The roof on your home is your home’s biggest means of protection. Weather beats on it non-stop, which is why you have to take really good care of the roof. There are four common types of storm damage that require professional roof repairs.
Hail Damage
Hail damage is the most common form of weather damage to your roof. Even nickel-sized hailstones can create dents in the shingles on your roof. The more the hail, and/or the larger the hailstones, the greater the damage to your roof. Regardless if your roof is hit with nickel-sized hail for a few minutes or pummeled by softball hail for an hour, only a professional roofer can estimate the extent of the damage and provide you with a quote on what it will cost to repair and restore your roof.
Storm Damage
Storm damage is a sort of catch-all phrase. In the northern states, storm damage might include heavy snows and ice dams that can ruin your roof. In the Gulf, storm damage might include hurricane damage or severe flooding to and over the roof. On rarer occasions, storm damage could include lightning strikes or fallen trees crushing the roof.
An overly wet roof with long term damage from these storms creates its own perfect storm for water damage inside your house. Always have your home’s roof assessed right after a really bad storm of any kind to make sure the rest of your house isn’t in any danger.
Wind Damage
Wind is probably the biggest and most leading cause of roof damage. Overall, it is the leading cause reported to insurance companies and failure to cure this damage can result in insurance loss. Roofs can be damaged in really huge bursts of wind in a typical rainstorm, from uprooted trees that fall on the roof, and from tornadic and hurricane activity.
All of these forms of wind damage do one particular thing. They expose the underbelly of your roof to moisture and water damage. It’s why homeowners need to repair this type of damage immediately.
Ice Dams
In the Midwest, homeowners have to frequently go outside and clear the ice from their roofs. If they did not do this, the ice builds up creating ice dams that fill up the gutters and overhang the edges of the roofs. Eventually the ice dams push shingles backward, exposing the layers of roofing underneath. As the ice dams melt, the water gets to those other layers and begins to destroy the roof itself. Hire a pro to help you prevent the ice dams and remove them when they occur.