Roofing Contractor in Kennebunkport, ME Built for Nor'easters and Salt Air

An ice dam is a ridge of ice that forms at the eaves when heat escaping from the house melts snow on the roof and the water refreezes at the colder overhang. Meltwater then backs up under the shingles and into ceilings and walls.

Freeze-thaw cycles near the coast happen dozens of times a winter, and 50–70 inches of snow gives them plenty to work with. The real culprit is usually the house. Older Capes and colonials across Kennebunk, Arundel and Biddeford often have little attic insulation and almost no ventilation, so the roof deck stays warm while the eaves freeze. Roofs installed before ice barrier was required usually have no membrane at the eaves at all. That's why new shingles alone won't fix an ice dam problem.

• Thick ice ridges along gutters and eaves
• Large icicles, especially over entry doors
• Water stains on ceilings near exterior walls
• Peeling paint or damp plaster below the eaves
• Gutters pulling away under the ice weight
• Frost or wet insulation in the attic

We see this most on 1-1/2-story Capes in Arundel and Lyman, on colonials in Kennebunk and Wells with finished knee-wall attics, and on any home with a valley above a porch. The worst stretch is usually January through early March, after a thaw is followed by a hard freeze.

Our fix: We remove the ice safely with steam and repair the leak. For a lasting fix, we add ice and water shield, improve ventilation, and recommend insulation or heat cable where it makes sense.

High winds break the seal strips on shingles, then lift or tear them off. Wind-driven rain gets under flashing and laps that were only designed to shed water falling straight down. Sometimes branches or debris puncture the roof.

Coastal gusts here often top 50 mph during nor'easters, and the January 2024 storms showed how fast exposed roofs can fail. Many local roofs were installed with four nails per shingle and no wind-rated starter strip, and those shed tabs first. On oceanfront homes the rain is driven nearly sideways, so it finds weak spots at ridges, rakes and step flashing that a calm-weather rain never reaches.

• Shingles missing or lying in the yard
• Creased or flapping tabs along ridges and rakes
• Exposed underlayment or bare decking
• New leaks that only show up during wind-driven rain
• Bent drip edge or lifted metal panels
• Granules piled at the downspouts

Ocean Avenue, Cape Arundel, Goose Rocks Beach, Biddeford Pool, Camp Ellis and Drakes Island take the brunt. Damage spikes after fall and winter nor'easters and the remnants of tropical storms, and so do out-of-state storm chasers.

Our fix: We tarp right away to stop water from getting in, document the damage with photos for insurance, and then repair or replace using high-wind nailing and wind-rated starter and ridge products.

Flashing is the metal that seals the joints where the roof meets chimneys, dormers, walls and skylights. Once it corrodes, cracks or pulls loose, water runs behind it and soaks the framing.

Antique homes near Dock Square and Summer Street often have two or three old masonry chimneys with mortar that's breaking down and flashing that's decades old. Salt air corrodes galvanized steel quickly, and freeze-thaw keeps reopening any caulked joints. Many past repairs relied on roofing tar instead of proper step and counter-flashing, and tar fails in a few winters.

• Stains on the ceiling or wall beside a chimney
• Damp or crumbling mortar joints
• Rusted, lifted or tar-smeared flashing
• Water stains around a skylight frame
• Musty smell in a closet next to the chimney

This is very common on Federal and Greek Revival homes in Kennebunkport village and Kennebunk's historic district, and on Shingle Style cottages with dormers along Kennebunk Beach.

Our fix: We put in new step and counter-flashing in copper, aluminum or stainless steel, reglet it into the masonry, and seal skylight curbs properly.

Salt spray off the Gulf of Maine speeds up rust on standard steel nails, drip edge, gutters and flashing. As the metal weakens, shingles loosen and the edges of the roof start letting water in.

Standard electro-galvanized fasteners and steel drip edge simply weren't made for oceanfront exposure. Within a mile of the water, and especially on homes facing the open ocean, we regularly pull nails that have rusted halfway through. Fog and humidity keep the metal wet. Big-box materials that last 25 years inland can fail in less than 10 here.

• Rust streaks running down fascia or siding
• Pitted or flaking gutters and drip edge
• Shingles sliding out of place
• Nail heads rusting through the shingle surface
• Holes in older steel valleys

Ocean Avenue, Cape Porpoise, Goose Rocks, Higgins Beach, Ocean Park and Perkins Cove are hit hardest. Condos and motels near Old Orchard Beach often have corroded edge metal around low-slope sections.

Our fix: We replace corroded parts with stainless or hot-dipped galvanized fasteners and copper or aluminum flashing, drip edge and gutters made for marine exposure.

Long-term moisture rots the wood underneath and around the roof: board sheathing, built-in box gutters, fascia and soffits. A roof can look fine from the street while the structure under it is getting soft.

Box gutters built into the cornices of 18th- and 19th-century homes collect ice and debris, and once their linings fail they rot quietly from the inside. Marine humidity keeps wood damp, and old skip sheathing from former wood roofs often isn't solid enough for modern shingles. Salt air also wears down paint on fascia and soffits much faster than it does inland.

• Spongy spots when you walk the roof
• A visible sag along the roofline
• Peeling paint and soft wood at the cornice
• Stains or water dripping inside box gutters
• Gaps or animal entry at soffits
• Shingles telegraphing uneven decking

Captains' houses around Dock Square, Summer Street homes and older cottages in Kennebunk Lower Village have box gutters and board sheathing that often turn out to be rotted once the old roof comes off.

Our fix: We replace rotted sheathing with new decking, reline or rebuild box gutters, and install new fascia and soffits with proper ventilation.

Low-slope roofs drain slowly. When seams separate, the membrane blisters or water ponds, leaks start quickly. Snow load and freeze-thaw put extra stress on aging EPDM and built-up roofs.

Seasonal condos, motels and cottage additions in Old Orchard Beach, Wells and Ogunquit often have low-slope sections, and Biddeford-Saco's mill conversions have large flat roofs. Heavy wet snow sits on these roofs for weeks, and meltwater pools where drains clog with debris or ice.

• Water ponding 48 hours after rain
• Blisters, cracks or shrinking membrane
• Open seams or lifted flashing at parapets
• Leaks around rooftop units or vents
• Interior stains on top-floor ceilings

Common on Ocean Park and Old Orchard Beach motels and condos, flat-roofed additions on Wells cottages, and converted mill buildings along the Saco River in Biddeford and Saco.

Our fix: We repair seams and flashing or replace the roof with TPO or EPDM, add tapered insulation where ponding is a problem, and apply reflective or waterproof coatings.

The black streaks you see are algae. Green moss and crusty lichen hold moisture against the roof surface, which lifts shingle edges, wears away granules and speeds up rot on cedar shingles.

Fog and humidity coming off the ocean keep roofs damp, and wooded lots in Kennebunkport, Arundel and York shade north-facing slopes for most of the day. Cedar is especially vulnerable because a damp, shaded cedar roof can lose half its life to moss and rot.

• Black streaks running down the slopes
• Green moss clumps between shingles
• Gray-green lichen patches
• Curling or cupped cedar shingles
• Granules collecting in gutters

North-facing slopes under pines and oaks in Cape Porpoise, Goose Rocks, Arundel and York Harbor, and cedar roofs on shaded Kennebunk Beach cottages.

Our fix: We clean the roof gently without pressure-washing damage, treat the growth, and recommend algae-resistant shingles or zinc and copper strips when the roof is replaced.