Published on March 8, 2014 in Hail Damage 1 Comment
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Roofing Hail Damage

Hail damage has never been easy to detect, most especially when you have a 2 or 3-story house and do not have immediate access to the roof. Hail damage does not expose your home to immediate water damage. But it can limit your roof’s lifespan. For this reason, you have to detect the damage right away.  Waiting too long could mean that the insurance company can deny your claim for the repair.  Today’s tendency to change your insurance company every year to the one giving the cheapest rates can cost you in the long run. They can argue the damage happened when they during the other insurance company was insuring the home.

There are actually several ways to detect whether roofing hail damage exists. All you need to do is to continue reading and take note of every detail indicated below. This will serve as your guide to spot hail damage right away.

Detecting Roof Hail Damage in Your House

After a hailstorm occurrence, you might suspect if there has been damage in your roof. Simply walk around the house and check for unusual changes in your roof.  Here are some steps you can do:

Look After Mineral Deposits

Take a look at the base of the downspouts. Once the hail hits the roofing shingles, this degrades your shingle while it knocks off its granules. Most of the time, untrained eyes will never see such damage. However, when you have standard asphalt shingles on your home, you can check around these downspouts to conduct an excessive buildup of granules.

Downspout and Gutter Dings

Try inspecting the gutters and downspouts for dings. Thinner gauge metal gutters will immediately cause dents when the marble-sized hail hit them. When the damage has been evident, there is a possibility that roofing hail damage exists.

Leaks Inspection

For some untrained professionals, hail damage has not always been apparent from ground. The roof damage is not always the cause of leaks. Typically, hail damage would go unrevealed until leaking or any serious damage took place. When the damaged shingles degraded, the roof will start leaking. Inspect the interior ceiling right after any heavy rain occurs for water damage.

Hail Damage Inspection to Shingles and Vents

When you got some of the previously mentioned indications, you may inspect your roof shingles and vents. However, you should only do this when you got easy access into the roof as well as if the slopes were not steep. If you don’t feel comfortable and confident enough to get up on the roof, seek the best roofing companies in your area to deal with roofing hail damage.

If you cannot find a local roofing company to come out immediately do not let fear make a rash decision. Wait for a local roofing company to work on your roofing hail damage inspection. Do not let anyone pressure you into making a fast decision. This pressure may come from storm chasers or your insurance adjustor. When there is a large area hit with roofing hail damage adjustors are brought in from other areas. They want to get the claims settled so they can move on. Take your time.

You can check other parts of your house. These can be the gutters, fascia and drip edge which may reveal some damage signs. Inspect your roof shingles and see some circular areas or dimples wherein the shingle mineral has been missing. Hails may produce dents or damage points into the asphalt shingle roof surface. This then results in loss of granules and reduced roof life.