HOUSTON -- Hurricane Ike peeled off hundreds of roofs as it made landfall on Sept. 13. Now, more than a month later, that's revealing the ugly side of how some homes in Houston were built and how they're now being repaired.    

In the subdivisions south of the Beltway around Pearland, Ike did something neighbors say is strange.

The storm totaled roof after roof in one subdivision, while roofs in an adjacent subdivision were just fine.

"And it makes you wonder if it’s the quality of the work," homeowner Arthur Crisswell said.

11 News took a look to see why old roofs failed and why new ones being put on right now could be installed incorrectly.

Texas roofing inspector Matthew Sist inspected the original roof on a house that was only about 10 years old.

"This nail here was above and crooked," Sist said.

He says nearly every shingle was nailed down incorrectly, with nails driven too high up. Sist says that did not allow for that shingle to seal properly.

According to Sist, this causes a zipper effect where it just tears a whole section off the roof. A whole line of shingles comes up causing the rain to come in.

The inspector found another house near Pearland where workers were putting on a new roof, but he says they were making the same old mistakes.

He found too few nails and in the wrong places.

"You start with the builders. The builders do the worst work," J.C. Mecheloni, who is the owner of Eagle Roofing, said.

Mecheloni says he often finds the original roofs on many homes were poorly done.

"You cut corners on caulking, nailing, flashing," he said.

Thousands of damaged homes will now be getting new roofs. But there's still no guarantee they'll be any better. That's because, in most of the Houston area, there are no inspections and roofers don't have to be licensed.

But things are different in the coastal counties, including Brazoria and Galveston, where the state does do inspections.

Mecheloni: “And we cannot cut corners.”

Fehling: “But if you were in Houston?”

Mecheloni: “Whatever you want. “

Fehling: “Nobody's watching? “

Mecheloni: “No, nobody. Homeowner has to trust us and that's it."

Mecheloni says you can trust him and the state vouched for his workmanship.

But to protect yourself, insurance companies say you should get a couple of estimates. They also say you should get references and avoid paying the full amount up front.

If you're in a coastal county, insurance companies recommend insisting that the roofers wait for state inspectors before completing the job. This way you can avoid future problems.

"They'll fix it and once it’s finished you'll get an approval," said Sist.

After all, catching roofer's mistakes could mean the difference between keeping or losing your roof during a storm.

Houstonians can call 713-837-ROOF to confirm registration of roofers.