What Does Hail Do to Asphalt Shingles?
You’re watching the evening news and a weather bulletin flashes across the screen, warning of severe weather heading toward your home. You’re in for high winds, heavy rain, and…hail. You’ve done your seasonal roof preparation, but there’s not much you can do to prepare for hail.
Any East Texas roofing company can tell you about how frequently major hailstorms occur in the region and cause damage to roofs.
Hail impacts both commercial and residential roofs, so if your home or business has been through a hailstorm, it’s a good idea to contact a local roofing company in East Texas for a professional roof inspection.
Hail damage happens to all types of roofs. This is especially true of roofs that have shingles with lower impact resistance ratings.
Professional roofing contractors like Steele Roofing out of Tyler and Longview, Texas offer options such as impact resistant shingles to help minimize hail damage.
How Can You Tell If Your Roof Has Hail Damage?
When you look at your roof, the ground beneath your eaves, in your roof gutters, and around the downspouts do you notice granules from your shingles? A few falling off in a big rainstorm isn’t cause for concern, but if you notice enough to see them in multiple places, it’s important to have a professional roofing company inspect your roof shingles to see if any repairs are necessary.
When it comes to visually being able to determine if your roof and shingles sustained hail damage, there are a few noticeable signs to keep an eye out for. You can often see damage to your roofing materials in the form of cracks, broken spots, fractures, punctures, or even missing shingles. If you install impact resistant asphalt shingles, there’s significantly less of a chance that you’ll experience the issues mentioned above.
Impact Resistant Shingles Can Help
Especially if you’re in the market for a new roof, talk to your local roofer about impact resistant asphalt shingle options for your home or business. East Texas isn’t going to stop having hailstorms, so taking preventative measures like installing roofing materials that will help mitigate damage can save you money in both the short and long term when it comes to roof leaks, roof repairs, expensive structural damage, or even a roof replacement.
Some Hail Damage Isn’t Easy to See
Not all hail damage is noticeable to look at. Especially from the ground. Too often homes and roofs go through a hailstorm, but damage isn’t immediately noticeable and without a professional inspection, the damage goes undetected until real issues have occurred and there are leaks, water damage, aesthetic damage, structural damage, mold/mildew growth, etc. Structural damage can be expensive and even lead to the necessity of a roof replacement.
It’s the damage that goes unnoticed that can cause the most destruction. One day maybe you notice a musty smell coming from the ceiling, but you light a candle or spray some air freshener and go about your day. But the smell doesn’t go away and when you finally have it professionally inspected, you find there’s massive mold/mildew growth in your walls/crawl space/attic/roofing material, etc. from a leak caused by hail damage that was never attended to.
Or perhaps you’re traveling and your home is vacant for days, weeks, or even months. A hailstorm or two comes through but there doesn’t appear to be any damage, so no one thinks anything of it. Until you return home and there are water stains on your ceiling, molding, around doors/windows, etc. because a leak went undetected and caused structural and aesthetic damage to your home.
Why You Should Schedule a Roof Inspection After a Storm
Even if you’re unsure, it’s a good idea to contact a local roofing contractor after a big storm and have your home inspected. This is also important for any insurance claims you may need to make. If the damage isn’t professionally inspected and documented right away, you might not be able to make an insurance claim.
If you determine that you have hail damage, finding and fixing the issues as soon as possible saves you money, hassle, and time.
What Happens After You Call a Roofer?
Once you’ve contacted a local roofer, they will perform a storm damage roof inspection to determine whether you’re in need of emergency roof repair, emergency roof tarping, storm restoration services, a roof cleaning, etc.
Whatever cleaning, roof tarping, or repair your roof needs after a storm, contacting a professional East Texas roofer to make it happen and perform an inspection will make a big difference when it comes to saving you money and keeping your home and roof in the best possible condition for many years to come.
