Frequent storms in the Minneapolis metro area can often lead to storm damage to area roofs. The appearance of hail damage can vary widely, making some damage easy to spot and others extremely difficult. When in doubt, we always recommended leaving the identification of hail damage up to an expert.
A good method of identifying if your Minneapolis roof may have experience hail damage is to check the metal areas. Since metal shows more obvious side of damages than shingle do, examining your metal roof vents, metal valleys, and flashing will give you a good idea if your roof has been hit by hail. Any hail damage on the metal areas will also give you a good idea to the size of the hail. The larger the hail damage appears on the metal areas, the higher probability that your shingles have been damaged.
Another way to spot storm damage is to inspect the roof’s ridge cap for dents. Since the area is flat, it will receive the brunt of any hail storm and show the most obvious signs of damage.
The shingles themselves will show storm damage. Sometimes you will be able to spot the damage yourself to the center or edges of the shingles. Other times, the damage is more subtle. Roof restoration experts will be able to spot shingle damage that the untrained eye may not be able to identify. If your area has been hit by hail or if you your roof is showing other sings of storm damage, there is a very good chance that your shingles were damaged as well whether or not you are able to spot the damage.
Shingle damage can appear one of more of the following ways:
- Missing pieces of asphalt or wood on the shingle itself
- Missing granules and/or an exposed black substrate
- Dimpling on the shingle that can be felt, but not seen
- Circular cracks in the shingle
If there is any chance your home has experienced storm damage, we urge you to reach out to an expert for analysis. While the above are the best indicators or damage, sometimes hail damage can be virtually impossible to detect unless you have advanced storm diagnostic training. In fact, sometimes hail damage can be so hard to spot that not only is it missed by homeowners, but it’s also missed by insurance inspectors. At Snap Construction, we have seen a number of damage claims approved after they were initially denied by the homeowner’s insurance company. For that reason alone, if you have ANY reason to suspect that your home has experience hail damage it is best to get a second opinion. Many roofing companies, including Snap Construction, will inspect your roof for hail damage free of charge.
Your home is a most important asset. Hail damage can lead to a myriad of issues if left untreated, including everything from leaking to a decreased property value. Don’t wait until you backed into a corner to deal with hail or storm damage.
This information has been brought to you by Snap Construction, the number one rated roofer in the Minneapolis metro according to Angieslist.
