If you’re like most people, you know that your roof is your home’s first line of defense against the elements – it protects your home’s structure and everything inside from sun and harmful ultraviolet rays, rain, wind and especially hail. But after a storm, there’s a chance that your roof is damaged. Hailstones can cause irreparable damage to your property.

The sooner you address and treat these issues, the better. After the storm has passed, it’s important that you call My Roof for a free roof inspection. Our experts can come to your home and look for signs of hail damage that could put your house at risk and treat any affected areas accordingly. You can rest assured that we will restore your roof efficiently and professionally.

The best, and safest, way for your to check your roof after a hail storm is with a visual inspection. You can usually do this by walking around the perimeter of your home. If anything seems out of place or looks as if it’s sagging, there may be a problem. We recommend you go into your attic to check for signs of internal damage, as well.

Signs of Roof Hail Damage From a Roof Repair Company

Don’t climb up on your roof after a hailstorm. For safety reasons, it’s best that you keep both feet on the ground. Our trained professionals can examine your roof using safety gear while taking the proper precautions.

Although we don’t recommend it, if you can get on your roof safely (and the roof isn’t slippery or it has a low enough slope), it may be a good idea to examine your own shingles. However, it’s always best to have a professional climb on your roof; we have safety gear and have been walking on roofing materials for years.

While you’re checking out your attic, look for signs that the rafters are sagging or that the wood may be rotting; if any of the wood looks or feels soft, you may have a big problem that you need to address immediately. Soft wood is in danger of rotting (if it’s not already doing so), and that can lead to an entire roof collapse – and that can be catastrophic.

Not all roof damage after a hailstorm is as obvious as sagging or soft feeling wood. Here are a few other things to look for after a hailstorm.

Dented metal components – After the high impact of hailstones, certain metal components of a roof – such as gutters, flashing and downspouts – will be left with dents.

You should walk around your home and visually inspect your gutters and downspouts. If there are dents or anything is sagging, bulging or overflowing, get a ladder and have a look – or, if you’re more safety-minded, call us and we’ll do it for you. It’s really important that you handle gutter and downspout problems right away so they don’t cause major issues down the road.

Bald spots – When hailstones hit a roof, they can dislodge and loosen the ceramic granules that protect asphalt shingles. This will result in noticeable “bald spots” on the roof. The granules will then collect in gutters and downspouts.

The bottom line is that granular loss can be a huge problem. Age is the most common reason that shingle granules come loose from shingles, but there are several other factors that can contribute. Even heavy rain and strong wins can break shingle granules loose – and hail certainly can. The bigger the hail is, the more likely it is to damage your shingles. Even a minor impact, if it hits the right way, can knock granules off your roof. Another issue storms can pose is from flying debris or waving tree branches; if branches hit your roof, they can easily scrape shingle granules right off.

In addition to scraping off shingle granules, the debris that flies around during a storm (even a seemingly minor storm) can cause impact damage on your roof, denting shingles, scratching them and lifting them. If you see any debris sitting on your roof, remove it if possible; if not, take some photos that you can share with your roofing inspector. Your roof inspector will remove the debris and examine the whole roof for signs of damage it may have caused.

Fractured shingles – During a storm, hailstones can hit the asphalt shingle mat so hard it results in cracks. When water enters these gaps, it will seep into the underlayment and cause severe leaks. If you notice any of these signs, it’s important to contact the hail damage restoration specialists at My Roof right away. We’ll treat existing damage and take preventative measures to ensure your home is protected before the next storm hits.

Debris on your roof- Impact damage is serious; if something hits your roof hard enough, it can knock shingles off. At the very least, it can knock your shingle granules loose. Those granules help your roof shed water, so if they’re missing, your roof can’t provide your home with the level of protection it did before the storm. So we’ll check each shingle to make sure there are no bald spots. If there’s damage that needs to be repaired, we’ll let you know how quickly it needs to be done and how long the project will take.