Hiring A Certified Roof Inspector Following A Hail Storm
Mother Nature and all of her fury ripped through your city or town, leaving behind a path of destruction. Now, you need to have a hail damage roof inspection. Find out how and why a certified contractor is what you want.
Following a storm, you want to hire a certified roofing inspector with experience so that nothing gets overlooked. These professionals have the knowledge and credentials to provide you with an accurate assessment that can prove or disprove roofing repairs are required. The information they give you will be submittable to your homeowner’s insurance policy so that any work required can be paid for as well.
When Should You Get a Hail Damage Roof Inspection?
It can be challenging to know for sure if you have hail damage after a storm. You don’t ever want to assume that you don’t, though. You can’t think that everything is fine because the weather conditions didn’t seem all that bad. As a homeowner, there are things you can do before hiring a certified roofing inspector.
Depending on your capabilities, you can get out a ladder and put on a good pair of shoes and climb up on the roof. You can look around yourself to get a clear picture of exactly what’s happened. If that’s outside of the realm of possibilities for you, you can check from the ground. There’s a possibility that something might be missed, so if you have any doubts, call an expert.
While doing your own assessment of roof damages, look for downspouts, gutters, or gutter screens that have been dented. It doesn’t happen this way every time. However, if there are visible issues with an impact on these parts of your home, there’s a good chance, there are more extensive damages to your roof.
Next, take a look at your window sills, siding, and other exterior surfaces. Dings and other signs of force are clear indicators that your home has been hit by hail damage. If you can see problems with these areas, then you can expect your roof to have the same issues. If you have an air conditioner, inspect it for dings and dents as well as any other metal surfaces. Decks and painted surfaces can also be examined by just about any capable homeowner.
Even the slightest ding warrants a call to a certified roofing inspector. You should never assume that because you think what you’ve observed isn’t that bad that your roof isn’t either. It’s much better to be safe than sorry in this type of scenario.
What Happens During a Hail Damage Roof Inspection?
If you’ve discovered that you need to hire someone to come and look for you, you have to make sure the roofing contractor is HAAG certified. These experts have gone through extensive training to gain knowledge in all types of residential and commercial roofs. Make sure to ask when you call, because not all roofing companies have these kinds of individuals working for them.
When your certified roofing inspector shows up, you can expect them to start their job in a similar way from what you did on your own. He or she will walk around your property, looking for dings, dents, and other damages. Besides just your roof, other items can be covered by your insurance policy. Even if the roofing inspector can’t fix something like a damaged air conditioner, he or she can put it in their report for the insurance agent.
Your certified roofing inspector will have a camera as well as something to document everything that they find. He or she will also have a ladder that will come out after the ground inspection is complete. Once on the roof, there are other parts of the home to inspect that you can’t see from the ground. Some of the things that they will be looking at are:
- Skylights
- Chimneys
- Chimney covers
- Vents
- Shingles
What they’re looking for are any dings, dents, or chipped surfaces. Some of those things could occur naturally from age. With their trained eye, an examiner can verify whether or not it’s normal wear and tear or from hail hitting it. It is essential if you plan on making a claim on your insurance policy, which will be explained in further detail later on.
Finding hail damage to roofing shingles can be very obvious or not so obvious, depending on the size of the hail and the amount force it hit the surface with. Your certified roofing inspector will take a keen eye and check for surface granules that have broken away from the shingle. Again, this is something that can happen to older roofs, but a professional can tell if it’s the aftermath of the storm.
When a roofing contractor discovers damages to your roof shingles, he or she will outline it with chalk and take photographs as they go. When you view the pictures, you might not think that a few granules knocked off is a big deal. However, as soon as those granules are gone, your roofing shingles lose their integrity. It might not happen right away, but eventually, it could lead to water leakage. If you don’t get a report done immediately following the storm, then the water damage that happens later won’t be covered by your insurance policy. You’ll have to pay for repairs or a replacement out of your own pocket.
How Much Does It Cost for a Hail Damage Roof Inspection?
Depending on where you live and what kinds of roofing companies exist in your area, the price for a hail damage roof inspection can vary. There are a plethora of contractors out there that will offer this service for free. They do so because following a significant storm, there are likely going to be roofing repairs required. Roofing contractors hope that after the roofing inspection, the homeowner will hire them to do the work. That’s how they make their money.
If you can’t find a roofing contractor in your area that offers free hail damage roofing inspections, you can expect to pay anywhere between $150 and $500. There are several factors that go into the final cost. Those factors include the size of the roof, pitch, what condition it’s in, where you’re located, and how difficult it is to gain access. When researching local roofing contractors, call a few different ones and ask for an estimate before hiring one. They can often give you one right over the phone after you provide them with a few details.
Does Insurance Cover a Hail Damage Roof Inspection?
You will have to check your existing homeowner’s insurance policy to verify whether or not the hail damage roof inspection is covered. All companies are different, so there’s no one set answer for this question. However, what’s important to note is the fact that if you do have hail damage to your roof, your insurance policy likely covers repairs
When your insurance agent is reviewing the report provided by a certified roofing contractor, they want to see at least eight different places where damages have occurred. These instances have to be in a 10-foot by 10-foot area of space as well and cover three or more different sides of the roof.
Hail damage to a roof is one of the biggest reasons why homeowners make a claim on their insurance policies. You have to be able to prove that your roof was in reasonably good condition prior to the storm, though. If the hail damage was likely caused because your roof was already aged or weak, then an insurance inspector will see that and deny to cover the costs. It’s a good idea to get annual roof inspections. That way, you can prove that your roof has been well maintained, and any accidental damage is paid for.
How Long Does a Hail Damage Roof Inspection Take?
Your hail damage roof inspection can take anywhere from 45 minutes up to several hours to complete. The timeframe is based on how big the roof is, how easily a roofing contractor can maneuver around it, and how severe the damage is.
A certified roofing inspector will be able to complete the steps required more efficiently than someone without experience. Many companies will come and do the task without you having to be there. However, when setting up the appointment, it’s ideal to coordinate with the insurance adjuster as well. Insurance companies are looking for reasons not to pay for damages. Your professional contractor will be able to point out all the issues and explain them to the adjuster in a way that most homeowners aren’t capable of doing.
How to Hire the Best Hail Damage Roofing Inspector
There are qualities to look for when hiring a hail damage roof inspector. It’s always advised to check with at least three different companies before selecting one. When collecting information, consider the following:
- Years of experience
- Licensing and insurance
- Locally owned and operated
- References from previous homeowners
- Warranties on work if repairs are required
Nobody wants to deal with a hail damage roof inspection, but with the proper information, the process doesn’t have to be so stressful. Now that you know how and what to do about hail damage, you can easily take care of the problem right away.
