hail damage ?

[Barry Adair]

There is no way I am going to try to evaluate a roof from photos posted on the Internet or any photos except the ones I have taken.

I would think if any impact damage occurred it would most likely be isolated to one side, due to the slope of this roof, maybe the side opposite the vent, .

The 4 givens:

• Roofers sell and install roofs.

• Insurers sell insurance and deny claims.

• Homeowners collect checks and don’t have repairs completed.

• Everyone’s trying to make a buck.

If a previous claim was paid out for hail damage on this roof and repairs or replacement did not take place the previous owners should have disclosed. May be a legal issue now.

This will be easy to trace through insurance records and the current insurer will have the final say in paying any claim at this time.

The neighbors may also have a record of hail events and claims they have filed to collaborate or discredit the roofer’s opinion.

[jwortham1]

We've got roofs and siding going in like crazy in my neighborhood because almost a year ago we had a 5 minute hail storm.

There was no damage to anything that I saw, but suddenly when the time to report it to the insurance company was about to elapse, the roofers/siding guys came out of the woodwork. Walking through the neighborhood knocking on every door and talking about "hail damage".

Sure was funny how quickly they stopped knocking when my wife told them i was an inspector and i'd climb up with them and they could show me where.

It's just another business generator for the roofers/siders.

[lagudo]

Jeff,

I'm with you all the way.

[Andrew Kester]

I agree if there are no dents in the roof vents or other metal, it is almost certain hail did not hit THAT portion of the roof. But hail can hit one region or slope of the roof and barely touch or damage another.

You also need to get a higher resolution, close-up pic of the reported damage to separate it from mechanical damage or blisters or types of shingle "damage" or defects. Keep in mind shingles ARE designed for wear and tear including hail strikes, and some missing granules does not constitute "damage", or more technically a loss of the expected or warranted life of the shingle.

I am sure there are some good, honest roofers out there. But in the 20+ times I have been asked as an engineer to investigate roofs, no matter the cause of damage or lack thereof, they always say it must be replaced. Always consider the opinion of anyone with a grain of salt who may have something to gain from the outcome of their opinion.

[David A. Andersen]

I am in the middle of a dispute here, over hail damage.

Damn it Ben! Your always in a scrap!

I see damage! Its on the house in the background in #5!!!!!!!!!
Are you blind of sumthin?!

Sounds like insurance fraud!

Take some pictures in the gutter for gravel too.
After the rain yesterday, it should have washed down if it's there.

[Kenton H. Shepard, CMI]

Originally Posted by bkelly1

I am in the middle of a dispute here, over hail damage. All I need is some honest opinions before I have to call my insurance coverage . I am afraid the roofer knows that insurance will being paying for it when it is said there is hail damage. But, the house has changed hands , the only insurance would be mine. Thanks for the responses.

In looking for hail damage, you're looking for random patterns of circular or oblong indentations in which the granules in the center are compressed into the mat.
Any damage should not look uniform over the roof and since hail is directional, it should be worse on some roof planes than others. Also, hail doesn't hit just roofs (as you mentioned, vents also) it also hits siding, fences, the neighbor's roofs, etc.

The photos are a little far away to see some degrees of hail damage, like MINOR damage. Looks to me a a roofing contractor is hurting for work. If I were the seller I'd hire a certified roofing consultant before I let a roofer pressure a buyer pressure me into paying for a new roof.

[Ben D. Kelly]

I think this thread is from about 2 yrs ago. I ended up having to pay the owner to hire an independent insurance contractor who came out and , then said it was not hail damage. Case closed. Cost me a hundred bucks, which I thought about making the owner pay, but didnt.

[Jeffery L. Haynes]

I go through the same thing every time thunderstorm with the least amount of hail comes through.

I simply tell clients and friends that ask that much of this is nothing more than a scam in which roofing companies are making a profit.

A few years ago, my father in-law went through the same thing. His neighbor across the street got a new roof......my father in-law called his insurance company and they wrote a check somewhere between $4000 - $6000.

He contacted me to look at it of which I had the exact same shingle laying around on one of my jobsites.........I replaced 6 shingles of which it was probably from the roofers walking on the roof during high temperatures.................99% of it is nothing more than a scam.

Just recently in my own neighborhood a roofer started putting up signs that read.....Hail Damage area......call XXX-XXX-XXXX. He ended up getting about 15 - 20 jobs in this neighborhood alone.

[William R. DeVries, CMHI]

That fourth pic looks dam near torn off, I would get a structure eng. in there as well
and while your at it you should have HVAC insure the ducting is ok as well

Originally Posted by bkelly1

Do you see any hail damage in the following pictures ? Roofer says there is hail damage and the roof needs replacing. I seen none, not even on the metal vents. What say ye ?

[Kenton H. Shepard, CMI]

Insurance company claims adjustors will be looking for "functional damage", which is damage which reduces the water shedding capability or the expected long-term service life.

Comp shingles are considered damaged when they're fractured by hail. According to the field guide for claims adjustors produced by HAAG Engineering, granule loss caused by hail which does not fracture the mat does not affect the life of the shingle and is not funtional damage.

In addition to field guides for the inspection of various roofing material types HAGG has some good information on diagnosing hail damage in the publications section of their website.

Before you spend money on field guides, bear in mind that we're probably going to be covering these subjects in detail soon in an InterNACHI video course.