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Free, no-obligation roof inspection and quote for Chicago homeowners — fast.
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BBB Torch Award Winner For Ethics
Recognized for honesty, integrity and trust.
Wind off Lake Michigan does more damage to Chicago roofs than most homeowners realize — gusts that rip through lakefront and inland neighborhoods alike find every loose shingle and lifted flashing point. Add freeze-thaw cycling through a long Illinois winter, and small gaps become leaks by spring. A roof built for Chicago has to handle both extremes in the same year.
Chicago's housing stock is unlike anywhere else in the Midwest. The bungalow belt that wraps the city's northwest and southwest sides was built mostly between the 1910s and 1930s, and those brick bungalows carry hip roofs with dormers, chimneys and gutters that each need their own flashing. Two-flats and greystones often have flat or nearly flat roofs hidden behind a parapet wall. Each of those roof types fails in its own way, so the first thing we do on a Chicago inspection is figure out exactly what system is on the building.
Flat roofs on two-flats and three-flats usually leak at the edges, not in the middle. Parapet caps crack, counterflashing pulls away from the brick, and scuppers clog with leaves until water sits against the wall. We check the coping, the flashing and the drainage path before we talk about replacing the membrane, because a new membrane will not stop a leak that is coming in through the parapet.
Wind off Lake Michigan and the freeze-thaw cycle of a Chicago winter are hard on any roof. Shingles that have lost their seal lift in gusts, and water that gets under them freezes and pries them further apart. On pitched roofs we look closely at ice and water protection along the eaves and valleys and at attic ventilation, since a warm attic is the main reason bungalows build ice dams.
Roofing work inside Chicago generally requires a permit from the city, and each suburb sets its own rules, so ask any roofer you talk to how they handle it. With us, you get a written quote before anything starts, and if a storm damaged the roof, we document it with photos for your insurance claim. We work across the city and the surrounding suburbs, and every roof we install comes with a lifetime workmanship warranty. Call (331) 204-4910.
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A local John Beal Roofing team member takes a look, no cost, no obligation.
You get a straightforward, in-writing quote — no games.
Midwest homeowners rate the work five stars again and again — part of the 50,000+ satisfied customers we've served. Family-owned, and it shows in how the crews treat a property.
When you call for a quote in Chicago, you get a local office and local employees — not a call center in another state. Someone who actually knows the neighborhood and the weather answers.
Every roof we install is backed by a lifetime warranty. Not a promotion, not a tier — every roof.
This award recognizes honesty and integrity in how a business treats its customers. A roof is one of the biggest purchases you'll make for your home, so who you trust with it matters.
John Beal Roofing serves Chicago and Cook County — Naperville, Schaumburg, Oak Park, Evanston, Arlington Heights, Cicero, Berwyn and Oak Lawn. Family-owned, with a lifetime warranty on every roof we install.
Tens of thousands of homes on the North and Southwest sides are classic brick bungalows, and their roofs are low-slope or flat behind a parapet wall — not the steep shingle roof most contractors price by habit. A low-slope roof does not shed water, it holds it, so it lives or dies on the membrane and on the flashing where the roof meets the parapet. Putting architectural shingles on a roof that cannot shed is one of the most expensive mistakes made in this city, and it gets made constantly.
On a flat Chicago roof, water almost never comes through the middle of the field. It comes in at the edges — through failing parapet coping, through masonry joints that have gone soft after decades of freeze-thaw, and through the counterflashing where the membrane turns up the wall. A homeowner sees a stain on a top-floor ceiling and assumes the roof failed. Usually the wall did. We look at the whole assembly rather than quoting a tear-off and hoping.
Chicago crosses the freezing point repeatedly all winter rather than staying cold. Every one of those cycles drives water into a seam, expands it, and opens it a little further. It is why roofs here fail at joints and terminations rather than in the field, and why a roof that looked fine in October can be leaking by March. Small membrane repairs made before winter are the cheapest money anyone spends on a Chicago roof.
Every roof we install carries a lifetime workmanship warranty, and we hold the BBB Torch Award for Ethics. On a low-slope roof, workmanship is nearly the entire product — the material manufacturer warrants the membrane, but only the contractor stands behind the seams and terminations, and that is where flat roofs actually fail.
Yes - Chicago plus Naperville, Schaumburg, Oak Park, Evanston, Arlington Heights, Cicero, Berwyn and Oak Lawn.
Yes. Low-slope and flat roofs need a membrane system rather than shingles, plus proper parapet and counterflashing detail. Shingling a roof that cannot shed water is a common and expensive mistake.
On flat Chicago roofs the water usually enters at the parapet coping, soft masonry joints or the counterflashing, not the field of the roof. The wall is often the real source.
It varies widely with membrane type, size, access and how much parapet and flashing work is needed. We inspect free and put the number in writing before anything starts.
Chicago roofs face hard winters, heavy snow, ice and long freeze-thaw seasons, plus wind off Lake Michigan that hits lakefront neighborhoods and suburbs hard. Snow that sits for weeks on poorly ventilated roofs builds ice dams that push water into ceilings and walls.
Spring and summer bring severe storm lines with hail and damaging winds across Cook, DuPage and Will counties, and the region sees its share of tornado warnings.
We serve the city of Chicago and the surrounding Cook, DuPage, Will, Kane and Lake county suburbs.
Chicago is known for its bungalow belt, brick two-flats and three-flats, and postwar suburbs full of ranches and split-levels. City buildings often combine pitched roofs and flat sections, and older homes frequently hide multiple layers.
Every Chicago-area replacement includes a full tear-off, decking repair, ice and water protection at the eaves and valleys, synthetic underlayment, new flashing, drip edge and ventilation. Flat and low-slope sections get a membrane system built for standing water. Certified installation, lifetime warranty.
Ice-dam leaks, wind-torn shingles, flat-roof leaks, chimney flashing failures and cracked pipe boots are the most common Chicago repairs. If your roof has life left, we repair it.
After hail, we inspect and photograph the roof and exterior so you know whether you have a claim.
Chicago roof prices depend on roof size and pitch, tear-off layers, decking repairs, flat-roof sections, flashing work and the shingle or membrane you choose.
You get a free inspection and a written, itemized quote.
Your Chicago estimate, install and follow-up come from our local Chicago team — real employees, not a call center.
Every roof we install is backed by a lifetime warranty, from the company that has been doing this since 1947.
Owens Corning Platinum Preferred and IKO ROOFPRO Craftsman Premier — manufacturer certifications only a small share of contractors earn.
Storms in Chicago don’t keep office hours. Call 1-800-JOHN-BEAL day or night for emergency tarping and leak calls.
John Beal Roofing is licensed in Illinois (IL104011957) and has local crews serving Chicagoland, backed by three generations of roofing since 1947.
Yes - Chicago plus Naperville, Schaumburg, Oak Park, Evanston, Arlington Heights, Cicero, Berwyn and Oak Lawn.
Yes. Low-slope and flat roofs need a membrane system rather than shingles, plus proper parapet and counterflashing detail. Shingling a roof that cannot shed water is a common and expensive mistake.
On flat Chicago roofs the water usually enters at the parapet coping, soft masonry joints or the counterflashing, not the field of the roof. The wall is often the real source.
It varies widely with membrane type, size, access and how much parapet and flashing work is needed. We inspect free and put the number in writing before anything starts.
Yes. We roof bungalows, two-flats, three-flats and single-family homes, including flat and low-slope sections.
Yes. John Beal Roofing holds Illinois roofing license IL104011957.
With Chicagoland hail and severe wind hitting Chicago roofs, we see plenty of homeowners in Naperville, Aurora, Joliet and Bolingbrook whose roofs clearly took storm damage, but whose insurance claims came back low or denied. A denial letter is not always the final word.
Note the storm date, photograph dented gutters, vents and AC fins, and get a free on-roof inspection. What a storm inspection covers.
Get the reason in writing, read your policy, and have the roof documented slope by slope. What to do if your hail claim is denied.
Send your insurer a written request with your claim number and photo report, and ask for your roofer to be there. How to request a reinspection.
A second roofer, an engineer, appraisal, a public adjuster or the Illinois Department of Insurance. Your second-opinion options.
In Illinois, insurance consumer complaints go to the Illinois Department of Insurance. We document the damage and meet your adjuster on the roof; we are roofers, not public adjusters, so negotiating the claim stays between you and your insurer.
Often, yes. Get an independent photo report of the roof, then ask your insurer in writing to reinspect, referencing your claim number. If you still disagree, you can look at appraisal under your policy or contact the Illinois Department of Insurance.
Free, no-obligation inspection with photos. Three generations since 1947. Lifetime warranty on every roof.
Get My Free Quote1-800-JOHN-BEALWhat We Do
Roof Replacement · Storm & Hail Damage · Roof Repair · Gutters · Commercial Roofing
"When Mother Nature's at her worst, we're at our best."
Every roof we install is backed by a lifetime warranty.
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