Well that was a rough one to ride out! Have you ever found yourself saying this after a big storm? Perhaps you follow it with a logical concern: did my roof ride out the storm? What are some signs of roof storm damage to look for?
Stay Down
You naturally may want to rush out and inspect your Norwood-area home’s roof for storm damage. It’s a good idea, but the safest way to do it is from the ground, not from the roof. Please, if you take away no other advice from this blog, know this: Residential Roofs are Risky.
Still, when you stay down on the ground, you can still spot signs of roof damage after a heavy snowstorm, gale, or thunderstorm. After checking things out from the safety of your front and back yards, call your local, reliable roofer for storm damage repair.
I Spy
We hear you. “What can I possibly see on my roof just looking up from my yard?” Plenty! Here’s a partial list:
- Missing or damaged shingles on your roof
- Shingles or bits of shingles tossed into your yard by high winds
- Granules at the ends of downspouts, washed off your shingles
- Mechanical fasteners from metal roofs at the ends of downspouts
- Noticeable dark lines on shingles, indicating wind uplift which destroys the shingles’ water resistance
- Holes from trees or branches on (or through) your roof, inviting water infiltration and insect or pest invasion
- Dents in gutters, outdoor furniture, your HVAC system, parked vehicles, or kids’ play sets; these dents came from flying debris such as hail, branches, flashing, metal roof panels, and shingles
Those are just some of the signs of substantial roof damage from a passing storm. You can also spot leaks by climbing into your attic with a flashlight (wear a dust mask). Look for mold or mildew, discolored attic insulation or sheathing, and signs of rot in rafters and joists.
Every one of these signs alerts you to call your local roofer for help, fast.
Lean a Ladder
If you insist on trying to scale your home for a better view, please go no higher than an extension ladder leaning against first-floor gutters. With this relatively safe perspective, you can scope out two important tell-tales of roof storm damage:
- Heavy granule build-up washed down off your roof from your fiberglass-asphalt shingles into the nearly horizontal gutters
- Metal fasteners torn away from metal roofing panels
Typically, shingles lose granules throughout their lifespan, starting the day they are installed. No worries — they can shed granules for some 20+ years without sacrificing your roof’s water resistance. But one bad storm can accelerate the granule loss, meaning your roof suddenly aged three, or five, or even ten years overnight.
For metal roofs, severe wind and air pressure changes can tear fasteners loose. Either situation (shingles or metal) means a quick call to your neighborhood residential roofer.
Now What?
Congratulations, your detective skills have paid off! You found several signs of roof storm damage just by circling the yard, looking up, and perhaps climbing a low ladder. Now, what do you do?
You call in a local, helpful roofer to put things right. Have your friendly roofer inspect your roof (using proper safety gear and good techniques to avoid falls) close up and in detail.
Roofs do not heal themselves. You may be comforted by the rubbery water and ice shield in the first three or six feet of your roof’s lower edge, but once a roof is broken, battered, and bruised, it needs a residential roofer to set things right.
The clock is ticking, too, since a storm-damaged roof will allow water to seep into your attic, between exterior and interior walls, and into your living space. Mold and mildew follow the water. Consider what waiting places are at risk:
- Your whole family’s health
- Your home’s value
- Your home’s structural integrity
Chase Away the Storm Chaser
Almost inevitably after a bad storm, storm chasers will circle a neighborhood like vultures, looking for an easy sale. Don’t let that be you!
Storm chasers specialize in sub-par repairs, done hastily with poor materials, just to collect the insurance payout. In many cases, they do not even complete the job and just take the initial payment based on a wildly inflated estimate.
Worse, a storm chaser unfamiliar with the Norwood area and surroundings will swoop in, botch up the repair, and then disappear. They have no local address, no telephone number, no identity. You have nobody to call for follow-up. Your insurance claim has been paid out and your roof could still be leaking!
In the Norwood area, your trusted partner for repair of roof storm damage is O’LYN Roofing. Please contact us today for more information about our superior, fast, reliable emergency repair service.
