What does hail damage look like on a flat roof?

Hail damage is covered in home insurance and is actually one of the most common claims on home insurance. Out of all property losses caused by severe storms every year, hail damage contributes 70%.

Hail damage is usually costly because it also damages everything else outside the building for instance your car if it has been parked outside, damaged exterior painting, and crop damage.

The damage will depend on the duration of the hail and of course, the size of the hailstones and the quality of the roofing. Hailstones vary in size from one-inch to six inches in diameter, although they can be larger or smaller depending on the weather condition.

In New Brighton, most basic insurance cover policies will provide coverage for structural damages arising from hail. Ordinary business insurance policy also does cover business buildings against hail damage.

The cost of repairing a roof damaged by hail can be prohibitive when the damages are extensive.

What does hail damage look like on a flat roof?

Hail damage can be noticeable, for instance one resulting in roof leakage, or unnoticeable and requiring a trained eye to spot. Where the damages are noticeable beyond the leaking roof, you will have broken windows and doors. It can also result in bruises, damage to paintings on the exterior, broken edges, and granule losses.

While dents are the most common signs of damage of roofs by hailstones, the damage does not end there.

And shingles and other roofing materials not designed to withstand too much weight and force, they will suffer effects of hail damage.

A hail damage roof inspection can help you to understand what extent of damage you are dealing with and how to proceed with repairs.

As noted, the size of the hailstones determines the extent of damage on the roof. Hailstones of about two and half inches in diameter or the size of a tennis ball will spoil the roof and cause roof leakages, break car windows, and damage crops.

Golf ball sized ones can destroy a painting on the exterior of the building and cause dents on cars, while walnut sized hailstones will make the roof leak and cause dents on wood. These and larger hailstones are dense enough to cause leakages regardless of the type and age of roofing.

Half-dollar sized hailstones will only cause minor damages on the roof and cracks in sidings while quarter-dollar sized ones will rarely cause exterior damage but plant damage.

The shape of the hailstones – and most do not have a regular shape or smooth edges – will also determine the nature of damage depending on the point of contact with the roof.

However, other factors such as the speed of wind and its direction, roofing material, and age of the roof will certainly play a role in the roof damage. The direction of the wind determines the location of the hail and hence the point of damage as well as the impact.

The speed of the wind will determine the impact on the roof and therefore the nature and extent of the damage.

For instance, wood shakes and vinyl sidings can crack due to hailstones while asphalt shingles, aluminum sidings, and gutters can suffer dings.

The presence of or absence of barriers in the neighborhood can also determine the nature and extent of damage of hailstones on your roof. Tree cover, fences, adjacent homes, and other landscape covers work to prevent extensive hailstones damage on your roof.

Damage on the top of the roof

The ridge may be dented or broken as a result of hailstones strike. Roof tiles on flat roofs may crack and the edges can also chip off. Flat roofs may not have as much damage on top as roofs of other shapes.

Damage on the sides

Hail may bruise and crack the covers or even sweep away some parts or pieces of the roof. You can determine the direction of the hailstorm by noting the side which appears to be hit most by hail.

Damage on sidings

These may suffer dings, dents, cracks, and other signs of impact by hailstones.

Hail damage on asphalt and composition shingles

• These may suffer random or non-patterned damage.
• Black hits.
• The roof loses granules resulting in exposed roof felt.
• Shiny asphalt and/mat.
• Soft hail hits feeling like bruises on apple fruit.

Hail damage on wood shingles

• No patterns in the nature of damage.
• Brown/orange splits.
• Sharp cornered or edged split on the shingle.
• Splits will have impact marks or dents.

Some wear and tear on shingles can be mistaken for hail damage on the roof. These include the brittle and aged appearance on the shingles that result from extreme or normal sunlight.

Manufacturing defects can also be confused for hail damage as can be other wear and tear symptoms such as flaking and algae, granule loss, cracking, and blistering.

Damage on a metal roof

The most obvious effect of hail damage on metal roofing materials. The hail will cause scratch marks that tear off the coating materials. This can eventually cause rusting and denting in the long run, although this may not be a problem in the short term.

Hail damage on metal components

Hail will most likely damage the tin, aluminum, and steel components on the metal vents, gutters, valleys, downspouts, and chimneys when it strikes. These components will carry dents whose size depends on the size of the hailstones.

The damage on chimneys is equivalent to damage on other metal components of the flat roof. If the chimney is made of brick, then it can crack or even break.

Damage on slate tile roofs

Slate tile roofs have a lifespan of more than 100 years, but are very susceptible to impacts from hail, especially of high impact. The edges of these tiles begin to chip away and become sharp, and this is one of the most obvious signs of hail damage to a flat roof.

If an individual tile is showing signs of a puncture or has a puncture after hailstones, then it is obviously needful to replace that particular tile.