Roofing Contractors In Mandeville, LA — The Northshore's Most Demanding Roofing Market

When it comes to Southeast Louisiana roofing, most homeowners consider the damage done by hurricanes. But the more intractable problem in Mandeville is a bit more insidious — and begins in the lake.

Wind speeds increase over open water. It also absorbs moisture as well. A sustained southerly wind that passes the Mandeville lakefront after the 24-mile ride over the surface of Pontchartrain has a lot more energy and humidity than if it came off the land at the same wind reading, as at Covington, eight miles north, or Hammond, further inland. This does not occur in theory, but it is an actual difference that can be felt in any building within a few miles of the lakeshore, which is why the challenges Mandeville faces with its roof are unique among all properties we serve in St. Tammany Parish.

In the real world on roofs across the city that means:

Lake fetch wind pressure on Lakeshore Drive and south Mandeville. Sustained wind loading occurs along Lakeshore Drive, the Causeway approach and the areas between Highway 190 and the lake for which most roofing installations are not designed. Lake winds come directly at shingle tabs on south-facing slopes and the seal strips that anchor tabs have shorter lifespans here than on similar roofs further north. After moderate wind events we’ve seen lifted tabs and broken seals on roofs on Mandeville that would not have been visibly affected if located in a sheltered inland area.

Tree canopy moisture trap. The mature live oak, slash pine and magnolia trees that line the streets of Old Mandeville, Fontainebleau and the neighborhoods north of Highway 190 pose a unique moisture issue for Mandeville not found in treeless suburban areas. Rain is very common on Mandeville and shade slows drying time of roof surfaces after the rain. The ongoing surface wetness encourages the growth of algae and moss, often at a level that homeowners from other, drier, climates are not used to. If your roof is displaying algae on the surface after three or four years, it is not doing so prematurely, but rather, it is reacting to the conditions in Mandeville’s canopy and humidity. The answer is not more frequent shingle replacement, but the use of algae-resistant shingles in an installation with adequate ventilation.

Wind driven rain at fascia and soffit transitions. Lake-fetch wind velocity and the moisture load it brings to a roof produce a wind-driven rain pattern which reaches horizontal surfaces – fascias, soffit returns and lower eave courses – differently than vertical rain. Mandeville neighborhoods located on or near the lake are showing more signs of fascia board degradation and moisture intrusion into the bottom of the soffits than are other similar housing types throughout the Northshore. This is a fine but important point to consider during replacement: If the fascia substrate is damaged, installing new drip edge and starter course over that is not going to work properly until the underlying wood is fixed.

Post-Ida underlayment failures. In 2021, all Northshore roofs were tested by Ida. The roofs are the ones that are still found on assessments throughout Mandeville, especially in The Sanctuary and the established neighborhoods off Causeway Boulevard, where the shingles were replaced or repaired but the underlying roof was not assessed. The water can enter through the gaps caused by water damage to the underlayment by Ida’s wind-driven rain and may not be evident until another storm gets past the shingle layer, at which point the water goes straight to the decking.