Can You Say “Oh Hail No”

We had a rough hail storm. What do I do now?

Question for Joe

Joe, When it rained the other day, I was surprised to see hail & noticed the next day I had dents in my aluminum siding and damaged 2 of my gutters. A neighbor told me I might want to check my roof, so my questions to you are, how I do I know if I have hail damage to my roof? Can I tell from the ground? What does hail do to a roof?

Beth
Troy, MI

Joe’s Answer

Joe Says

Tell me it isn’t so Beth, Hail in Michigan, now that never happens, oh, and it never snows either. LOL

Hail is not our friend, and causes all kinds of damage, most times, you will never even know it unless your roof… starts to leak or you go to clean the siding on your home and recognize things are dented. There is a good chance that if you have some hail damage on siding and gutters you will likely see some damage to your roof. If you know the direction of the storm when it came in, go look at the roof elevation that would have been the hardest hit. Much of hail damage is hard to see from the ground as it can be very small bruises in the shingles and granular loss that is hard to see from the ground. Depending on the age of the roof and the type of shingle you have hail will have a different impact. Again, you clearly have an insurance claim to fix your siding and gutters, but you should also check your air conditioner fins around the perimeter of the condenser that may look like someone took a hammer to it.

In some cases you might be able to have a mechanical company comb those out, and in other cases in will need to be replaced. Now as far as what it can do to your roof, hail in most cases can void any warranty you have on your shingles as most manufactures do not warranty shingles once a roof has damage. Also, granular loss can severely reduce the life of the shingle as well as bruises in the shingle from impacts. Over time the bruise will get larger and eventually break off and reduce the life of the shingle as well. Hope this helps, however, if your roof is a 8/12 to 12/12 pitch, HAIL NO do not go and take a look, I would recommend a roofer to walk it instead.

And remember at “Ask Joe” He will know, there is never a “DUMB” question, but always a “SMART” answer!

Joseph P. Cipriano Jr.
President, CONSTRUCTEAM