Roofing Hail Damage Repair Mistakes
It’s not a myth that “storm chasers” are out there. In case you’re new to the term “stormchaser” we’ll define it for you here. In the roofing world, a “stormchaser” is a roofing individual or roofing contractor (or company) that chases big storms that will most likely cause damage to your roof. The idea is that a big storm, such as a hailstorm, rolls through town and what do you know, a contractor shows up on your porch to give you an estimate.
Since the big storm rolled through town all of the real roofing companies in your area are booked solid with repair work. You end up with Jerry, the guy who showed up on your porch, from outta town. I hope he has experience, license, and insurance.
This is super common after a hailstorm. To make sure you aren’t scammed by a storm chaser we’ll give you some information so you can better be prepared when the next hailstorm goes through.
What is Hail Damage Repair
Hail damage repair is a specific and specialized type of roof repair. The nature of the repair is often different then wind or a downed tree. In fact the nature of the repair isn’t even always obvious. This type of work typically requires specific experience.
If you have a textured roofing material, such as architectural shingles, then the dents that are made to the shingles by the hail might be very unnoticeable. However the damage to the shingles from the hail might have damaged the waterproofing layer in your roof, which will allow water to get into the roof deck.
If water gets into the roof deck there is a very good chance that rotting can occur since wood will rot when it comes in contact with water and oxygen. The smallest puncture in this waterproofing layer can lead to this happening.
You want to make sure you hire a contractor that has experience with hail damage. In fact, an experienced “storm chaser” might be a good option if they specialize in chasing hailstorms and have a positive track record of repairing hail damaged roofs.
Inspecting your own Roof
What’s the easiest way to save thousands of dollars today? Inspect and repair the roof yourself. What’s the easiest way to overspend thousands of dollars tomorrow? Inspect and repair the roof yourself.
Roofers just aren’t just trying to put their hands in your pockets when they tell you not to do it yourself. We know that we live in an information age. There are millions of articles, tutorials, and DIY videos out there teaching people how to inspect, replace, and repair their own roofs. Try not to make matters worse by saving a few dollars. We’re talking about the roof over your families head. Literally the most important part of your home. Don’t inspect your own roof.
Most homeowners don’t have the knowledge or expertise to identify when there has been hail damage or not. We would be willing to be that a lot of “roofers” out there shouldn’t even offer hail damage repairs. It’s difficult to identify.
When you have missing shingles it’s easy to identify the problem. When you have a dent in your architectural shingle it’s not as easy. In addition to the inspection being difficult and tedious, the inspection will also require you to get on your roof, walking around, bending over etc. Do you have all of the safety tools and experience? Probably not.
Leave the hail damage repair to the professionals.
We highly recommend going to Google, searching for “Hail Damage Roof Repair + City, State”. From there you should be able to see real reviews. Read the reviews to make sure the customers are happy with the specific hail damage service and give them a call!
