What Does Hail Damage on Roof Look Like

Imagine coming home from the store and just getting settled back into the house. You start hearing loud bangs and bounces off your roof. A quick look outside and you notice that hail is dropping all around your home and on top of your roof. Balls of ice are scattered everywhere. Your yard looks like a winter wonderland full of ice. You begin to wonder, how much damage will these balls of ice cause you. Once the storm finishes, you decide to go outside and check the damages. What does hail damage on a roof look like? You will see dents, missing shingles, bruising of shingles, or some pretty heavy-duty dings.

Let’s take a look below to learn more about hail and how it causes damage to your roof.

How Does It Happen

Damage to your roof can occur in a variety of ways. Depending on the type of roof that you have, will determine the damage that you can incur. Let’s take a look at what causes this to happen.

  • The slope of the roof – the slope of the roof varies by the type of home.
  • The age of the roof – an older roof will incur more damage to it than a newer roof might.
  • Materials – depending on if your home has a metal roof, wood shingles, tile shingles, or other styles of roof materials the type of damage and signs of hail damage would be different.
  • Wind speed – if the winds are very strong they could loosen up your roofing materials. This allows the hail to create more damage as it would have access to the underlining of the shingles.
  • Wind direction – a constant pounding of wind from the same direction toward the same section of the roof for an extended period of time could cause more damage to the roof.
  • Hail size – the larger the hail the bigger the damage. Most hail ranges from the size of a quarter to a tennis ball.

For the most part, you will notice the puncturing of a shingle and dents before you experience any other major damage. Broken edges, loss of granules, and bruising are all common issues that occur as a result of a hail storm.

What Does It Look Like

If you have never experienced a hail storm then it is not likely that you would understand what cosmetic damage could look like or hail impacts. However, looking for some obvious signs of damage would be a great start. Let’s look at some of the damages that you might notice after a hail storm.

  • Damage to the seal – if a seal stripping is weakened by the strong winds, your shingles could blow right off. After a hail storm has ended, check for loose shingles to ensure they will not blow off during the next wind storm.
  • Cracked shingles – having cracks in your shingles can expose your roof to the elements. This promotes a potential for water damage.
  • Fiberglass mat damage – damage to the fiberglass mat will expose the roof sheathing This is the last layer before the roof decking. If the shingles are this damaged you could experience a leaky roof.
  • Fiberglass mat exposure – hail is known to loosen a shingle and slide it around. If the shingles are moved, the roof sheathing is exposed.
  • Loss of granules – the more common damage to roof shingles is loss of granules. Hail will pounce so hard that the granules will chip away.

Other Recommended Maintenance

Now that you know about hail damage to the roof, take a look at a few other areas of maintenance.

One of those is knowing when you need a new roof. It is a good idea to contact a professional roofer if the repairs you need such as damage to shingles, leaks, bowing or sagging or daylight coming in can be fixed or not. A roof is very expensive so finding someone who is professional and honest to diagnose the issues is important.

Next, while we are on the topic of roofs, you will want to know how to kill moss on the roof. This can be done by hosing off the roof, using a cleaning solution, and adding zinc strips to keep it from coming back.

Lastly, you will want to also take care of the HVAC in the home. There are some maintenance tips for the HVAC such as changing and replacing the filter. Also, there are different types of filters such as HEPA, pleated, fiberglass, and electrostatic.

When Do I Call A Professional

After a major hail storm, it is a great idea to reach out to your local home inspection team. They can inspect your roof and provide you with a list of damages. Additionally, the report that they provide you will assist you when filing an insurance claim with your insurance company. Also, the inspection report allows you to negotiate with a professionally licensed roofing contractor with regard to what roof repairs are needed and how much they might cost.

Conclusion

Homeowners that have the ability to assess roof damages from the ground should do just that. Getting on a ladder and climbing onto your roof is not ideal. Make sure to hire your local home inspection team so that your roof can be fully inspected. Also, the home inspection team can recommend a reputable professionally licensed roofing contractor. Reach out to Blue Guardian Home Inspections for a roofing inspection during a full home inspection in Kendall, Kane, Dupage, and LaSalle Counties of Illinois.

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Garage Doors and Safety

House with a Garage

Many if not all of us can relate to the function of a Garage Door and how they operate. From pulling the car or truck inside after a long day’s work or even the occasional weekend warrior to family projects that need to be done inside the garage. But did you know that through the constant usage of your garage door certain components may become defective over time and need to be either fixed or replaced. If defective garage door components are left unrepaired these can be a real safety hazard for you and your family.

Here are some facts to show you the dangers that garage doors can pose
and what to consider:

  • Garage doors are typically the largest and heaviest moving objects in homes and they are held under high tension.
  • Injuries caused by garage door accidents are responsible for 20,000 to 30,000 injuries every year. The garage door is one of the most dangerous parts of the family household and responsible for several dozen deaths every year. Most of the victims of these fatalities are small children.
  • Sixty children have been killed since 1982 as a results of garage doors that did not automatically reverse upon contact.

Components that should be present at garage doors and what to look for:\

  • Manual (Emergency) release handle. All garage doors should be equipped with this device. In case of an emergency the release handle will disengage or detach the door from the door opener when activated. These handles should be red in color and no more than 6 feet above the standing surface.
  • Warning Labels. There should be a spring warning label, attached to the spring assembly. General warning label attached to the back of the door panel. Warning label attached to the wall near the wall control button and also a tension warning label attached to the garage door’s bottom bracket.
  • Brackets and roller shafts.
  • Door Operation. It’s important that the garage door move freely, it does not open or close too quickly and opens and closes without difficulty.
  • Extension Spring Containment Cables. If your home has an older style garage door they may be using extension springs to couter-balance the weight of the door. If that isthe case they will require a containment cable inside the spring to prevent any broken parts from being propelled around the garage if the spring snaps. Most newer style garages use shaft-mounted torsion springs that do not require containment cables.
  • Wall-Mounted switch. Most be present and positioned high enough so children do not gain access to switch.
  • Automatic Reverse System. As of 1991, garage doors are required to be equipped with a mechanism that automatically reverses the garage door if it comes in contact with
    an object.
  • Photoelectric Eyes. These eyes are located at the base of each side of the garage door and emit and detect beams of light. If that beam is broken it will cause the garage door to immediately reverse direction and open. Photoelectric eyes must be installed a maximum of 6 inches above the standing surface. In some cases you might see these sensors installed on the ceiling which is not a good location and is definitely a safety hazard for either children and even pets.

Safety Advice:

  • Homeowners should not attempt to adjust or make repairs to the garage door springs. These repairs and adjustments should be left a qualified garage door technician. This is due to the springs being held under extremely high tension and those springs can suddenly and forcefully snap, causing serious or at times fatal injury.
  • No one should stand or walk beneath a garage door while it is moving, especially children. It’s important to teach our children about garage door safety.
  • Remember to keep fingers and hands away from pulleys, hinges and springs and the points between the garage door panels. When closing the garage door, body parts can easily become crushed if you are not careful.

As a reminder, garage doors and openers can be a real safety hazard for you and your family if certain key components are either missing or defective. It’s important to keep these components in good repair. If you happen to see a defect or a missing component, make sure to call a qualified garage door technician to make those necessary repairs. Again some of
these components are under extremely high tension and should be left to the professionals. We hope this information can better equip you and your family to have a safer home.

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