Your roof and your siding protect the house 24/7 from various weather conditions and keep you and your family safe. Generally, the roof is designed to withstand harsh elements such as storms, heavy rain, high winds, and hailstorms. But, sometimes, bad weather becomes too much for the roof to handle and its functional efficiency weakens.
Here are some signs that can help you detect wind and hail damage…
#1 Damaged Roof Shingles:
If you see damaged shingles on your roof, that’s the most common indicator or sign that you’ve got wind/hail damage. Due to the extreme pressure applied by strong winds, the shingles of the roof become curved and torn. In the case of a hailstorm, the shingles might develop cracks and dents all around. Sometimes, the torn shingles just fly away along with the wind– leaving behind the underlying roof.
If you want to detect wind damage, then just try to match the piece of the shingle with your roof. If there is a missing piece on your roof, then the roof of your home is damaged. If you observe dents or crack in your shingles, you’ve got hail damage.
#2 Heavy Wind And Hail Can Fill Up Gutters With Debris:
After a hail storm or wind storm, if you observe granules, pebbles, leaves, and/or other debris accumulating in the gutters, that’s a sign that your roof, as well as the gutter, have endured harsh weather recently. Due to extreme winds, granules of the shingles collide and get dislodged. The granules fall into the gutters because they are adjacent to it.
While inspecting the roof, just take a look around the gutter or drainage area. If you observe that the gutter is filled with debris that’s blocking the free flow of water, it’s probably due to hail or wind damage.
#3 Presence Of Dark Water Stains On The Walls And Ceiling:
Dark water stains on the walls or ceiling indicate that the roof has been damaged by wind or hail. When the granules of the shingles get removed due to wind it leaves the roof in a vulnerable condition. Water accumulates in those areas of the roof, seeping in slowly and causing damage to the ceiling and interior walls. Water stains on the ceiling appear as dark spotting.
In order to detect the problem, you need to keep inspecting the roof after a hailstorm or check the ceiling for any sort of dark spots. You can even take note of the utility bills– if there is a sudden spike in the bills, then it would indicate that insulation might have been damaged beyond repair.
The severity of damage caused to the roof due to hail storms or strong winds also depends on many other factors such as…
The Age Of The Roof:
If your roof is quite new or recently installed, then the severity of the damage would be less compared to an old sagging roof. The old roof might collapse due to extreme weather conditions, especially if you are not taking good care of it.
The Size Of Hailstones:
If hailstones are extremely small then they won’t create any problems compared to bigger hailstones.
Summary:
Wind and hail can really mess with a roof, from damaged shingles to water leaks that end up showing spots on your ceiling. Always be on the lookout for anything unusual after a bad storm.
After you’ve assessed damages as best you can, call a professional roofing company like Born Carpentry to fix the damages quickly. If you leave problems unattended then that could lead to some serious issues down the line, such as the need for early roof replacement.
