Storm Damage Repair

Documented properly, so the claim is yours and it holds up.

Houston gets three kinds of roof-damaging weather, and they leave different evidence. Straight-line wind from a squall line. Hurricane and tropical storm wind, which arrives from multiple directions over many hours. And hail, which is a separate subject with its own page.

What they have in common is what happens afterwards: a wave of contractors who were not here last month and will not be here next year.

What wind actually does

Wind damage is rarely a hole. It is a roof that has been lifted and set back down.

Creased shingles. The shingle lifts, the seal strip breaks, it folds back and lays down again. From the ground it looks fine. The seal is gone and it will take off in the next event.
Lost seal strips across a whole slope, usually the windward one. This is the most under-diagnosed storm damage there is, because there is nothing to see.
Missing ridge and hip caps, which go first and are visible.
Lifted drip edge and fascia metal, which is where wind gets under the edge of the system.
Displaced flashing at walls and chimneys.
Impact damage from a branch, a neighbour's fence panel, or someone else's shingles.
Turbine and vent damage. Turbines are the first thing off a Houston roof in a hurricane and they leave an open hole.

What to do in the first forty eight hours

Stay off the roof. Wet, storm-damaged roofs kill people every season.
Photograph everything from the ground, including the debris in your yard and the date on your phone.
Stop the water. Tarping first, repair later. That is a separate, faster service.
Photograph interior damage before you move or dry anything, because that is your evidence.
Keep every receipt for tarps, fans, dehumidifiers and a hotel if you needed one. Reasonable mitigation costs are usually recoverable.
Call your own carrier, not a contractor's claim line.
Do not sign anything a door knocker hands you. Particularly not a document that assigns your claim rights or authorises work "pending insurance approval".

Two things that are illegal in Texas, whoever offers them. A contractor cannot act as a public adjuster on a job they will also perform, under Texas Insurance Code chapter 4102. And paying, waiving, rebating or absorbing your deductible has been a criminal offense since House Bill 2102 took effect in September 2019, including advertising it. The full explanation is here.

How we document it

We are not allowed to run your claim and we would not want to. What we do is produce evidence that stands on its own: dated photographs of every slope with damage marked, close shots showing creasing and broken seal strips, the soft metals and window screens that corroborate a wind or hail event, interior photographs, and a Cost Plus scope of repair line by line. We will meet your adjuster on the roof and point at what we found, which is permitted and is worth doing.

Hurricane season

The work that matters happens in May, not September. Secured ridge caps, sound flashing, turbines replaced with low-profile vents where appropriate, trees cut back off the roof, and gutters clear so the volume goes where it should. The full pre-season checklist is 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 do I know if I have wind damage if nothing is missing?

You usually cannot from the ground. The most common wind damage is a broken seal strip and creased shingles that lay back down looking normal. It takes someone lifting shingles by hand across the windward slopes to find it.

A contractor knocked on my door after the storm. Should I use them?

We would not. Not every door knocker is a problem, and the pattern of appearing after a storm, pressing for a signature on the day and being unreachable in two years is the single most expensive thing that happens to Houston homeowners. We never knock doors.

How long do I have to file a storm claim?

Your policy sets the deadline and Texas law sets outer limits, so read your own policy. Practically, file promptly, because the longer the gap the easier it is for a carrier to argue the damage came from a different event.

Will you tarp my roof before the claim is settled?

Yes, and you should. Preventing further damage is your obligation under most policies, and the tarping cost is generally recoverable. Keep the receipt.

Get a Cost Plus quote for storm damage repair

Free inspection, photographed and written up, with a line-by-line quote inside one business day.

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Or call (281) 305-8669