly advises contractors to follow product-specific requirements for nail placement, alignment, starter strips, and fastening.
A roof is not simply a collection of good materials. Every component must be installed as part of a complete system.
Why Is Attic Ventilation So Important?
Attic ventilation controls the heat and moisture that can damage a roof from underneath. During hot Quad Cities summers, trapped attic air can cause shingles to dry out and age prematurely. Jody notes that attic temperatures may reach around 140 degrees when hot air cannot escape.
Winter creates a different problem. Warm, moist household air can enter the attic and condense against the underside of the roof decking. Over time, that moisture may soften the wood, loosen roofing nails, and increase the risk of shingles blowing off.
A properly designed system should generally draw outside air through soffit vents and release warmer air near the top of the roof. The U.S. Department of Energy’s Building Science Education program explains that attic baffles maintain an airflow path between soffit vents and upper roof vents while preventing insulation from blocking circulation.
Ryan describes one failing roof that had box vents and ridge vents installed beside each other. Instead of drawing air from the soffits, the exhaust vents could pull air from one another. The home technically had several vents, but the attic still lacked effective airflow.
How Do Ice Dams Damage Quad Cities Roofs?
Ice dams form when heat escaping into the attic melts snow on the upper roof. The water travels toward the colder overhang, freezes again, and creates a ridge of ice. Additional melting snow can then back up beneath the shingles.
Jody explains that poor insulation, unsealed attic access doors, and bathroom fans venting into the attic can contribute to the problem. These openings allow additional warm air and moisture to enter the roof space.
The Department of Energy recommends proper air sealing, insulation, attic ventilation, and protective membrane along vulnerable eaves to reduce ice-dam risks.
These protections are particularly important in Iowa and Illinois, where roofs must withstand summer heat, freezing temperatures, snow, ice, rain, and strong winds.
What Does Underlayment Do Beneath the Shingles?
Underlayment provides a secondary barrier between the shingles and roof decking. Ryan compares traditional felt paper with synthetic underlayment, noting that synthetic products are typically stronger, lighter, and more resistant to tearing.
If shingles blow off during a storm, synthetic underlayment is also more likely to remain attached because it is commonly secured with wide-headed cap nails. Traditional felt can tear or pull away more easily.
Underlayment is especially important in roof valleys, along eaves, and across low-slope sections. These areas carry more water or allow water to move slowly. Peterson Roofing uses ice-and-water protection in valleys to help prevent concentrated runoff from reaching the decking.
Skipping the correct membrane may make an installation faster, but one leak can damage roof decking, insulation, ceilings, and interior walls.
What Maintenance Helps a Roof Last Longer?
Homeowners should keep gutters clear, monitor flashing and sealant, and schedule occasional roof inspections. Clogged gutters can prevent water from draining properly, allowing it to back up into fascia boards, soffits, roof edges, and exterior walls.
Ryan also recommends checking flashing and the limited areas where roofing sealant is required. Even high-quality sealant can eventually deteriorate. Wildlife may create additional problems. Raccoons, for example, can lift roofing materials or pull vents away from the roof while trying to enter an attic.
The National Roofing Contractors Association emphasizes that maintenance helps roofing systems deliver their intended long-term performance. The purpose is not to repair the roof constantly. It is to identify small defects before water reaches the structure.
Can a Roof Last Longer Than Expected?
Ryan describes a three-tab shingle roof Peterson Roofing installed during the mid-1990s. The roof lasted about 30 years without leaking and may have lasted even longer if he had not replaced it while updating the home’s exterior.
The roof combined dependable materials, proper installation, effective ventilation, and occasional inspections. Jody also notes that many architectural-shingle roofs installed approximately 20 years ago remain in excellent condition.
A warranty rating alone does not determine how long a roof will last. Material quality matters, but installation details, attic conditions, weather exposure, underlayment, and maintenance ultimately work together.
A long-lasting roof begins with dependable materials, but workmanship determines whether those materials perform properly. Homeowners researching why roofs fail early Quad Cities properties experience should examine the installation, attic airflow, moisture protection, drainage, and overall condition of the complete roofing system.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the biggest cause of early roof failure?
Improper installation is one of the most common causes. Incorrect nail placement, uneven shingle exposure, poorly protected valleys, and incompatible ventilation can shorten the life of otherwise dependable materials.
Can poor ventilation damage new shingles?
Yes. Excessive attic heat can age shingles from underneath, while trapped winter moisture can condense on the decking and weaken the roof assembly.
Are all lifetime shingles the same?
No. Shingles differ in design, durability, testing history, and installation requirements. Even a proven shingle may fail early when it is installed incorrectly.
Do clogged gutters affect the roof?
Yes. Blocked gutters can force water toward roof edges, fascia, soffits, and walls. They may also contribute to ice buildup during winter.
When should homeowners have a roof inspected?
A roof should be checked after severe storms, when visible damage appears, and periodically as it gets older. Flashing, vents, sealant, shingles, and wildlife damage deserve particular attention.
What should homeowners ask a roofing contractor?
Ask how the crew handles nail placement, shingle alignment, attic ventilation, valleys, flashing, underlayment, ice-and-water protection, and manufacturer installation requirements.
Mike Downer: Hello, everybody. I’m your host, Mike Downer, and thank you for joining us once again on Roofs for Renovation. I’m here with Jody Peterson, founder and CEO of Peterson Roofing, along with Ryan Peterson, his faithful sidekick, who is also with Peterson Roofing. How are we doing today, gentlemen?
Jody Peterson: Doing great.
Ryan Peterson: Doing good.
Mike Downer: Perfect. Today, we are going to talk about the duration of roofs and why some roofs last thirty years while others fail after ten to twelve years. That is what we are going to cover today.
The big question, and we will get into depth on this, is: What are the factors that determine how long a roof actually lasts? What role do installation quality, ventilation, and maintenance play? Jody, maybe you should take this one and give us an overview.
Jody Peterson: You just touched on all the main points there. Installation is probably the biggest reason roofs fail. Improper nailing is a big issue. If the shingles are not nailed in the right spot, it voids the manufacturer’s warranty, and the shingles can blow off during a storm.
The shingles we use are rated for 130 miles per hour if they are installed correctly. If they are not installed correctly, they could blow off in 50- or 60-mile-per-hour winds. That is a big factor.
Ventilation is also a big factor. It helps keep the shingles from heating up from underneath in the attic space. If the attic gets too hot, it can burn out the shingles and make them dry out prematurely.
Another possible issue is defective shingles. You do not see that as much nowadays because manufacturing processes are computerized, so the human factor has been reduced. You still see it occasionally, but not very often.
Maintenance is another factor, although maintenance itself usually will not make a roof fail prematurely. However, you may have leak issues or other problems pop up here and there.
Those are probably the four main things that would cause a roof to fail before its time.
Mike Downer: All right. Let’s dig into this. One of the first things you touched on was installation. How much does installation quality actually affect the lifespan of a roof, even when the shingles themselves are high quality?
Ryan Peterson: I’ll take this one. There is a roof I am in the process of bidding right now. It is not that old. I want to say it is maybe fifteen years old, but I have done repairs on it over the years.
At one point, I replaced some skylights. They should have been replaced when the roof was done, but the homeowner decided to reuse them. Eventually, the skylights failed.
There were also other issues with the roof itself. Lots of shingles were blowing off in big sections, and the reason was bad installation. The nails were not put in the right spots. The way the roof was laid out, it looked like they were trying to buy fewer shingles, so they stretched out the courses. The shingles were not placed correctly, which means the nails were not in the right places either.
Mike Downer: Was the quality of the shingle decent?
Ryan Peterson: Yes, it was the same type of shingle we use: the Owens Corning Duration shingle.
Here is another thing about this roof: the granules were coming off badly. It was missing a lot of granules, and I think one of the main reasons was poor ventilation.
Coincidentally, or maybe not coincidentally, this roof had two different kinds of vents installed together. We may have talked about this in another podcast, but it had a row of box vents near the top of the hip roof, probably seven or eight of them. It also had ridge vent right next to them. That is not something you want to do. Manufacturers do not allow that.
Jody Peterson: Let me interject here. The reason is that the vents will vent from themselves. You create a circular area of ventilation, with one type of vent pulling from another type of vent. The ideal situation is for the vents to pull air from the soffits, bringing air up from the bottom to the top and venting it out at the top.
Ryan Peterson: Right. So, even though it was a great shingle, the Owens Corning Duration, if those homeowners tried to file a claim, Owens Corning would come out and say, “No, this is bad installation. Whoever installed this created all kinds of issues. The wrong types of vents were used, the shingles were not placed correctly, and so on.”
So it was a good shingle, but a very bad installation. Now they have to put on a new roof.
Mike Downer: All right. You were talking about ventilation. Why is attic ventilation such an important factor in how long a roof lasts?
Jody Peterson: Heat buildup in the summertime affects the shingles from the underside. In the wintertime, moisture is the problem. If you are not venting properly in the winter, you are not getting the warm, moist air out of the attic.
Some warm air will always make its way up from the house into the attic. If there is no way for that warm, moist air to escape, it will condense on the underside of the plywood or decking. That can soften the wood, which can cause the nails to loosen. Then wind can blow the shingles off.
You have to get that warm, moist air out of the attic space in the winter. In the summertime, you also have to get that extremely hot air out of the attic. It can reach 140 degrees up there, and if it cannot escape, you are baking the roof.
Mike Downer: Absolutely. That makes sense.
Let’s move on to underlayment. What role does underlayment play in preventing leaks, and how should homeowners think about synthetic underlayment compared to felt underlayment?
Ryan Peterson: I know a little bit about this, too. I have seen roofs with no underlayment at all. Years ago, you would tear off a roof and there would be nothing underneath. You would wonder how the roof even survived that long.
The difference is that what people call felt is really tar paper. Some people still call it tar paper. More recently, over the last ten to fifteen years, we have seen more synthetic felt.
Synthetic felt has a lot of advantages. It is almost like a thinner tarp or a house wrap that you would use on vertical walls before siding. It is much stronger than felt paper. Felt paper is an organic material saturated with tar, so you can rip it easily. Synthetic felt is a manufactured product made from some type of polymer, and you cannot rip it easily.
If synthetic underlayment is exposed to the sun, it can be left exposed for months and still be warrantied. Let’s say you are building a new construction home and want to get the underlayment on, but you are not ready to shingle yet. You can install synthetic felt with cap nails and leave it exposed for three to six months without a problem.
It is also lighter weight, so it is easier to install than old tar paper. There is nothing necessarily wrong with tar paper. It is tried and true, but it does have some downsides. It tears more easily, especially when roofers are walking on it during installation. On a steeper roof, it can rip out from under your feet, so there is a safety factor as well.
Synthetic felt does not have that issue because it is installed with cap nails. You cannot just pick it up and tear it like tar paper. It is very sturdy.
If a shingle blows off during a tornado or a storm and you have felt underneath, that felt can blow off too because it tears easily and is not held down with cap nails. With synthetic felt, it is more likely to stay in place because it is tear-resistant and fastened with big-headed cap nails.
It is easier to install, easier to work on, and overall a better product. That is why most people are moving toward synthetic underlayment now. The average homeowner might still go into a big-box store and buy traditional felt because it is readily available, but it is not as good as synthetic.
Mike Downer: That makes complete sense.
Ryan, I’ll let you take this one. What Iowa-specific weather conditions tend to shorten the life of a roof?
Ryan Peterson: It gets really hot here, and it gets really cold. We have both extremes.
We have been talking about ventilation and how heat from the sun can bake the shingles, so that is a very important consideration in the summertime. In the wintertime, you have to make sure your ventilation is right because of the cold air outside and warm air inside.
You also have to think about ice and rain.
As long as we are talking about underlayments, I heard a story the other day about a large company doing an installation out in the country. The foreman did not have the ice guard he needed for a low-slope section of the roof. Instead of stopping the job and getting more ice guard, he said, “This is what they sent me, so this is what I am putting on.”
He installed the small amount he had and shingled the rest of it. That section leaked badly because it needed ice and water shield across the whole area. Now it is a big mess. That entire section has to be redone, and who knows what was damaged inside the homeowner’s house from the leaks.
That comes back to craftsmanship. At Peterson Roofing, we have been doing this for forty-five years. It is not about how fast we can run a customer through or how cheaply we can do the job. We live here, we work here, and we take care of people. I might see my customers in the grocery store, so we are going to do a really good job.
Jody Peterson: Sorry to interject, but ice damming is also a big factor. That ties right into ventilation and insulation in the attic space.
If warm, moist air is coming up from the house, you want as little of that as possible. There may be areas, like a scuttle door in the attic, that are not insulated properly. A bathroom vent may also be blowing warm air into the attic.
That warm air can melt the snow on the roof after a heavy snowfall and a cold period. The melted snow runs down to the overhangs and refreezes. That causes an ice dam, which can lead to major problems.
If your attic is ventilated and insulated properly, there is less chance of ice damming. That is a big factor.
Mike Downer: That makes complete sense.
What small maintenance tasks do homeowners often ignore that can lead to bigger roofing problems later?
Jody Peterson: Cleaning out gutters is the first thing that comes to mind for me.
Mike Downer: How does that affect your roof?
Jody Peterson: It can prevent water from draining off properly. In the wintertime, that can be a big problem because it can lead to ice damming.
In the summer, it may not be as big of an issue, but water can still back up and get into your fascia board and soffits. I have even seen water run backward into the wall of the house when it cannot flow freely off the roof, into the gutters, and out into the yard.
That is one thing that comes to mind.
Ryan Peterson: Flashings are another one. Homeowners should make sure those areas are checked. There are very few spots on a roof that need caulking, but some areas do. Caulking can wear out over time.
We use the best caulking we can get, and it lasts a long time, but it is still a good idea to get eyes on the roof every once in a while, especially as it gets older. Check things out and see how everything looks before it has time to leak and damage something.
Raccoon damage is another issue we see every spring. Raccoons may come up and lift things, and you may not even know it until a leak shows up. I have seen them rip entire vents off houses to get inside and have their babies in the attic. Then you are in big trouble.
You definitely want to keep an eye on that.
Mike Downer: They are nasty little creatures, aren’t they?
Ryan Peterson: Destructive little suckers.
Mike Downer: Let me ask you guys this: Are all thirty-year shingles really the same, or are there major differences in material and quality?
Ryan Peterson: I’ll start. Thirty-year shingles used to be the standard. Now, the standard is more of a lifetime shingle, which is really around fifty years.
Are they all equal? I do not think so. We may have talked before about some companies that have been known for not making the greatest shingles. They may have a new shingle out now that promises more than the shingles we all know and trust, and they may cost a little more. They promise the world, but they are really untested.
So, no, I would say not all lifetime shingles are the same. Everybody makes a lifetime shingle now. It is the standard, but they are not all equal. Go with what you know, what you trust, and what has proven itself.
Mike Downer: That makes complete sense.
You guys have been doing this for a while. What installation details does Peterson Roofing focus on to help roofs last longer? I know there is a laundry list.
Jody Peterson: Peterson Roofing has been installing roofs for forty-five years, so we know what it takes during the installation process to make sure a roof holds up and does not fail after ten years.
It always comes down to how well it is installed. Ryan mentioned earlier the layout of the roof. I have seen crews get on a roof without chalking lines, which means the shingles are not installed squarely and the exposure is not consistent. That is critical. All of our roofs are chalked out properly.
Valley installation is another important detail. A valley is where two roof sections come together and water runs down that area. If a nail is placed too close to the valley, it can cause a leak. You also need the proper underlayment in the valleys. We use ice guard in all valleys.
Nail placement is another major factor: where the nails are placed and how many are used.
I can tell you a quick story about a customer out on a farm, where there were no windbreaks, just wide-open cornfields. He had two previous asphalt architectural-style shingle roofs installed, and he told me, “I am not doing that anymore. What can you do that is going to hold up to the winds? I get strong winds out here.”
I looked at his roof and saw that it had not been nailed properly. I told him, “Listen, we can put on the Duration shingle. It is a fifty-year shingle, and we are going to install it properly. You are not going to have a problem.”
That was about fifteen years ago, and I have never heard from him about any issues. His shingles have stayed on perfectly fine.
It comes down to the quality of the shingle and whether it is installed correctly with the right number of nails in the right spots.
Mike Downer: Nice. Very good.
Let’s wind this up a little bit. I know this is one of your favorite parts of the podcast.
After forty-five years in the roofing business, what are some examples of roofs that lasted longer than you expected, and what did those roofs have in common?
Ryan Peterson: Let me go first. We are not talking about failures this time. We are talking about successes.
The house I live in now is a house I bought about fifteen years ago. Peterson Roofing had actually put the roof on that house back in the 1990s. When I bought the house, the owners handed me a folder with all kinds of paperwork in it, such as receipts for different things around the house.
In that folder was our original paper copy of the roof proposal from the mid-1990s. I want to say it was from around 1995. The roof was great. I did not replace the roof until just a couple of years ago.
It was a great installation. It had a good shingle and the right ventilation. Since I am a roofing contractor, I would get up on my roof all the time, maybe a couple of times a year, to check things out. The decking may have moved a little here and there, and maybe it needed a little caulk in a few spots, but that roof lasted thirty years.
Mike Downer: So the reason you replaced it was really because you wanted to update the siding.
Ryan Peterson: Yes, I was doing the siding and everything else. The roof was looking a little tired, but I did not have any leaks.
Mike Downer: So you did it for aesthetics more than functionality.
Ryan Peterson: Mostly. I probably could have squeezed more life out of it, but yes, it lasted.
Jody Peterson: That would have probably been a twenty-five-year rated shingle.
Ryan Peterson: It was a three-tab shingle.
Jody Peterson: That was a twenty-five-year shingle.
Ryan Peterson: I can even throw out the name. It was Royal Sovereign.
Jody Peterson: Yes, I remember when I put it on. That was before any of us knew anything about the neighborhood where we live now. We both live in the same neighborhood now, but back then, we had no clue we would ever live there.
We put that roof on before you were probably getting ready to go to college.
Ryan Peterson: No, I was still a teenager.
Jody Peterson: There you go.
Ryan Peterson: Getting old now.
Jody Peterson: That is true.
Mike Downer: Jody, do you have any examples of roofs you have seen last longer than you expected?
Jody Peterson: Longer than I expected? The shingles nowadays are made so much better. They have been out maybe twenty years or so. When architectural shingles first came out, they had thirty-year warranties, and we have not even reached the full point for some of those yet.
I have roofs out there with architectural shingles that were installed twenty years ago, and they are still going strong. That does not surprise me. I do not get callbacks from them. I see those roofs, and they look like they have another twenty years in them.
Mike Downer: Nice. If you do it right the first time, then you do not have to worry about it.
All right, gentlemen. Thank you so much. That clears up a lot of the questions people have about roofing installation and everything else.
For the next one, we will make it a little more fun and let you guys explore some of the myths people believe about roofs. We will get some personal input from you guys.
Jody Peterson: Looking forward to it.
Ryan Peterson: Sounds good.
Mike Downer: Thanks for joining me today, guys. It is always a pleasure talking to you.
Jody Peterson: Thank you, Mike.
Ryan Peterson: Thanks, Mike.
