What to Do After a Hail Storm Hits Your Home
Severe weather comes in many forms including hail and around this time of year, it comes frequently. Hail storms are capable of causing lots of damage to your property and your roof isn't an exception.
Today, we are going to talk about what you should do after a hail storm hits your home.
When it comes to roof damage the longer you wait the worse it can get. The granules on a shingle tab act as a protective layer from the elements. When hail impacts your shingles it knocks out these granules leaving a “bruise”. When the granules are missing the asphalt layer is left completely exposed causing it to become dry and brittle. These bruises eventually become holes in your roof. A small hole in your shingles can easily turn into a leak so imagine your entire roof being covered in these bruises. This is why the first thing you should do after experiencing a hail storm is to have your roof inspected. Optimum Roofing Company offers free roof inspections so give us a call if you have had a hail storm hit your roof.
The damage might not be so easily spotted without experience in looking for it, which is why we recommend getting a professional inspection. When inspecting a roof we look out for dents in soft metals like gutters and vents, holes in window screens, spatter marks, and bruising on shingles.
Dents in soft metals are a good sign of hail damage. This is usually the first thing we look for on a roof when performing an inspection.
Hail Spatter is a mark that is left when a hail stone that isn't hard enough strikes a surface leaving a stain. Spatter is not really a form of damage but provides further evidence that a storm was present in the area.
If sufficient damage is found then your next step will be to file an insurance claim. You can read more about the process of filing a claim in our previous blog post. After filing a claim, provided that you have enough damage to your roof, your insurance company will cover the damages and we will cover you with a quality replacement.
TIP: If you recently experienced a hail storm you should be wary of storm chasers. These are fly by contracting companies that follow severe weather around the country performing sub-par work. They should be avoided because they have no incentive to produce quality work due to the fact that they might be gone in a week following the next storm. Leaving you with a faulty roof and no one to take responsibility for it.