How To Tell If Your Roof Has Hail Damage

Hail storms can be scary, especially when it sounds like they will break through your windows or roof at any moment. When the storm finally moves on, it can be difficult to tell right away if your home has suffered any hail roof damage.

Our team at Mammoth Roofing & Solar wants you to be prepared and safely identify whether hail has destroyed any parts of your roof. The sooner you are able to notice problem areas, the quicker you can repair hail roof damage and prevent further issues, such as mold growth and water damage.

What To Look For From The Ground

Most roof hail damage can be difficult, or impossible, to spot from the safety of the ground. If you suspect your roof has hail damage from a recent storm, here are a few things that you can look out for:

• Broken, cracked or missing shingles that cause a break in the straight line formation they were installed in or leave an open area on your roof. This should be fairly obvious and easy to spot!
• Gutters clogged with granules or debris that was knocked loose during the storm and washed through your gutters, collecting at the downspout or along the edge of your roof.
• Dark-colored spots where granules were knocked off, exposing the tar underneath the protective shingle layer.
• Water spots in the attic from a leak caused by shingles that are cracked or were blown away.

You’ve Spotted Hail Roof Damage — Now What?

If you have noticed hail damage on your roof or other parts of your home and property, it needs to be repaired. Even damage that seems minor can become an expensive problem when not addressed in a timely matter. If you wait to get repairs, oftentimes your insurance won’t cover it. 

The first thing you should do after a storm has damaged your roof is to schedule a roof inspection with a professional contractor. They will assess the extent of the damage, so you can file a claim with your insurance to cover the cost of the repairs.

Roof Hail Damage That Contractors Look For

When your service contractor comes to assess the level of damage, they will actually go on top of your roof to perform a thorough inspection.

Using chalk, they will create a test square that is 10 feet by 10 feet to focus their examination and mark areas where hail has hit. Eight to ten marks within that test square indicate the hail damage is severe enough for an insurance claim.

Here are some things they will look for during an inspection:

• Signs of oxidation. Dirt and mold collect on shingles and oxidize the surface over time. When hail hits and removes the mold and dirt, oxidation is exposed.
• Loose granules that change the shingle texture, not small spots of granule loss caused by sun blisters
• Soft, circular indentations in the matting
• Wind damage, marked by shingles that are detached, has debris underneath and lost granules along the top edge from the shingle bending upward.

Technicians will circle all spots using washable chalk and photograph the impacted areas. This makes things easier during insurance inspections and when repairs are made later.

San Antonio Roof Repairs

Although the Texas Hill Country doesn’t see many kinds of extreme weather, it can still be very unpredictable. Mammoth’s licensed and insured contractors are qualified to repair any damages your roof has sustained from a recent hail storm. We specialize in service restoration with our 50-year workmanship warranty, and our insurance liaisons will get you the payout you deserve.

Call us today to schedule your repair and protect your home against future weather!

from Mammoth Roofs https://mammothroofs.com/storm-damage/how-to-tell-if-your-roof-has-hail-damage/
via Mammoth Roofing and Solar