Roofing and Exteriors for Will County Homes

Plainfield, Bolingbrook and the growth corridor

With about 696,000 residents at the 2020 census, Will is the fourth most populous county in Illinois, and much of that growth is recent. Plainfield shows how fast it came: the village counted about 14,000 residents in 2000 and nearly 40,000 by 2010. Much of that housing went up as large subdivisions on former farmland, and the same is true in pockets of Romeoville, Shorewood, New Lenox and the Frankfort and Mokena area. Bolingbrook grew earlier, and many of its neighborhoods date from the 1960s and 1970s.

The two generations need different conversations. On the older Bolingbrook homes, we often find an overlay layer that has to come off, original roof vents, and decking that has been through two or three roofs already. On the 1990s and 2000s subdivisions, the original builder roof is the first one to wear out, and the details are more complicated: steep front gables, hips over bump-outs, several valleys and sometimes a skylight or two. Those valleys and wall transitions are where we look first.

Will County storm history: 1990 and 2024

On August 28, 1990, a tornado that formed near Oswego crossed into Will County and moved southeast through Plainfield, Crest Hill and Joliet. It was rated F5, killed 29 people, and is still the only F5 or EF5 tornado on record in the United States in the month of August. Thirty-four years later, the July 15, 2024 derecho set a new single-event record for the NWS Chicago office, with 32 tornadoes confirmed in its forecast area.

No roof survives a direct hit from a violent tornado. What installation can change is how a roof handles the far more common edge of a storm: straight-line wind that peels shingles along eaves, rakes and ridges. Those three edges get the most attention on our Will County jobs, with high-wind nailing, a sealed starter course, and hip and ridge caps matched to the wind rating of the shingles below them. Where hail is the bigger worry, ask about impact-resistant shingles and whether your insurer credits them.

After a storm, we document each slope with dated photos and can meet your adjuster on site; the coverage decision belongs to your insurer. Our storm damage repair page explains the process.

Joliet, Lockport and the older Will County towns

Joliet, the county seat, and Lockport were established long before the subdivision era, and their older neighborhoods have houses that predate the automobile: tall frame houses with steep gables, brick two-story homes, and porches added and enclosed over the decades. Those houses bring their own repair list. Porch roofs pitched too low for shingles, gapped plank sheathing that may need a plywood layer before a modern shingle can go on to the manufacturer’s requirements, chimneys with failing crowns, and gutters hung on fascia boards that have rotted behind them.

On homes like these we explain which repairs are urgent and which can wait, and we photograph the decking condition during tear-off so the count of replaced sheets is never a surprise.

Farmhouses and outbuildings in southern Will County

South of Interstate 80, around Peotone, Manhattan, Monee and Beecher, the county opens up into farmland. Roofing here often includes a farmhouse plus a detached garage, machine shed or pole barn. For outbuildings, exposed-fastener or standing-seam metal roofing is often the practical choice: light, fast to install over purlins, and able to shed snow. Farmhouses usually get architectural shingles, with extra attention to ventilation in attics that were never designed for it.

Will County roofing permits

Each city and village runs its own permit desk and sets its own reroof requirements. For homes in unincorporated areas, permits come from the building division of the Will County Land Use Department in Joliet, which takes applications, inspection requests and fees through an online portal. We look up the jurisdiction for your parcel before quoting and handle the filing and inspection scheduling that applies.

Will County roofing questions

Can a new roof go over the two layers on my Bolingbrook house?

No. Building codes based on the International Residential Code allow no third layer, so both existing layers come off down to the deck. That is no bad thing on an older Bolingbrook home: it lets us check decking that has already carried two or three roofs and replace the original vents while the roof is open.

Do you put metal roofs on pole barns and detached garages?

Yes. For outbuildings we quote exposed-fastener panels or standing seam depending on budget and use, and we check purlin spacing and trim details before ordering. Some owners re-roof the house and outbuildings together so the colors match.

Does a roof in unincorporated Will County need a permit?

Permits for unincorporated parcels come from the county’s Land Use Department rather than a village, and whether a straight reroof needs one can depend on the scope. We confirm the requirement for your parcel before quoting, so the permit, if one is needed, is in the estimate.