Roof damage commonly occurs after a hailstorm. This damage usually consists of impact bruises and cracks to the roofing shingles. When this happens, severe water damage may occur inside your house. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to prevent this damage to your roof; there are some things that you can do to minimize the extent of the damage. However, when you find these problems early enough to do roof repairs, you’ll save yourself from spending a huge amount of money on replacing your roof. This is why you need to know more about roof damage from hail.
Common Types of Hail Damage to Roofs
Once a hailstorm ends, you’ll want to closely inspect your roof for damages. Since hail falls in random patterns, only some of the houses in your neighborhood may need roof repair. Therefore it’s important to know what signs to look for around your yard and property.
Surface Hail Damage
The first place you need should check for roof damage is your roof’s surface. If you have asphalt shingle roofs, some of the signs of damage you may want to look for include the following:
- Bruises
- Loss of protective granules (you’ll usually find these gathered in your gutters and downspouts)
- Round black spots
- Small divots
Hidden Roof Damages
Unfortunately, you can’t see all of the hail damage on the surface of your roof. Sometimes hailstone will cause your shingles to split. This is something that you’ll only see if you look at the bottom of your shingles. Here’s where professional roofing contractors are helpful because they have the necessary tools to do this type of roof repair work. While they’re at it, they can also look for other types of damage too.
Imitation Hail Damage
It’s important to properly identify the type of roof damage, so you know what type of roof repair work needs to be done. This will also enable you to distinguish hail damage from other kinds of roof damage, which may include:
- Worn-out shingles
- Defacement caused by wind and other debris
- UV degradation resulting in cracking or blistering
- Scuffing damage that happened when the shingles were installed
Once your roofing contractor identifies the damage, they’ll tell you what the best roof repair options are and provide you with an estimate as to its cost.
When to Fix Roof Hail Damage
The damage that your roof sustains from a hailstorm can range from cosmetic damage to things that will impact how your roof performs. With severe damage, you may notice water passing through your roof. This is something you’ll need to fix it as soon as possible so that serious water damage doesn’t occur.
When damages are caused by granule loss, your shingles typically continue performing properly, but the aesthetics are impacted. These shingles’ granules are there to protect the asphalt from the sun, which can cause UV light degradation. If this problem gets bad enough, the shingles are at a higher risk of falling off.
If you live in Tampa, FL, and need to hire a professional roof contractor, reach out to us at Avatar Roofing. Our reputation speaks for itself.
