How to protect your roof from hailstorm damage
Can you imagine how your roof would look like in the evening if Tiger Woods went practicing with your roof as the target? This is exactly what might happen if your roof experienced a severe hailstorm. Minnesota is one of the coldest states in the U.S. and as such, it experiences many strong winds, snow, blizzards, and hail. As such, it is important to ensure that your roof is safe and secure at all times to avoid extensive damage to your home’s interior. As such, it is important to ensure that your roof is installed and serviced by a reputable and licensed roofing company. Additionally, you should ensure that your roof shingles, vent hoods, gutters, and skylights are regularly inspected for hail damage especially after a severe hailstorm. This is necessary because sometimes hail damage may not be visible to the naked eye and the services of a professional roofing specialist are required.
What is hail damage?
Hail in simple terms is a large frozen raindrop produced during intense thunderstorms where rain and snow coexist. Hail damage to your roofing system may take several forms. These include:
Bruising or soft spots that may or may not be visible to the naked eye on outer surface of your asphalt shingles
Loosening of the hard granules that make up the top surface of the shingles
Denting and damages to the felt matting leading to exposure of fibers
Damages to roof vents and other metal roof parts
How to identifying hail damage
One of the biggest challenges of hail damage is determining where indeed your roof sustained hail damage. Because in many instances, it is not possible to say with certainty that your roof sustained damage, there are other telltale signs of hail damage.
For instance, if you find an auto that had been parked outside with slight dents on its body after a hailstorm, then you need to understand that your roof might also have sustained damage. In addition, mineral granules on the gutters or ground, dents on other outdoor appliances may also be a good watch out sign.
How does hail damage affect my roof?
Hail damage is not always instantaneous; sometimes it takes time for there to be significant damage to your roofing system. In addition, the type of roof, the quality of roofing materials, the age of the roof, and the dynamics of the hailstorm(s) determine the kind of damage your roof will experience. The dynamics of the hailstorm depend on the size of hailstone, mass or weight of hailstone, the falling height, and the wind velocity. In most cases, hail damage is cosmetic and does not affect the useful life of your shingle. However, in severe cases, hail damage can cause significant granule loss, penetration of the shingle, and fracture. Under these circumstances, shingle replacement is required.
If detected early on, hail damage can be repaired saving you, the homeowner, and significant costs of replacement. In most cases, hail damage is in the form of crushed or dented sections of the shingle where granules are displaced or forced into the shingle mat material. Because the granules protect the shingle from ultra violet light degradation, these hail damages result in shortened shingle life. This gives you, the homeowner, and reason to file an insurance claim to recover the cost. When the roof is extensively damaged, then it is necessary to have a roof replacement to protect your home’s interior.
How to protect yourself from hail damage
Any roof repair or replacement done on your roof is a financial setback. Thus, it is necessary to protect your roof from hail damage. Although you cannot prevent a hailstorm, you can always avoid the adverse effects of hail damage. Some proven ways through which you can achieve this are listed below.
1. Use of durable and quality materials: using quality and durable materials will increase your shingles’ resistance to hailstones. In case you are not aware of which material is best please always consult a reputable roofing specialist company like us. Please remember that warmer shingles offer more resistance to fracture than cooler materials.
2. Have professionals install your roof. How your roof is installed will significantly affect its lifespan, security, and safety. Professional roofing specialists have the expertise to do this work in a secure and functional manner.
3. Have regular inspections. with regular inspections. You can detect any damages and have them repaired before the problem becomes catastrophic.
4. Use of rigid roof sheathing: shingles depend on the structure of the substrate to resist damage. Flexible roof sheathing flexes during hailstone impact causing damage. More rid sheaths do not flex thus providing additional support.
Conclusion
It is true that no man can control the weather. However, you can decide to minimize the impact by following the above suggestions. For further advice, for a quote, or to know more about our services please contact us.