Bensalem Quality Roofing brings more than 20 years of work to roofing in Upper Southampton, and this page covers one problem in particular: the roof that a tree or a heavy limb has landed on. That damage looks different from wind damage, and it is repaired differently. A shingle that blew loose is a surface job, while a limb that came through the roof can reach the decking, the rafters and the gutters below it.
When we arrive after a tree strike, the first job is finding out how far the damage goes. We look at the roof from outside, and then we go into the attic, because the underside of the decking shows cracks and broken framing that the shingles hide. Water from a strike often travels along a rafter before it drips, so we trace it to where it actually enters before we price anything.
You also get a straight answer on repair before anyone mentions a new roof. Plenty of limb strikes are local: a few sheets of decking, a patch of shingles, a run of gutter and the flashing around it. When the damage is that contained, we say so and write it up as a repair. When it is not, we explain why, line by line.
The Isaias Tornado and the Trees That Came Down
What the survey recorded on August 4, 2020
On August 4, 2020, Tropical Storm Isaias produced a tornado that the National Weather Service tracked from Northeast Philadelphia toward Doylestown. Along the way it lifted and then touched down briefly in the Southampton area of Bucks County. The Mount Holly office estimated the wind there at 90 mph, which it rated as an EF1.
The survey’s description of that segment is worth reading closely. It reported numerous trees snapped and many homes and cars damaged by falling trees and tree limbs. It describes damage from what the wind brought down onto houses rather than from wind working on the shingles, and that is exactly the kind of damage a tree-lined neighborhood is set up for.
Harding Road and the hardest-hit streets
The survey named the Sycamore Drive and Harding Road areas as the hardest hit. A Harding Road address in Southampton falls inside Upper Southampton Township according to the Census Bureau’s own geocoder, which places at least part of that hardest-hit area in this township. The survey itself says only the Southampton area and does not name either township, so we are careful not to stretch it.
What matters for a homeowner is the pattern rather than the label. Upper Southampton is mostly detached houses, 4,829 of its 6,359 housing units by the Census Bureau’s 2024 five-year estimates. On streets where tall trees stand between detached houses, a storm that snaps trunks and limbs puts that weight straight onto shingles, gutters and eaves.
Storms since then
Isaias was not the last storm to bring trees down here. On June 19, 2025, a Storm Prediction Center report logged a large tree snapped in Upper Southampton Township, one of several Bucks County wind reports that evening. Each event like that leaves the owner with the same question: did the limb only scrape the shingles, or did it go through? The rest of this page answers it.
Looking for roofing closer to Bristol Township? See Roofing in Bristol Township.
What a Falling Limb Does to Decking, Rafters and Gutters
Cracked and pushed-in decking
A heavy limb lands on a small area with a lot of force. The shingles over that spot may look only scuffed or creased, while the plywood or plank decking under them has cracked or pushed down between rafters. From the yard you can miss it entirely; from the attic it often shows as a split board, a sag, or daylight through a nail line.
When decking has to come out, we photograph it and show it to you before it is replaced. The contract sets a per-sheet price for replacement decking ahead of time, so a sheet found broken under a strike is not a surprise number on the final bill. You see the damage, you see the price, and then we replace it.
Rafters and framing
A trunk or a large limb can do more than crack the deck. It can break or crack a rafter, split a ridge board, or push a section of the roof out of plane. That is structural work, and it changes the job from roofing over a damaged spot to repairing the frame first and then rebuilding the roof layers on top of it.
We check the framing from inside before we quote, because a cracked rafter under an intact-looking roof will keep moving under snow and foot traffic. If the frame needs repair, the written scope says so on its own line, separate from tear-off, decking, underlayment and shingles, so you can compare our estimate with anyone else’s item by item.
Gutters, drip edge and flashing
Gutters take the worst of many tree strikes because they sit at the edge where a falling limb tends to slide or bounce. A crushed section can pull its hangers out of the fascia, and the impact can tear the drip edge and lift the first course of shingles above it. Flashing at walls, chimneys and vents can also be bent or pulled loose where a branch struck it.
We replace bent step, counter and chimney flashing as part of the repair rather than hammering it flat and reusing it. Gutters and downspouts are sized and pitched together with the roof section being rebuilt, so the new run drains properly instead of being hung back up as an afterthought. A gutter that holds water after a repair is the next leak waiting to happen.
Tarping, Photos and an Inspection After a Tree Strike
The first day
If a tree or limb has opened the roof, the first priority is getting the weight off and the hole covered. Do not climb onto the roof or try to pull a limb off yourself, since a loaded branch can shift and a damaged deck may not hold a person. A tree service may be needed to cut and lower the heavy wood before any roofing work starts.
Once the wood is clear, we put an emergency tarp over the opening, fastened past the damaged area onto sound roof so it holds through the next rain. Inside, move belongings away from any drip and look for wet insulation or a stained ceiling, which tell us where water has already traveled. A tarp is a holding measure, not a repair, and we treat it that way.
Photos for your own claim
Before anything is cleaned up, we photograph the strike from the roof and from the attic and write up what we find. That record is yours to use for your own insurance claim. If you ask, our crew will meet the insurance adjuster at the house and walk the damage with them.
What we do not do is negotiate your claim or speak for you to your insurer. In Pennsylvania, adjusting a claim on a homeowner’s behalf is the work of a public adjuster, licensed under the Public Adjuster Licensing Law. Our part is the roof: an accurate description of the damage and a repair scope that matches it.
The township’s rules and the contract
Before the repair is priced, we check the rule for the house’s own municipality, because each township sets its own. Upper Southampton’s fee schedule, Resolution #2026-11, lists a residential reroofing fee of $125 per unit and states that fees are doubled when work starts without the applicable permits. When a job calls for a permit, it goes into the schedule and the price from the first estimate.
Our contracts follow Pennsylvania’s Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act. That means a written contract with the three-business-day cancellation notice and a deposit kept within the legal limit. After a storm, when a household is under pressure to sign something quickly, those protections are worth knowing about before anyone starts work.
Trimming Back the Limbs That Hang Over a Roof
What overhanging limbs do between storms
A limb that hangs over a roof does damage long before it falls. It drops leaves and twigs that pack into gutters and valleys, shades the shingles so moss and damp linger, and in wind it can rub the granules off the shingles beneath it. Each of those shortens the life of the roof, and a clogged valley can send water under the shingles in an ordinary rain.
During an inspection we point out branches that rest on or sweep across the roof, and limbs that hang directly over the ridge or the eaves. We note them in writing with photos so you can take that list to a tree service. We are roofers, not arborists, so the call on how much a tree can lose without harm belongs to them.
Which limbs matter most
The limbs that worry us most are the heavy ones directly above living spaces and the dead or cracked ones anywhere above the roof. A large limb over a bedroom is a bigger risk than a small branch over a detached garage. The Isaias survey’s account of homes damaged by falling trees and limbs is a reminder of what that weight can do in a single storm.
Clearing branches back from the roof also protects the work once it is done. Gutters stay clear longer, the shingles dry out after rain, and the crew can reach the eaves without working around limbs. For many owners it is one of the simplest steps to take before the next storm season arrives.
When the roof is coming off anyway
If a tree strike leaves a roof past repair, or the roof was near the end of its life already, plan the tree work before the replacement starts. Trimming after a new roof goes on means cutting heavy wood over fresh shingles. We would rather the tree service work first, then lay the new roof on a clear deck.
Throughout the job, we clean the driveway, yard and gutters at the end of each work day, including a magnet sweep for roofing nails. After a tree strike that matters more than usual, because the yard is often already full of broken wood, and a stray nail in the grass is the last thing a household cleaning up after a storm needs.
- 20+ Years Experience
- Attic Checked on Every Leak
- Itemized Written Scopes
