Hail Damage Repair

Found, marked, and photographed the way an adjuster needs to see it.

Hail damage is the most argued-about thing in residential roofing, because the damage that matters is frequently invisible from the ground and sometimes invisible from the roof unless you know what you are looking at.

What hail damage actually looks like

A hail strike on an asphalt shingle is a bruise. The impact fractures the mat underneath and knocks the granules loose, leaving a dark, soft, roughly circular mark. Press it and it gives slightly, like a bruise on fruit. That fracture is what matters, because it is the point where the shingle will fail early, and it is why hail damage is a legitimate claim even when the roof is not leaking today.

What it is not: the random granule loss that every ageing roof has, blistering from manufacturing, mechanical marks from someone walking on it, or marks in a straight line, which means a person, not weather.

Look at the soft metals first

The test square

Adjusters do not count every strike on a roof. They mark out a ten foot by ten foot square, one square of roof area, and count the bruises inside it. Most carriers work to a threshold of a certain number of strikes per square per slope before they call a slope damaged.

So we do the same thing, on every slope, and we mark and photograph it. It means our report speaks the adjuster's language instead of asking them to take our word for it. It also means that if your claim is underpaid, you have the counts.

Why the direction matters

Hail falls with the wind, so damage concentrates on the slopes facing the direction the storm came from. A roof with heavy bruising on the south and west slopes and nothing on the north is a completely normal hail pattern, and it is also the pattern a carrier may use to approve two slopes rather than the roof.

Whether a partial approval is reasonable depends on whether the shingle is still manufactured in a matching colour, which on an older roof it often is not. That is a conversation worth having with your adjuster, with the photographs in front of you.

Damage you cannot see for years

This is the part that costs people money. A bruised shingle frequently does not leak. The mat is fractured, the granules are gone, UV now reaches the asphalt directly, and the shingle fails three to six years earlier than it should have. By then the claim window is long shut and you are buying the roof yourself.

That is why getting the roof documented after a hail event matters even when nothing is leaking and you decide not to file.

What we do

1. Inspect and photograph every slope, plus all the soft metals and the interior.
2. Mark and shoot a test square per slope with the strike count.
3. Give you a dated written report, whether or not you file.
4. Meet your adjuster on the roof and show them what we found, which we are allowed to do.
5. Tell you plainly if the repair cost is likely to come in near your wind and hail deductible, because filing in that case gets you nothing and puts a claim on your record.

What we will not do is file or negotiate the claim for you. Texas Insurance Code chapter 4102 does not permit a contractor to adjust a claim they will be paid to repair, whatever the company down the street is offering. Full detail here.

What it costs, and how you can check

Every job on this page is priced Cost Plus. You see the supplier invoice for the materials, the crew hours at our published rate, the permit and disposal at what they actually cost, and one service fee of 20 to 30 percent set by job complexity and locked before anything starts. There is no second number and no change order conversation after the fact. The full breakdown is here.

Common Questions

How big does hail have to be to damage a roof?

It depends on the age and condition of the shingle, the wind speed behind it and the density of the stone. An older, brittle roof can be damaged by stones a newer roof shrugs off. Check the soft metals rather than guessing from the size you remember.

My roof is not leaking. Do I still have hail damage?

Very possibly. Hail bruising fractures the mat without making a hole. The roof does not leak, it just fails several years early. That is exactly why it is worth documenting.

What is a test square?

A marked ten foot by ten foot area, one square of roof, in which hail strikes are counted. Adjusters use strikes per square per slope to decide whether a slope is damaged, so documenting it the same way makes your report directly comparable.

The adjuster only approved two slopes. Is that normal?

It is common, because hail falls directionally. Whether it is reasonable depends on whether your shingle is still available in a matching colour. Raise that with your adjuster, with photographs.

Should I file if the damage is small?

Check your wind and hail deductible first. Many Texas policies use a percentage of the dwelling limit rather than a flat amount, which can be several thousand dollars. If the repair is near that number, filing may gain you nothing.

Related Services

• Storm Damage Repair
• Hail Damage: What to Look For
• Insurance Claim Help
• Impact-Resistant Shingles in Texas
• Free Roof Inspection