How To Spot Hail Damage On Your Roof
Roofs are not hail-proof. While sturdy and very well installed roofs with added protections or shields will be able to thwart water run-offs, shall be able to prevent ice damming and will be invulnerable to the sun, hail is a different ballgame. Most roofs are prone to damage if you have a hailstorm and you will be able to see the damage for yourself immediately. There are a few signs of hail damage which you must look out for.
- Asphalt shingles will suffer a loss of granules when hail hits them, at whatever angle and with whatever thrust. If the hail is less severe, then there may be partial loss of granules and the area affected will also be smaller. If the hail is severe, then there may be complete loss of shingle granules and the asphalt may be completely exposed. The area affected can be larger. An entire roof damaged by hail is rare but it does happen. What you should do is climb onto your roof the day after your area has experienced hail and you must look out for these missing granules. If there aren’t any, then you are lucky. If there are some shingle granules, then you must assess the extent of damage by observing the entire roof. If you cannot climb onto your roof, get someone to do it or you can look at the gutters and downspouts to look for granules from the shingles. You must bear in mind that granules from shingles typically wear off with time and there may be very little amount of them in your downspouts without your roof being damaged by hail. What you have to look for is an unusual amount of shingle granules in the gutters or downspouts.
- Hail can directly damage the external surfaces of the shingles and expose the asphalt. In such a case, you will find bruises, dents and shiny asphalt. You will also find dents in any metal fixtures on your roof. Valleys, flashing or gutters will show signs of injury due to hail.
While the aforementioned ways are surefire methods to spot hail damage, you must ensure that you check for problems immediately after the roof has been exposed to hail. If you delay it, you may not be able to claim your insurance as there is a time limit usually for such claims. For professional assistance and advice be sure to call a trusted Edmonton Roofing Contractor