Roofing Tips----How To Detect Hail Damage.

Checking Roof For Hail Damage

HAIL DAMAGE TO ROOF SHINGLES

By

Christian McGarry

Hail forms when frozen water drops are lifted in turbulent wind regimes during thunderstorms. The frozen drops of water increase in size and eventually fall to earth as hail having been driven by a combination of gravity and wind forces. Hail stones vary in size from pea size (1/4 inch diameter, little roof damage), through marble size (3/4 inch in diameter, threshold damage to roof materials) to golf ball size (11/2 inch in diameter, typically severe damage to roofing materials). Hail size distributions tend to be localized with some roofs damaged, while others are not. Wind direction plays an important role, as well as roof pitch. A direct impact of hail on a shingle is more damaging than that of a glancing blow. Figure 1a illustrates the dynamics of


Figure 1a

hail impact on two different roof pitches. The home on the left would sustain more roof damage than that on the right, because of the more direct impact on the left as opposed to the less damaging, glancing, blow to the right. Wind conditions can distort damage to a home as illustrated in Figure 1b. The home on the left has more glancing blows to the roof from the


Figure 1b

wind, while the windward wall comes under attack from direct hail impact. The right wall is protected and undamaged from the hail. The home on the right will more likely sustain roof damage on the windward side because of the more direct impact. Assessing hail damage is often accomplished by a roof inspection, which usually occurs several days to several months after the hail event. Determination of whether hail actually fell at a site can be made through statements and weather reports. Inspection of thin, aluminum fixtures helps verify hail impact. Figure 2a shows denting on a roof vent cap indicating that hail had struck the vent at one time.


Figure 2a


Figure 2b

Figure 2b shows denting on a flue vent indicative of hail impact at one time. The denting on these two fixtures does not impede their function.


Figure 2c

Figure 2c shows deformation to condensing unit fins on an air conditioning system, as a result of a driving hailstorm. This damage does impair operation of the unit, in that air flow through the coils is reduced, causing higher refrigerant temperature, lost performance and lost reliability.
Figure 3 shows shredded and pock-marked paint from a driving hailstorm. The base wood was undamaged but repainting was required.


Figure 3


Figure 4

Figure 4 shows mild impact marks on a cedar shingle, consistent with hail impact. These marks will typically dissipate over time with virtually no effect on shingle life. Figure 5 shows more severe shredding from hail impact. If the impact marks are causing severe splits, then shingle life will most likely be adversely affected.


Figure 5

Figure 6 shows impact damage to siding as a result of wind driven hail. Some shredding and minor splitting has occurred but the siding appears structurally sound.


Figure 6


Figure 7

Hail damage to asphalt shingles includes severe granule loss, material removal at the edges of the shingles and penetration. Figure 7 shows grit loss from asphalt after pounding from a hailstorm. New asphalt shingles are more resistant to hail impact than older shingles since the asphalt becomes more brittle with age. Warmer shingles are more compliant and more resistant to fracture from hail when compared with colder shingles. Shingles rely on a structurally sound substrate for hail damage resistance. Flexible roof sheathing allows the shingles to flex during impact causing damage, while more rigid roof sheathing supports the shingle during impact resulting in less shingle damage.

In recent years, roof shingle manufacturers have been listing products that conform to Underwriters Laboratories test standard UL 2218, which classifies the resistance of a particular product to hail damage. The test entails dropping steel balls on samples and observing the damage. A Class 4 rating is the most resistive to hail damage, while the Class 1 rating is the least resistive. Some insurance companies are reducing premiums when Class 4 shingles are used. The roofing industry takes issue with some of the testing methods, indicating that shingle aging and thermal environments are not taken into account.

Most hail related damage is cosmetic and does not affect the useful life of roof shingles. In other cases severe wood splitting, significant granule loss, penetration of the shingle and fracture may require shingle replacement.

Posted by Christian McGarry at 7:24 PM

Lancaster Texas Takes A Direct Hit With Huge Hailstones And Strong Winds.

                             

LANCASTER, Texas -
For some, the storms served as a frightening reminder of the damage the weather can do here in North Texas.
It's been nearly a year since tornadoes tore a destructive path through several cities.
Lancaster residents said the pounding hail Saturday morning made it tough not to panic.
When Margaret Wooden looked out of her window, she saw hail flooding the streets and front yards.
Wooden thought it could be a tornado roaring through her Lancaster subdivision much like last year.
Her neighbor Alisha Simmons thought the same thing. Her husband went into a panic.
Saturday's inclement weather stripped leaves off of trees, covered the grass with hail and knocked out power to residents.
Barely a blip on the radar when compared to last year's EF-2 tornado on April 3rd that left a seven mile path of destruction.

Many of the people hardest hit are still struggling to rebuild.
One resident said houses in the neighborhood have not been fixed from last year's vicious storm.
Despite all of the damage, not one person died.

Homeowners Guide to Hail Damage Roof Insurance Claims

                                                              
Homeowners Guide To Hail, Wind, Storm and Lightening Damage.

Hail Damage

Hail can damage your shingles, siding, or gutters without any visible signs from the ground. Hail normally has to be at least the size of a golf ball before it will break through your shingle and cause bruising.

If driven by high winds or if it hails for more than a few minutes, your roof will suffer from loss of protective granules. This will greatly reduce the life of your roof. Siding, gutters and fascia can be dented by hail. Frequently this damage is difficult to see until the light is right. Have the exterior of your home inspected to be safe.

Various Ways Shingles Can Be Damaged

HAIL

Loss of granule layer on the shingle will cause the organic-based center of the shingle to be exposed to the sun's UV rays. This will cause serious deterioration of the shingle in a short period. Furthermore, hail can actually puncture or seriously damage your roof.

HIGH WINDS

Over 50 miles per hour can lift the shingle and cause seals to break, never to be resealed. The unsealed shingles will then flap in the breeze and soon snap off.

VENTILATION

Improper or inadequate ventilation in your attic will cause the shingles to scorch and bubble up causing a serious problem.

An inspection by a trained technician can verify the extent of the damages and outline the means to get them repaired.

We have provided full service to our clients since 1947. Let us help make your storm damage claim less intimidating and insure you receive the best results.

If You Think Your Property Is Damaged

Call Above All Roofing for assistance.
One of our specialists will meet with you to assess your property.

If hail damage is found
We will inform you to call your insurance company.
Provide initial assessment estimate.
We will provide you and your insurance company with an initial assessment and estimate of the damages.

Test areas

A (10'x10') "test area" will be measured on every slope of the roof. If we find a sufficient amount of bruises or breaks for each "test square", the insurance company will pay for a new roof less your deductible. If gutters, siding, brick, etc. are dented, you will be paid for a replacement "of like or kind quality."

Contractor Representation

You are entitled to have the contractor of your choice represent you. We will represent you during the inspection process. First, we will meet with you to determine the extent of the damage, then we will meet with your adjuster to determine all other aspects. In most cases, all you pay out-of-pocket is your deductible. Most discrepancies occur when the adjuster has not assessed the same amount or type of damage as the contractor. Whether it's for the roof, gutters, siding, or other exterior damage, we work with the adjuster in finalizing the cost of the repairs and getting your claim paid.

How Insurance Companies Pay Claims

You should receive the first check about a week after the adjuster has estimated your damage. This check represents the actual cost to repair or replace the damaged property, less depreciation and your deductible. The age and condition of the property is taken into account when calculating depreciation. The depreciation amount will be paid when work is completed and an invoice is sent to the insurance company.

Mortgage Companies

If you are carrying a mortgage on your home, the first check you receive from your insurance company should be made out to you and your mortgage company. The check along with required documents of your mortgage company must be satisfied to clear your check. We assist you with this process, or if desired, complete it for you.

Why Choose Us?

All of our staff is specially trained with storm damage claims and will provide you with the best representation possible. We have many crews, each excelling in it's own field.
We are members of the National Roofing Contractors Association, a preferred Contractor for manufacturers such as Owens Corning and CertainTeed, and we have been awarded Shingle Master Crew Status by employing a Master Roofer Applicator-qualified work force.

The Roofing Process

We roof per the National Roofing Contractors Association guidelines. We strip off the old shingles and check for any bad decking or chimney flashing. We apply felt, ice and water shield (if code), re-roof to code using four (4) nails per shingle.
Please keep in mind that this is a major construction project.
Shingles, particularly second layers, come off in pieces.
Expect a bit of a mess no matter what contractor does the work. Be sure the items on the interior of your home that react to vibration during the installation process are secure.
We will clean up and haul away trash including picking up nails with a magnet.
In most cases, reroofing can take one to two (1-2) days to complete.

Flower Mound Get Nailed by Hail Storm May 28 2013! Here is Some Helpfull Tips For Filing A Hail Damage Claim.

                              How To File a Claim

  If you live the Flower Mound, Grapevine, or Lewisville areas you recently received hail large enough to cause damage to your roof, then you will want to know how and when to file an insurance claim for damages. If you're not sure whether your home has been damaged by hail, start by examining other objects around your house for signs of damage before calling your insurance company or pulling out your ladder. Hail strong enough to damage a roof will also cause damage to nearby cars, wood fences, shutters, gutters and/or exterior siding. Also, a significant amount of shingle granules appearing at the end of downspouts may indicate potential damage; however, granule loss, in and of itself, does not prove hail damage.

The following steps will help make filing a claim a lot easier for you:

1. Note the date.

If you know for sure that you've recently had a hail storm, note the date. You'll need this date to file a claim. If you didn't take any picture of the hail storm yourself, do an internet search with the name of your city and the keywords, "hail storm." You ought to find a lot of pictures of people showing the size of the hail. Save a few to show the agent.

2. Get a qualified opinion.

If you suspect you have damage to your roof from a hail storm, get several opinions from qualified roofing companies. If you are in an area susceptible to hail, you will most likely find several that list themselves as hail damage specialist. Simply tell them that you suspect you have damage from a recent hail storm and they'll be more than glad to come and give you an estimate. Always check their references, BBB, Yp.com (yellow pages online), Angie's List, Yelp, etc...)

3. Meeting the roofing companies.

When the roofing companies come, spend some time getting to know them and ask about the service they provide. Most will spend about 10-20 minutes on your roof accessing the damage. Ask them what they think and if they'd recommend that you call your insurance company to file a claim. Get business cards and any information they provide about the roofing process that they use. Ask them all if they'd be willing to be there when the insurance adjuster comes to access the damage. I think as a general rule, if they are not willing to be there, then they really don't think you have much of a chance in getting your claim approved.

4. Filing the claim.

This is the easy part. If the roofing companies recommended you call in a claim, just call your insurance company and tell them you want to file a claim for hail damage. They will then request all the pertinent dates and data from you and will probably also ask if you have any interior damage. It's probably not necessary, but when I put in my claim, I made sure that I told them that I already had several roofing companies who specialize in hail damage look at my roof and tell me it needed replacing. Also know this, in most states you have up to one year to file a claim for damage. Although I don't recommend you wait that long, just make sure you know what the date, or dates, of the hail storms. Also, don't worry about how old your roof is because it doesn't matter. The insurance company will look at your claim and settle it if you have damage no matter how old it is. The last thing they want is for your roof to fail (leak) and you put an even larger claim in.

5. Meeting the insurance adjuster.

When the insurance adjuster comes, there will not be much for you to do. Hopefully, you'll have a contractor who agreed to meet the adjuster with you. The adjuster will take about a half hour to access and (should) take pictures of any damage and then explain the next steps to you. Some companies may give you a settlement quote right then, but many can take up to a couple weeks. When the adjuster is done, your  contractor, or contractors, will probably compare notes with the adjuster mainly to see if the total roof measurements are about the same. In a case where the adjuster states they didn't think there was any significant damage, ask your contractor to debate it with them. Even if you didn't have one there at the time, and you later tell your roofing company what the adjuster said, most insurance companies will send their adjuster back for a re-inspect to discuss with your contractor.

When the adjustor leaves. Well hopefully, they gave you a favorable indication about a settlement, so the next thing you want to do is make sure you get written quotes from the roofing companies you've been working with. Start thinking about which one you are going to select, and make sure you take into consideration a company's reputation and not just the price or discounted rates they're offering you. Also ask them for a discount or upgrade if you should bring them more business. If you had hail damage, then it is likely your neighbors had damage, and you might as well benefit by recommending a roofer to them.

6. Getting the work done.

If your insurance company approves your claim, you will most likely get enough, less your deductible, to complete the work. If it's not enough, your contractor should help you dispute the amount based on the work needed. Don't be alarmed if your insurance company depreciated the amount allocated for repairs because of roof age. They are just holding back some of the money until the work is complete. So, if they hold back $700 for depreciation and the actual cost of work is a little more then they sent you, all you have to do is send them a letter of completion from your contractor with the exact amount when the work is done and they'll send you the difference.

            And that's it; a new roof for the price of your deductible!

Our Residential Roofing department is devoted entirely to the Dallas/Ft. Worth, Arlington, Keller, Irving, Grapevine, Mckinney, Denton, Flower Mound, Lewisville, Springtown, Roanoke, Bedford, Hurst, Plano, Garland, Euless, Las Colinas, The Colony, Lantana, De Soto, Frisco, Addison, Farmers Branch, University Park, Coppell, Grand Prarie, Arlington, North Richland Hills, Fort Worth, Duncanville, Highland Village, Flower Mound, Grapevine, Lewisville, Flower mound and all surrounding areas roofing needs. Our residential department has the experienced craftsmen and modern equipment to do the job safely and on time. We specialize in all composite asphalt shingle applications.

What You Need to Know About Tornadoes

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Despite improved warnings and forecasts over the past few decades, tornadoes still cause many deaths each year. To learn a little more about these violent storms, here are 12 facts that illustrate how destructive tornadoes can be, where they can occur and how to prepare for them.

1. How do tornadoes form?
Tornadoes form where warm moist air is trapped underneath a layer of cold, dry air. This instability is upset when the warm bottom layer gets pushed up — either by heating near the ground, or by an influx of cold air. As the moist air rises, it cools, forming clouds and thunderstorms. If the conditions are right, the rapidly rising air will spin around a central funnel, at speeds sometimes exceeding 150 mph. Although tornadoes are more frequent in the afternoon, they can happen anytime, even at night. 

2. Where do tornadoes form?
Tornadoes can occur almost anywhere in the world, but the United States is the country with the highest frequency of tornadoes. About 1,000 tornadoes hit the United States each year.
Twisters strike predominantly along Tornado Alley — a flat stretch of land from west Texas to North Dakota. The region is ideal for tornadoes, as dry polar air from Canada meets warm moist tropical air from the Gulf of Mexico.

3. Do tornadoes occur only in the spring?
While tornado season — the time of year that historically produces the most tornadoes — runs from early spring through mid-summer, tornadoes can happen any time of year if the conditions are right. Essentially, this is any time when warm and cool air masses collide.

4. What state gets hit by the most tornadoes?
That would be Texas, which averages 125 tornadoes every year. Oklahoma comes in next with about 57 tornadoes per year, with Kansas and Florida following close behind with 55 each. Florida of course is much smaller, and therefore has more twisters per square mile than anywhere else.

5. What month has the most tornadoes?
May is typically the month in which most tornadoes occur, followed by June. The record for most tornadoes in any month (since record keeping began in 1950) was set in May 2003, with 543 tornadoes confirmed in the final numbers.

6. How much damage can tornadoes cause?
That all depends on how big the storm is and how fast its winds are whipping around.
The Fujita scale, named for the scientist who developed it, ranks tornado strength based on the damage they cause. The scale runs from F0 to F5; the most violent tornadoes, F4 and above, account for less than 1 percent of all tornadoes, but account for 70 percent of tornado-related deaths.
These terrifying twisters can level a house and lift up a car and fling it 100 yards away. F2s and F3s can tear off roofs, destroy mobile homes and lift cars off the ground. F0s and F1s will break tree branches, damage signs and take off a few roof shingles.

7. What's the difference between hurricane and tornado damage?
It's mostly a matter of scale. Tornadoes have much higher wind speeds, so most of the damage wrought by them is wind-related. But they are much smaller and so cause damage over a smaller area than hurricanes. Most damage from hurricanes comes from flooding and storm surge.

8. What was the deadliest tornado outbreak?
The deadliest outbreak came on April 3, 1974, when a two-day "Super Outbreak" of 147 tornadoes killed 308 people in 13 states. The deadliest single tornado was the "Tri-state" tornado that killed 695 people along a 219 mile long track across parts of Missouri, Illinois and Indiana on March 18, 1925.

9. What city has been hit by the most tornadoes?
Oklahoma City has been hit by a staggering 100 tornadoes; the earliest recorded tornado there was in 1893. The most-hit city count can change based on how city limits are defined, but when considering a 20-mile radius around a city of 100,000 or more, Oklahoma City is in the lead, followed by Huntsville, Ala.

10. What is the highest elevation a tornado has occurred at?
This isn't known for sure, but scientists with the National Weather Service say it is at least over 10,000 feet above sea level. The NWS website lists a tornado observed and photographed by a hiker at 12,000 feet in Sequoia National Park, California, on July 7, 2004, as the likely candidate for highest elevation tornado known. The highest altitude ever recorded for a violent tornado was between 8,500 and 10,000 feet elevation in Wyoming — an F4 tornado struck there on July 21, 1987.

11. How do I prepare for a tornado?
Keep abreast of local weather forecasts and listen for watches and warnings. Having a weather radio in the house is also a good idea.
Have a family plan in place so you can quickly find shelter. Basements and storm cellars are the best place to take shelter, but if you don't have either one, head to a bathroom, closet or any other interior rooms away from windows.
Don't bother opening windows to equalize the pressure in the house — it's a waste of time and the tornado will take care of that for you if it does hit your house.
If you're in a car, get out and head for sturdy shelter or a low, flat spot. Don't take shelter under a bridge, which is highly dangerous.

12. What's the difference between a tornado watch and a tornado warning?
A tornado watch defines an area (usually displayed on meteorologists' maps) where tornadoes and other kinds of severe weather are likely in the next few hours. If you're in such an area, be alert.
A warning means that a tornado has been spotted or that radar has shown circulation in a storm that could spawn a tornado. Warnings mean you should seek shelter immediately