Hail Damage - What You Need to Know

Hail damage often presents itself as small dips or breaks in a roof. The size of all these things can vary and fall completely at random. Even if you do not see indentations on the shingles themselves, you may still find proof elsewhere. If you find depressions in gutters, siding, skylights, or chimney caps, it may be worth taking a closer look at the roof. Not having visible proof of hail damage doesn’t mean it’s not there.

It’s also important to address even the faintest possibility of hail damage in a roof. If hail damage goes untreated, any asphalt underneath could be exposed. This puts the roof in a very vulnerable position, as outside forces can now affect the roof directly. Weather, excessive temperatures, and even wildlife could now wear down the roof and expose your home to worse elements.

Hail damage ruins lives. It ruins your property. It ruins your car. It ruins your home. It ruins everything. There are few, if any, benefits when a hail storm rolls into town unannounced. In Texas weather, when a hail storm can arrive in an instant, your life can be upended instantly. Suddenly, your world gets consumed with hail damage.

Don’t let hail damage wreck you.

For instance, Beecave, Lakeway, and Spicewood were hit by a massive hail storm on April 18, 2015. The storm came out of nowhere and ended up leaving a tremendous amount of damage in its wake.For many, they were left holding their hat in their hand, trying to calculate the financial cost of a completely natural event that they had no control over.

Insurance companies can try to give you the run around on what is and isn’t covered. When that happens, get informed using these guides on storm damage and hail damage. Supplied by GAF, these will help give you the ammunition to get your hail damage claims taken care of for good.

Ja-Mar Roofing & Sheet Metal specially deals with hail damage in Austin. We’ve seen our fair share of damaged roofs, so we know what to look for. Setting aside the obvious damage, we’re also able to identify the hidden indicators of worsening hail damage. Instead of handling damaged roofs later, deal with the situation now before it gets worse.

Types of Hail Damage

Hail that is over ¾” thick causes a lot of damage. To put that in perspective, ¾” is about the size of a penny. Even though hail can be so small, it can also pack a big punch. Here are several types of damage that may occur during a hail storm.

Granule loss Your shingles have a layer of granules on top of them. The granules help protect the asphalt of the shingle from the elements, can be fire resistant, add a layer of protection from UV light, and also provides shingle coloring. When you lose granules, you make your roof more susceptible to invasion from all these elements.
Fractured or exposed fiberglass mat Fiberglass matting is often used in roofs increase structure soundness as well as provide an extra layer of insulation. If this matting is exposed or fractured, this could allow for moisture and mold to accumulate. You could also face serious electricity bills, as heating and cooling could be escaping from the crack in the roof.
Sealant erosion Although shingles are nailed onto each roof, there is also sealant placed on the roof, too. While the nails hold the shingles down, the sealant helps the shingles from shifting too much. Hail damage can contribute to sealant erosion, which may lessen the seal and increase the chance of more shingles falling off.

What Happens if My Roof Has Hail Damage?

If at all possible, first assess the damage yourself. The more familiar you are with the technical details of your roof damage, the better the solution will be. While we know roof damage, we will be able to get to the solution quicker if one of our clients has a better picture of what Ja-Mar Roofing & Sheet Metal will be dealing with.

After this, we re-assess the damage and implement the proper solution. Replacing a single shingle is a simple affair . We simply get a new tile, add some self-sealant, nail it in, and make sure it fits in with the aesthetic and function of the rest of the roof. This can be a relatively rapid process.

If you have more than 2 or 3 shingles damaged, the work becomes more intense. While we can replace several tiles without fail, we do suggest doing a full roof replacement if there are several shingles damaged. The work needed to replace several shingles requires addressing not just the problematic areas, but the surrounding shingles as well.

To replace the several broken shingles, we would have to remove the surrounding shingles’ nails, their self-seal, and completely remove and then re-fasten them in. This process makes the new shingles an intrinsic part of the roof, as the self-seal and nailing would be able to be fashioned to fit along with the roof. This is compared to the relative patchwork that installing three shingles could involve.

Above all, we want to preserve the structural integrity of your roof. The roof is a guard against so much of the outside world. If there is even the smallest hole, it could spell trouble for your roof later. By addressing the issue now and taking care of a larger patch versus a simpler, quicker solution, your roof’s life can be extended up to 25 years.

Why Should Ja-Mar Roofing & Sheet Metal Fix My Hail Damage?

All of the work we do go towards repairing the hail damage to your roof and making it better than it was before. Whatever we have to do to make your roof better is what we’ll do. We do the roofing because we’re good at it. We do roofing for other people because we like to help people’s roofs.

Roofing is a hard job. It’s also something we truly find rewarding. After something as disastrous as a violent hail storm, we’re able to bring something to Austin that not everyone can. We can help fix homes.

Ja-Mar Roofing & Sheet Metal has four decades of experience in roofing and the number only gets higher. In that time, we’ve seen a lot of families and homeowners completely at ends with the work that needs to happen. We were able to help those people end their hardship and bring a better home to them. For us, that’s the real reward. A job well done and a home restored.

If you have hail damage, don’t hesitate to call us. We’ll sit down with you and explain our course of action. Once we get that settled, we will get your roof back in working condition.