Roofing in Birmingham means steep slopes toward the valley, dead valleys behind dormers, and hail that finds the open face of the ridge. A Forest Park bungalow roof is a set of small planes and tight valleys. A ranch roof in Huffman is a long simple field that still fails at the boot and the ridge. Say which house you have.
Storms move along Jones Valley and drop hail on the slope that faces the open sky. Oaks on Avondale and Southside streets scrape caps and dump leaves into valleys until water runs sideways under the shingles. Wind between Red Mountain and the northern ridges lifts tabs that were already brittle from heat. The ceiling stain shows up in the plaster below a valley, not always under the field that looks worst.
Chimney flashing on older brick fails where the step rusts out. Porch roofs, nearly flat, hold water against the main wall of a Norwood or Ensley cottage. Skylights cut into later remodels leak at the curb during a sideways rain. Skip sheathing under an original bungalow roof means a soft spot is a deck problem, not only a shingle problem. Granules in the gutter after one core are evidence. Bring that detail.
The downhill eave can be buried in shade and moss while the uphill slope bakes. Ice is rare, but a cold night after rain still finds a bad valley. Gutters on a steep walk overflow and rot the fascia that the shingles depend on. If a limb is down, say whether it pierced the deck or only bruised the surface. Those are different repairs, and the attic will tell the truth if you can look without walking the slope.
Call with the neighborhood and the roof shape. Dormers, a cross gable, a low porch tie-in, or a simple hip. Say which rooms stain, whether the attic shows daylight, and whether the last hail left the downspout full of grit. Mention if the house sits on the ridge or down in the hollow. The trade needs the plane that faces the weather, not a wish for a different color of shingle. Call the number on this page.