What Hail Actually Does To A Roof
The damage that matters is often the damage you cannot see from the driveway.
A hail storm can leave a roof looking untouched from the ground while having shortened its life by years. Understanding what the impact does explains why an inspection is worth having even when nothing looks wrong.
What the impact does
A hail strike knocks granules loose and bruises the mat underneath. Granules are what shield the asphalt from sunlight, so a bruised area weathers faster than the roof around it. The failure does not arrive during the storm. It arrives one to three years later, as a leak in a spot nobody associates with the hail.
What an inspector looks for
- Circular granule loss with a soft spot underneath
- Dents in soft metal, which is why vents, flashing and gutters get checked first
- Damage on the slopes facing the direction the storm came from
- Splatter marks that show the storm's direction and size
Why the soft metal matters
Aluminium vents and gutter faces dent at a smaller hail size than shingles bruise at. They are the honest witness: if they are clean, the roof usually is too.
About the knock on the door
Storms bring crews from out of the area. Ask who you are dealing with, whether they will be there in five years, and take the time to get a second look. A roof is not a decision that has to be made on a doorstep.
Want somebody to take a look?
Sunbelt Roofing Co covers this every week in Phoenix.