With extreme weather events becoming more and more common, homeowners must remain prepared for high winds and hail storm damage, developing a plan for dealing with the aftermath well before a problem arises. Now, there are plenty of different storms that wreak havoc on residential roofs in East Texas, but one of the most common ones is a hail storm.
Hail can do some serious damage as solid precipitation, ranging from the size of a pea to the size of a grapefruit (and it can even get bigger than that — yikes)! Ice can do some serious damage to your home’s roof, too, especially when it’s combined with high winds. On the bright side, hail storms usually only last up to 10 minutes because of their rapid movement and short bursts of energy. That means hail damage is limited to what can happen in that brief time frame.
Nevertheless, it’s important to understand the effects hail can have on residential roofs so you know what to expect from the contractors executing storm damage roof repairs and protecting your roofing system from future storms.
Roof Hail Damage
The stronger the storm, the larger the hail. And the larger the hail, the bigger the damage. Hail storms will typically result in the bruising or cracking of roof shingles. It can also cause dings in aluminum siding, gutters, and asphalt shingles. The cracking happens with vinyl siding and wood shakes. If the hail is large enough, it can puncture your roof, leaving gaping holes in its wake and leaving your home insufficiently protected from the elements — though, the hail would have to be softball-sized to do that kind of damage. And since hail is not typically formed with smoothed edges and falls randomly, the degree of damage varies on a case-by-case basis.
The age and preexisting condition of a roof will definitely affect the potential damage hail can have, with damage more easily occurring the older a roof is and the weaker it is from poor maintenance.
Now that you’re familiar with what damage a hail storm can cause to your roof, it’s time to do something about it!
Take Action Following a Hail Storm
Getting up on your roof to assess the damage might seem like the go-to option — but you should never do that. Without understanding the full extent of the hail damage, you won’t know if your roof is unstable, which might lead to more danger or damages if you walk across it.
Instead, look at your surroundings and go from there. First things first, when the storm is over, go outside and identify how big the hail was in your area. You can typically do this by comparing it to another object or getting out some good old measuring tape. If you spot a lot of ice fragments scattered around your property and inside your gutters, you likely have some significant hail damage. So, be sure to clean out those gutters before the next big storm and call CK Roofing for storm damage repairs.
Other good indicators of roof damage are if plants are missing their leaves, cars have dents, air conditioner units have been damaged or other exterior furnishings show evidence of damage.
The best thing to do, though, is to call a place like CK Roofing for a professional inspection. The best part? The initial roof repair consultation is free. Our expert roofers will know how to identify damage and what to do about it to keep you and your family safe in the aftermath of a big hail storm. You don’t want to mess around with roof damage, either. What might be a small problem today could turn into something devastating and costly should it go unchecked.
CK Roofing: Hail Damage Repairs and Prevention
The best thing you can do to protect your roof from hail damage is to keep up regular roof maintenance and repairs, should they be required. If that’s not in the cards, then trimming nearby branches and removing any equipment, tools, furniture and other materials from outside your home would be proactive, to prevent them from flying around in a storm and potentially damaging your roof.
Visit CK Roofing today to learn more.
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