Hail Damage Roofers

Different types of roofs will react differently when hit by hail. Knowing the difference is the key to establishing severity.

Hail Damage on Asphalt Roofing and Composite Shingles

• Random visible damage with no specific pattern
• Hail hits that are dark in color and soft when touched
• Serious damage tends to result in loss of granules, and the roof felt may be exposed

Hail Damage to Wood Shingles

• Random damage with no specific pattern
• The presence of brown/orange splits in the shingles
• Impact dents/marks along splits

Hail Damage to Flat Roof

• Hail damage on membrane flat roofs will look like cracks, blisters, or punctures (in extreme hail damage cases).
• For built-up roofs, damage from hail tends to be depicted as tears in the asphalt layers, dents, or divots.

Hail Damage to Metal Roofs 

• Small rounded dents on metal panels. However, the dents are purely a cosmetic challenge and don't affect the structural integrity of the roof. 
• Large hailstones can cause scratches or abrasions, especially on older metal roofs with a thinner coating.
• Discoloration/paint chipping on/around the dents, chips, or cracks created by hail.
• Leaks are likely if hail damages seals around the roof penetrations or punctures the metal roofing itself. 

While the type of roof can dictate how hail damage severity is manifested, flat roofs tend to suffer more damage than sloped or pitched roofs. This can be attributed to the impact angle on pitched roofs reducing the force of impact.

Hailstones tend to bounce off more easily on pitched roofs. The roofs also have better drainage, preventing pooling, as is the case with flat roofs.

Hailstones range in size (from pea-sized hail to hail as large as -if not larger than- a softball). Larger hail tends to cause more damage, depicted as larger impact marks/dents on the roof.

If you have an extreme hail storm characterized by high-speed/strong winds and large-sized hail, you can expect serious damage to your roof. Wind direction can also dictate the areas of your roof that will be severely damaged.

Homeowners who may travel often and/or work outside of their dwelling may not be present inside or outside their home during a hail storm. Therefore, they may not be aware of any damage done nor take the time to climb a ladder and walk their own roof surface to perform an inspection. For people who are in this situation, it is even more important to pay attention to weather reports that have recently occurred and when appropriate, contact a professional licensed roofing contractor, like Robust Roof.

If a homeowner is not in the exterior remodeling business and is not actively monitoring weather patterns, they may not be aware of hail storms in their area and oftentimes are unaware or lack information about whether their specific home was directly in the path of hail storms or not. Most data provided to the public is done by city or general area, as opposed to specific neighborhoods and streets. This is because storms take various pathways and can easily shift mid-storm. Highly trained and equipped professional roofing Contractors like Robust Roof pay for and are trained to interpret sophisticated software to analyze whether or not a particular home was directly in the path of a wind or hail storm. This information becomes highly valuable to a homeowner who prefers to request that their homeowner’s hazard policy coverage kick in and pay for replacing materials on their roof that were damaged.

You can use the above information to understand the type and severity of hail damage in your home. However, the process can be confusing. Hail roof damage assessments are best left to true roofing experts like us.