Tornado, wind and storm roof repair for Stuttgart homes and duck camps

Stuttgart started as a German colony founded by the Rev. Adam Buerkle in 1878, and rice took hold after W. E. Hope planted an experimental crop in 1902. Riceland Foods is headquartered here, and every fall the World's Championship Duck Calling Contest draws hunters from across the country.

That history shapes the roofs. In town there are older frame homes, brick ranches from the postwar decades and commercial buildings with low-slope roofs. Out on the prairie, farmhouses sit beside metal shops and equipment sheds, and hunting camps and lodges fill with people for a few months each winter.

Arkansas County is the county name, which confuses people from out of state. It is one county with two seats, and Stuttgart serves the northern end.

The Grand Prairie is about as flat as Arkansas gets, and that leaves homes with no hills or heavy timber to break the wind. Straight-line winds behind a spring front can run for miles across rice fields before they hit a gable end. We see more peeled ridge caps, creased shingles and lifted drip edge here than in wooded towns.

Exposed fastener metal on shops and barns takes the same beating. Panels loosen at the eaves and corners first, then the wind gets under them and folds them back. Catching a few loose screws early is far cheaper than replacing a row of bent panels.

Hail is the other spring threat. Storms rolling across the prairie can drop hail over a wide swath, and with no trees to block it, every slope gets hit evenly. That often means a full replacement rather than a spot repair.

• Lifted or creased shingle tabs along rakes and ridges
• Missing ridge cap pieces after a strong front
• Metal shop panels loose or bent at the corners
• Torn flashing around chimneys and vent stacks
• Gutters pulled away from fascia boards

Stuttgart knows what a tornado can do. On May 10, 2008, a tornado damaged more than 200 homes and over 50 businesses and injured nine people. Storms like that are not common, but central and eastern Arkansas see enough severe weather each spring that every owner should know what to do when one passes.

First, stay off the roof and away from downed lines. Then call us. We answer 24/7, and after a major storm we schedule Stuttgart trips as early as crews can safely get there. We tarp open sections first to stop more water from coming in, and we photograph and measure everything so your insurance adjuster sees the same facts we do.

Permanent repairs come once the house is dry and the scope is clear. You get a written price before any of that work starts.

Duck camps and lodges around Stuttgart often sit unused from spring through fall, which means a roof leak can go unnoticed for months. Owners usually discover the problem when they open up for the season and find stained ceilings and a musty smell.

We recommend a roof check in late summer, well before the season opens. Many camps have metal roofs that only need new fasteners and sealed laps, while older shingle roofs on lodge buildings may be ready for replacement. Getting it done before November keeps the work out of hunting season.

Commercial buildings in town have their own issues. Many older storefronts carry low-slope roofs with parapet walls, and the flashing where the roof meets those walls is the most common leak point we find.

• Late summer camp roof check and minor repairs: often $290 to $760
• Metal fastener replacement on a lodge or shop: often $1,080 to $2,640
• Low-slope roof repair on a commercial building in town: often $640 to $2,180

Call (501) 387-1152. Stuttgart is about an hour from our downtown Little Rock office, so we set appointments ahead and group Grand Prairie jobs together. For storm damage, tell us whether water is coming in so we can sort the order of stops.

Every job ends with cleanup and a magnet sweep for nails, including gravel drives and shop floors where farm equipment and trucks roll through.