A hail storm has just come through your neighborhood and you’re wondering if you have roof damage. Hail stones don’t necessarily have to be large to do damage. Small hail stone with enough velocity can also cause damage.
What’s more, do you know that not all roof hail damage is visible from the ground? If a hail storm has come through your neighborhood, you could have hail damage and not know it. Even if the hail stones weren’t very big, they can still cause damage to your roof, flashing, vents, etc.
Below, we show you what roof hail damage looks like, with pictures. We also show you what size of hail can damage a roof, and how the damage is caused. We’ll also talk about whether your roof can be repaired or if it should be completely replaced, and more.
Quick Answer: a hail damaged asphalt shingle roof will have small black spots. a possible hail damaged standing seam metal roof will have dents. Those dents might contain cracks.
Roof Hail Damage – What to Look For
Here are a couple photos of what roof hail damage looks like on an asphalt shingle roof.
one way to tell that your roof has hail damage is if it has these black spots on it
if your asphalt shingle roof has lots of these black spots on it, you probably have hail damage
What Size Hail Can Damage a Roof?
We get asked all the time what size hail will damage a roof. The fact is, it depends. Even small, dime-size hail stones can cause damage if a strong enough wind is behind it. A general rule-of-thumb, however, is quarter size hail or larger. If you get dime-size hail, you might want to check out your roof, flashing, etc. to see if there’s damage. Try to avoid walking on your roof, as this will only loosen the granules and shorten the lifespan of your roof. You should be able to see damage from standing on a ladder leaning against your fascia board. Anything smaller than dime-sized usually doesn’t cause much damage.
If you get quarter-sized hail or larger, there’s a better change you have damage and you should have your roof inspected by a professional roofing company right away. If you have new impact-resistant shingles, that chance goes down slightly, but you should still have your roof inspected.
How Does Roof Hail Damage Occur?
Roof hail damage occurs when the hail stone hits the asphalt shingle and bounces off. The shock from the impact causes granules to bounce off, which exposes the fiberglass mat underneath. These are the small, black areas you see in the photos above. As a result, your roof is now vulnerable to water leaks. This type of damage is noticeable immediately. There will be, however, more damage that you can’t see, which is why you should have your roof inspected right away by a professional roofer.
Standing seam metal roofing, on the other hand, is more durable than asphalt shingles, and can take more of a beating. If you have a metal panel roof, such as this, congratulations! Although metal roofing panels are more durable than asphalt shingles, large enough hail stones can dent the metal. This is often purely aesthetic. Large enough hail stones, however, can cause the metal to crack. If you have a standing seam metal roof with dents, have it inspected, as those dents could contain cracks.
If you have a tile roof, and you see broken tiles, this is a sure sign of hail damage. Broken roofing tiles should be replaced right away.
Can Your Roof Be Repaired or Should it Be Replaced?
Whether your roof can be repaired or if it needs to be completely replaced, depends. Here in Colorado, most of the time hail stones come straight down. Therefore, often your entire roof is affected by the storm. Rarely does wind accompany a hail storm, here. If there are strong winds, hail can come down at an angle. In this case, one side of your roof could get more damage than the other and you might only have to replace that one side of your roof. Have your entire roof inspected, however.
Also, a storm never drops one, large hail stone onto a roof. It’s always hundreds of stones. Furthermore, because there’s always hidden damage, most often the entire roof is replaced. To determine whether your roof needs repaired or replaced, have your roof inspected by a roofing professional. We offer free roof inspections. Most of the time, entire roofs are replaced. If your roof needs replacing, do yourself a favor and consider a new metal roof, such as a stone-coated metal roof or standing seam. A metal roof will cost more initially than an asphalt shingle roof, but they often cost less in the long run since they last so much longer. What’s more, a metal roof is considered the coolest roofing material for Colorado as it helps to cool your house during the hot Summer months.
How Soon Should You Have Your Roof Fixed?
If you’re ready this article, you probably already suspect you might have hail damage. Therefore, have your roof inspected right away. If hail damage is found, it should be fixed immediately to avoid water leaks and further damage. The longer you wait to repair your roof, the more damage will occur, and the more it will cost to fix.
Vulnerable Parts of Your Roof
Roof Covering
Obviously your roof is the most exposed part of your house, when it comes to hail. Is it necessarily the most vulnerable, however? That depends on which roofing product you have, which features it has, which manufacturer made it, if it’s installed correctly, etc.
Let’s use Owens Corning’s roofing shingles, as an example. They offer a wide variety of shingles. If you live in an area that gets hail storms, and you have Owens Corning’s least expensive shingles, which aren’t impact-resistant, your roof is vulnerable. That is to say susceptible to harm given the threat of hail.
If your Colorado home has Owens Corning’s Duration Storm shingles, which are impact-resistant, your roof is not as vulnerable, given the usual hail storms Colorado gets.
Flashing
Thin metal parts, such as flashing and vents, are vulnerable to hail because often they’re made from galvanized steel or aluminum.
The Bottom Line
You can tell your asphalt shingles have roof hail damage if you see black spots, such as in the photos above. If you see quarter-sized hail, or larger, in your yard, contact us for a free inspection. When a hail storm come through a neighborhood, we get a lot of phone calls and emails, so we ask for your patience. If we confirm roof hail damage, contact your insurance company and start your roof hail damage insurance claim right away. You’ll be glad you did 🙂 . Lastly, if you have roof hail damage, you probably have roof insurance claim questions.