How To Identify Hail Damage On A Roof

You may need to run your hand over some of your shingles to identify a crack.

How to identify hail damage on a roof.

How to distinguish wear types on asphalt shingle roofs. Hail damage on your roof will cause granules to break loose at the site of each hail stone impact. You will generally see the shingle granules in your gutters or on the ground near the base of your gutters. While other factors can cause cracks in your shingles cracks are a common sign of hail damage on asphalt shingles.

Bruised or dented shingles. If you notice shingle granules in your gutters you may have hail damage on your roof. The ridge of your roof is the place most likely to show hail damage. Hail damage often accompanies wind damage to roofing systems so you ll want to look for both.

It is important to know the different effects of the damage to properly identify whether or not you have roof damage from hail. As you re inspecting your roof look for any shingles that have obvious cracks or curls in them. Foot traffic wear on asphalt shingles click to enlarge any image the dented metal flashing shown in the roof photo just above contributed by a reader is compelling evidence that the roof has been exposed to a hail storm. Look for dents dings chipped surfaces etc.

There are many easily seen signs of hail damage on an asphalt roof. Hail damage storms might not be the worst natural disaster that you can imagine happening to your property but they can cause a surprising amount of long lasting damage so you should be prepared in the event of a hail storm or associated weather event. Check out all the roof vents and features to look for any damage. Perpendicular hits cause the most damage so you re most likely to spot problems on the ridge.

Asphalt and composition shingles hail damage random damage with no discernable pattern. Since the ridge is at the top hail hits it at a perpendicular angle instead of on a slant. The most common sign of hail damage will be round impressions in the shingles where the granules have been knocked off and the asphalt substrate is exposed. Hail hits that are black in color.

The round dings in metal are obvious signs of hail damage. However determining whether your roof has sustained damage from a hailstorm may be a little more difficult. Identifying hail damage on your belongings such as patio furniture or your car is relatively straightforward. Vents chimneys sky lights other features and shingles are on our inspection list.