Roofing in Garland, TX — free inspection from a local crew

Older housing stock, older shingle technology

Garland's neighborhoods largely predate the shift to laminated architectural shingle. A great many roofs in 75041, 75042 and 75043 are still running three-tab shingle, or were re-roofed with builder-grade three-tab as recently as the 2000s. Three-tab is a single flat layer, and it does not absorb hail the way a laminated shingle does. The same stone that leaves a bruise on a modern architectural shingle will punch through or crack a weathered three-tab outright.

Two problems arriving together

The awkward part for Garland homeowners is that age damage and storm damage look similar from the ground and are treated very differently by an insurance carrier. Granule loss from twenty years of Texas sun is normal wear and is not covered. Granule loss in a circular impact pattern with a soft, bruised mat underneath is storm damage and generally is. Telling those apart is the entire job of a proper inspection, and it is why a photo report matters more than an opinion.

What is under the shingles matters here

On a house built in 1968 the decking is often plank sheathing rather than modern plywood or OSB — individual boards with gaps between them. That is not a defect, but it changes the job: some sections may need overlaying or replacing before new shingle goes down, and any board that has been soaked by a long-running leak has to come out. This is the single most common source of a Garland estimate changing mid-job, which is why a good contractor tells you the per-sheet decking price up front instead of presenting it as a surprise on day two.

Ventilation is usually the other half of the problem

Older Garland homes were built before attic ventilation was understood the way it is now. An under-ventilated attic bakes the underside of the decking through a Texas summer and cooks a new roof from below — which is how a twenty-five-year shingle ends up failing in fifteen. If an estimate for an older Garland house says nothing about intake and exhaust ventilation, that estimate is incomplete regardless of the price.

Why local matters more here

Garland gets worked hard by out-of-town crews after every storm season. They knock the older neighborhoods first because they know the roofs are marginal and the contracts are easy to get. We live here. Our address is a real address in 75042, and it will still be a real address when a warranty question comes up in four years.