How Does Hail Damage a Roof?

Let’s start with what hail is. Sometimes when it rains and the air is below temperature, rain will start out as water, but it’s exposed to the freezing climate, it will freeze into stones. Hailstones themselves have an onion-like structure containable thick, translucent layers weighing them down and causing them to fall hard from the sky. Hail is typically formed in severe thunderstorms with intense updraft with heavy rain where the cloud is below freezing temperature. Not all hail damages roofs, hail less than 1 inch rarely causes any problems to homes. Hail that is 1-2 inches; however, or as big as quarter size has great potential to cause property damage.

Sometimes it is believed either through personal experience with hail on their car or with the impression disaster movies give, one may believe hail is strong enough to put holes in a roof and that’s when the roof needs to be fixed. Thankfully, that’s far from the case as hail may be strong to break or smash windshields but asphalt shingles are much more durable. That doesn’t mean they’re not damaged after a hailstorm; in the case of shingles, the hailstones typically will damage the ceramic granules which provide protection from the sun's UV Rays. Missing granules on a shingle are signs the roof will give a property trouble later. If there has been a hailstorm in your area, a close inspection of the roof will determine if the shingles have been damaged. Hail can also cause bruising, causing dimples or indentations that when examined have a soft spongy feel, much like a skin bruise. It’s hard to believe at first, but small cracked spots on a roof can cause serious problems over time if left unchecked, these small circular spots of bare asphalt are where a hailstone knock off the granules.

After a hail storm, the damage may be hard to notice if you have any, but 90% of the damage found on roofs are not noticeable from the ground or the road. Hail damage doesn't typically affect the rest of the home right away, the gaps in the granules aren't enough to expose the asphalt to the sun, but time eventually takes its toll on the compromise shingles. When wind, rain and other effects of the weather comes into play, the damage start to worsen and the material damaged by hail start to loosen further. Without sufficient protection of the granules, the sun eventually dries up the asphalt exposing areas that rain can easily get into and cause leaks.

These are things to consider when a hail storm comes through your neighborhood. Was the hail severe enough to damage your home? We won't know until we evaluate for your home for FREE to inspect for damage. Check out our website www.rcsga.com.