Repair King has inspected commercial roofs in Fairmont, including the Mega Coin Laundry building on East Blue Earth Avenue, where our photos show dented vents and damaged shingles across the roof. Fairmont logged six days of 1-inch or larger hail near town since 2015, most recently on August 8, 2026. We pull Fairmont's residential roofing permit, follow its two-layer limit, and document every roof with dated photos.
They went up and they found 37 spots that were definitely hit by that storm, and there were some storms that had hurt our shingles years earlier that we didn't know about. That drone was quite worthwhile sending up.
My name's Tim Flitter. I'm from St. James, Minnesota. This is St. Paul's Lutheran Church. I've been a member here for 17 years. Four years ago, June 20th of four years ago, we were in a meeting here and we had a hailstorm. It was a memorable hailstorm. We came outside, and there was not a lot of damage that we saw, but there were some good-sized hail chunks. A couple months went by, and a lot of our neighbors needed their roofs replaced. We had slate shingles on our church. We didn't think much of it. Two months later or so, Repair King out of the Twin Cities showed up, and they said, “Could we send a drone up just to check your roof?” And they went up, and they found 37 spots that were definitely hit by that storm of two months earlier, and there were some storms that had hurt our shingles years earlier that we didn't know about. That drone was quite worthwhile sending up. As far as the setting up of the actual project, the project manager has pretty much done it all. He's had a number of meetings with us. There were probably half a dozen phone meetings, and I think there were three in-person meetings. Today the crew is here and starting in on the project. The project should take about three weeks, and if we have good weather, it won't take that long. But there's no mess. The dumpsters are in place. Everything's in the right place. They've got correct scaffolding. Nobody should get hurt. Everybody is anchored down on our steep roof. I believe they're doing a very professional job.
More than most. Fairmont's Building Safety Department has its own residential roofing permit form that asks whether you're tearing off or going over the existing roof, caps a roof at two layers, and requires wood furring strips when metal panels go over one layer of asphalt shingles. The city also hands out its own guides on step and kick-out flashing and on attic ventilation math.
That paperwork reflects what the inspectors see. The city's step-flashing guide calls for flashing bent to reach 5 inches onto the deck and 5 inches up the wall, nailed to the deck only, with siding brought down over it as counterflashing. Its kick-out guide calls the roof-to-wall corner one of the most critical flashing details on a house. Its ventilation handout walks through the Minnesota Residential Code 1-per-150 and 1-per-300 rules, with 40 to 50 percent of the vent area up high.
We build our Fairmont estimates the same way. Before quoting, we check how many layers are on the roof now, whether the deck can take a new roof, where the roof meets a wall, and whether the attic vents add up. Minnesota's code requires kick-out flashing when a house is re-sided, but not on a re-roof alone, and we tell you which situation you're in. It all goes in the photo report, so you can see what the inspector will see.
Commercial work first. The laundromat is right here in Fairmont; St. Paul's Lutheran Church is about 25 miles north in St. James, where Tim Flitter tells the story in the video above.
We walked the whole shingle roof of this one-story laundromat, photographing every box vent, the ridge and the slopes facing the parking lot. The photos show dented, rust-streaked box vents, a dented metal vent cap chalk-marked for hail, damaged and missing shingle sections, and chalk-marked hits on the metal trim.
A Repair King drone inspection found 37 hail-hit spots on this century-old church roof. In July 2023 our crew tore off the steep roof from full scaffolding, with fall protection on every slope, and put on new architectural shingles.
Fairmont is a mid-century town at heart: about 1,550 of its roughly 5,000 homes were built in the 1940s and 1950s, on top of about 1,000 built before 1940. It's built along a chain of five lakes on open prairie, so wind and hail roll straight in off the fields and across the water.
| Local factor | What we see in Fairmont | Why it matters for repairs |
|---|---|---|
| Housing age | 1,003 homes built before 1940, 540 in the 1940s and 1,014 in the 1950s, out of 4,985 (Census ACS 2017-2021) | Mid-century homes are often on their third or fourth roof; we count layers before quoting because the city allows only two |
| Lakes | Lake George, Sisseton, Budd, Hall and Amber lakes run through town; all but Amber are connected by channels | Lakefront roofs take wind off open water, so ridge caps, rakes and seal strips get extra attention |
| Prairie exposure | Fairmont sits on open farmland along I-90; a tornado was reported about 4 miles west of town on July 5, 2025 | Wind damage often shows as creased or lifted tabs that can't be seen from the ground |
| Housing mix | 71% single-family detached, 569 units in buildings of 20+, about 68% owner-occupied | Apartment and commercial owners need a written condition report |
| Commercial strips | One-story brick and block businesses along East Blue Earth Avenue and near I-90 | Commercial box vents and caps dent and rust; we photograph every one |
| Metal over shingles | The city permit requires wood furring strips when metal panels go over one layer of asphalt shingles | We check the existing layers and deck before recommending metal |
What our photos from the Mega Coin Laundry roof show, in detail. From our photo archive; we don't list claim results or dollar amounts.
NOAA storm reports show 1-inch hail about a mile southeast of downtown Fairmont on August 8, 2026. Fairmont has had six separate days of 1-inch or larger hail near town since 2015, including 1-inch hail on August 16, 2023 and July 11, 2020, and 1.75-inch hail on May 25, 2016, the largest in that span. Wind is the other threat: a 67 mph gust on June 17, 2024, a 58 mph gust at the Fairmont airport on March 14, 2025, and a tornado reported about 4 miles west of town on July 5, 2025.
| Date | Type | What was reported | What to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 8, 2026 | Hail | 1" hail reported | Shingles, roof vents, gutters, siding, window screens |
| Jul 5, 2025 | Tornado | Tornado reported within 3.9 mi | Full exterior: roof, siding, windows, gutters, trees |
| Mar 14, 2025 | Wind | 58 mph wind gust measured | Missing or creased shingles, ridge caps, flashing, siding |
| Jun 17, 2024 | Wind | 67 mph wind gust measured | Missing or creased shingles, ridge caps, flashing, siding |
| May 21, 2024 | Wind | 60 mph wind gust measured | Missing or creased shingles, ridge caps, flashing, siding |
| Aug 16, 2023 | Hail | 1" hail reported | Shingles, roof vents, gutters, siding, window screens |
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center storm reports within 3 miles of the center of Fairmont, through September 2026. Reports are from trained spotters and the public; hail can hit a street without a report.
Our free Roof & Storm Report looks up hail and wind history for your exact address, not just the city.
Photos taken by Repair King on the Mega Coin Laundry roof in Fairmont.
Yes. The City of Fairmont has a dedicated Building Permit - Residential Roofing form. It asks for the contractor's license number, whether the old roof is removed or covered, the shingle type and whether it's a house or garage, and it allows only two layers.
Fairmont's Building Safety Department reviews plans, issues permits and inspects all residential and commercial construction in the city. Completed forms can be emailed to the department. Repair King fills in the roofing permit under our Minnesota contractor license, BC695228; homeowners doing their own work sign the city's property owner waiver instead.
Commercial buildings follow a different path: the city asks for plans and specifications signed by a Minnesota-registered design professional for buildings other than one- and two-family homes, and the permit is issued after plan review. For a laundromat, shop or office roof, we coordinate that paperwork before scheduling a crew.
Fairmont is the Martin County seat, platted in 1857 and incorporated as a city in 1878, and nicknamed the City of Lakes for the chain of five lakes it's built along. Its name reflects its high town site, about 1,188 feet above sea level.
Downtown, the Fairmont Opera House opened free of debt on February 11, 1902, after local businessmen raised about $20,000; its horseshoe balcony still curves from one side of the stage to the other. The 1907 Martin County Courthouse overlooks Lake Sisseton under a copper dome with four 7-foot Seth Thomas clock faces. Fairmont's early history includes the 1873 English Colony, young Englishmen who planted about 1,000 acres of beans just as the grasshopper plague arrived. Today the town's roofs run from those courthouse-era homes to mid-century houses near the lakes and the businesses along Blue Earth Avenue.
Start with an inspection, not a decision. A damaged shingle does not automatically mean a roof needs to be replaced. What matters is what the inspection actually finds on the roof, siding, gutters and windows.
Repair King is a licensed Minnesota contractor (BC695228). We are not a public adjuster and do not negotiate insurance claims. Questions about your policy belong with your insurance company.
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NOAA storm reports show 1-inch hail about a mile southeast of Fairmont on August 8, 2026. The largest since 2015 was 1.75-inch hail on May 25, 2016. Run a free Roof & Storm Report for your exact address.
Only if there's just one layer now. Fairmont's residential roofing permit allows a maximum of two layers, so a roof that already has two must be torn off. We count the layers and check the deck before we quote.
Yes, with furring. The city's roofing permit requires wood furring strips when metal panels go over one layer of asphalt shingles. We check the existing roof first so you know whether a tear-off makes more sense.
Not for a re-roof alone. Minnesota's residential code requires kick-out flashing when a house is re-sided, not when it's only re-roofed, though Fairmont's own handout calls it one of the most critical flashing details. We tell you if your roof-to-wall corners need it.
Yes. We inspected the Mega Coin Laundry roof on East Blue Earth Avenue, photographing dented box vents, a dented vent cap and damaged shingles. About 25 miles north, we re-roofed St. Paul's Lutheran Church in St. James.
Our inspection and photo report are free. We document what we find; coverage questions go to your insurer.
The National Weather Service office in Chanhassen (Twin Cities) covers Fairmont and Martin County.
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