Identifying Hail Damage On Your Roof

Do you know that during a hailstorm, more than your vehicle is vulnerable to damage and future repairs? When hail strikes, hail damage to your roof and personal property can be quite harmful. 

 

Causes of Hail Damage to a Roof

Below are instructions on how to identify hail damage to a roof of various types of roofing materials and shingles.

Building  Materials – Hail impacts all types of building materials differently. For instance, hail can create dings in gutters, aluminum siding, or asphalt shingles. Whereas it can break wood shakes or vinyl siding. Alternatively, softball-sized hailstones can be strong and dense enough to puncture a roof. Also, the condition and age of a roof could affect the amount of damage.

Wind – In a hailstorm, wind speed and wind direction can vary. Changes in wind conditions can affect the severity and location of hail impacts.

Barriers – The location of natural barriers, such as fences, landscaping, tree covers, or adjacent homes, as well as neighboring structures, can lessen the ability of hail to create damage.Amherst Roofing Services Inspect Hail Damage Roof

Size and Density – The size of the hailstones can affect the level of damage to your property. A hailstone can be as little as an acorn or as big as a softball. Most hailstones do not have smooth edges, which can affect the type of damage they create.

 

How Does Hail Damage to Your Roof Look?

Reactions differ when hail hits different shingle types. Hail damage to composition and asphalt shingles can appear quite different than hail damage to wood shingles. It is critical to know the various effects of the damage to correctly identify whether or not you have roof damage due to falling hail.

There are lots of other types of damage to shingles that can be mistaken for hail. For instance, exposure to sunlight and bad weather make shingles brittle and look old. 

Other kinds of normal wear and tear might be cracking, flaking, blistering, granule loss, and algae. Mechanical flaws and product defects in shingles are misidentified as hail damage.

If you think your house has experienced damage from hail, call us at Amherst Roofing to discuss possible next steps.