So I think my roof has hail damage - now what?

[Damor]

We got pounded by baseball-size plus up here (Belton/Temple) last Friday. We have a new roof and it looks generally OK, but it sounds like a lot of people around me are making roof claims.

So if I'm unsure to what degree of damage I might have, am I better off having someone come by independently (anyone?

) or is it better to start out with my insurance co.? If the repairs I need are not too much more than my deductible, am I better off not claiming it, or will it push my rates up if if I get insurance to pay?

And I am going to go ahead and assume it is the job of the insurance adjuster to screw me -- what if I get someone independent to look at it and they disagree?

As you can see, I am a confused new homeowner. Any thoughts welcome.

 

[RoundRobin]

I filed a hail claim a few months ago here in Houston. Basically, I had a guy knock on my door and tell me that he was repairing several roofs in the area after a hail storm and that he would take a look at my roof to see if there was damage. There was and I set an appointment with my insurance company. The roofer acted as my agent during the inspection and the insurance company cut me a check to replace the roof.

NCAAFBALLROX does roofing in the Austin area and was very helpful with questions. I don't know if he goes up to Temple but shoot him a PM and he can give you expert advise.

 

[NCAAFBALLROX]

I will be up in Belton later today looking over Scottsin's roof; if any of you who live in the area want to get a quick 'n easy checkup, send me an Email or PM (I will try to check right up 'til around 1p when I leave Oak Hill). Be sure to include a phone # as I won't have much time to play phone tag.

There is NO charge & no obligation for an inspection, so if you are @ all suspect, you should let me take a look.

Note: One of the most common things I hear from people is "ahh... it looks OK from here I guess. I don't need anything; thanks."

You can NOT tell what your situation is like from the ground. Granted, baseball sized hail is going to show a LOT more damage than marble or quarter sized, but a lot of the hail damage forensics come not from the hit itself, but the ANGLE of the hit & how many hits the roof actually sustained over a wide(r) area of the roof.

There's a lot to it & I do my best to explain the whole process once I meet with a homeowner.

If anyone has ANY kind of general questions, please throw them up here vs. a PM because it would probably help the Horned Masses as well.

 

[12thStudStan]

You can't be surcharged by your insurance company for wind/hail damage to your roof, so inquiring about or making a claim for same will not directly cause your insurance premiums to increase. That being said, there is a good chance your homeowners insurance premium will be going up anyway because that is just what is happening now. Just be happy you don't live in the coastal area, because some of those folks are facing 30-40% increases in premium.

Having a reputable roofer make an assessment of the damage to your roof before contacting your insurance company is a good first step. Beware of fly by night roofers that tend to show up in catastrophic storm areas. Find someone like NCAAFBALLROX that has been in the business for many years and has references. If your insurance company disagrees with your roofers findings, arrange to have an adjuster meet with your roofer so that he can point out the damage.

You might also consider upgrading your roof if it does warrant replacement. For example, if you have a 30 yr shingle now it might not be that much more to upgrade to a 40 yr and perhaps better looking shingle.

 

[NCAAFBALLROX]

Stan, I agree with a lot of what you said.

Pricing wise, a 30 year roof to a 40 year goes sorta like this:

3 Bundles per "square" (100 square ft. = a roofer's term of a square) for 3 tab & 30 year shingles. About $ 18.50 per bundle of 30 year right now, so 3 x $ 18.50 = $ 55.50 per square.

4 Bundles per square for 40 & 50 year (usually a 50 year is a "Class IV rated") shingles. About $ 17.25 per bundle for 40 year; 4 x $ 17.25 = $ 69.00 per square.

Over the course of an "average" house in the 30 square size, that's a difference of $ 13.50 x 30 squares = $ 405.00 + tax.

Class IV shingles are the ONLY ones that will give you a lower cost on your windstorm premium & lower cost for your deductible should you ever have to actually file. Please note that roofing products that have a higher wind & hail designation (again, that's your Class IV) need special installation, i.e. 6 nails per shingle (gets to be 12 after the 'double lap') & your insurance co. may also want independant certification as to the method of installation & product receipts showing what you purchased.

How all of this may or may not work in reality is this:

Say a hurricane goes right over your house: You're pretty much screwed any way you look @ it if a picnic bench or telephone pole goes flying through the air & spikes your roof.

BUT if you're on the fringes where high winds from this same storm don't exceed 50 mph & you had a proper installation method, your chances of the roof surviving without much reportable damage is going to be a lot better.

Same idea goes for hail; fringe of a quality hailstorm vs. dead center. A lot of people talk about a new roof, but none of that matters if you get 50 mph winds or more with even 1" sized hail being properly pushed.

PS: We also do metal roofing... this is your ULTIMATE combination of "energy efficiency / high wind / heavy hail" protection... provided you select the right products & it's installed correctly (thickness of panels, number of screws or clips, proper edge conection, etc). Metal is a minimum of 2-1/2 to 3-1/2 x the cost of a similar shingle job.

All shingle specs listed are variable depending on the product selected & some will cost more for installation due to the # of bundles required, nails required, special details, etc.

 

[HornOnTheBayou]

I just want to point out that NCAA does know his stuff (although that is pretty obvious by his posts). He inspected the roof on a house I bought last year and really helped me understand what was going on.

 

[AustinTejasFan]

"You can't be surcharged by your insurance company for wind/hail damage to your roof, so inquiring about or making a claim for same will not directly cause your insurance premiums to increase."

Technically this is correct. You cannot be "surcharged" for a hail loss. It's against the law. But, you can loose your "claims free" discount, which has the same effect.

 

[doylehargraves]

Yes, NCAA knows his stuff, and is a really honest and good businessman.

 

[Damor]

Thanks very much, y'all. I'll be getting Rox to take a look at it.

So if I am getting a "claims free" discount, that should be listed on my policy, correct?

And if I am planning to probably sell this place in the next 5-10 years, how much of a benefit do y'all think I would get by upgrading the roof? (currently 30y dimensional shingles)

 

[Nonbryan]

NCAA,

OK, how do I know if my roof has hail damage or not? We have been pelted 2 or 3 times in the recent past by hail and some of it was pretty big! I just figured that my neighbors didn't have people working on their roof so I assumed mine must be ok as well. I have noticed the little rubber balls from the shingles washing up from my downspouts in my driveway and that concerned me a little.

 

[AustinTejasFan]

"So if I am getting a "claims free" discount, that should be listed on my policy, correct? "

All the charges and discounts that apply to your insurance should be shown on the declarations page of your policy.

 

[NCAAFBALLROX]

In reply to:

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[orangebones]

my parents got absolutely bombed in that storm last week.

 

[Damor]

Thanks, Rox.

My brain still hurts from all of the roofing knowledge you tried to cram in there -- thanks for taking the time to explain stuff. Glad you came by.

The builder is not going to be happy to hear from my wife... I think they thought they were done with us...

 

[12thStudStan]

In reply to:

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[NCAAFBALLROX]

Damor has a "limestone brick" sided house (for the areas in question) & in about 20 total feet over two places, he is missing this detail:

The purpose of Turnback Metal (also sometimes called a "J Flash" because of the J shaped hook) is to prevent water from penetrating the joint & getting under your shingles or behind the brick / decking joint.

Damor doesn't have the Turnback OR the Reglet (the part that goes OVER the Turnback.

The Reglet is installed by using a grinder & cutting into the brick face, then wedging the Reglet & countersealing with a silicone product or a mortar of some sort.

What I do not have shown here is that shingles get installed on the roof deck right up to the edge of the siding with a slight gap of about 1/4" to allow for water flow & leaves & other organic matter* to get (hopefully) rinsed out, should they collect.

*It's not uncommon for us to find Ringtail Cat & Raccoon scat in all sorts of places on houses in virtually every kind of neighborhood.

 

[TexasEd]

NCAAFBALLROX,

I think I am missing that near some stucco on my roof. I might call you to ask about it. I think I still have your number.

Ed

 

[NCAAFBALLROX]

Ed,
Where you have siding or stucco, there is a possibility of this detail - Step Flashing:

The benefit of Step Flashing vs. Turnback is that it lays flatter on the roof deck & looks better.

The drawback is that the roofing has to be done PRIOR to the wall components & that means siding workers & painters // stucco workers & painters will need to walk all over your roof to do their jobs, PLUS the painters will want to drap off against the shingles by putting a thousand tiny staples into them... or they 'try to be careful' which never really works & you get all kinds of concrete, mortar & paint globs on the shingles.

After the step flashing goes down, the siding then goes over it. If you are using a stucco or brick / stone type siding product, a reglet can be cut into this material & this laps or aprons OVER the L flashing (step flashing).