TL;DR
- Check from the ground only. A storm-damaged roof can have loosened panels and weakened decking.
- Look for dented panels, blocked valleys, damaged flashing, granules at the downspouts and fresh ceiling stains.
- Photograph everything before anyone touches the roof — and date the storm itself.
- Be wary of anyone pressing for a signature on the doorstep or offering to cover your deductible.
Stay on the ground
The first rule is the one most often broken. A roof that has just taken hail or high wind may have loosened panels, weakened decking or debris waiting to move, and it is wet. Every year people are hurt doing their own post-storm inspection, and there is nothing you can see from up there that a proper inspection will not find safely.
Binoculars from the yard will tell you most of what you need to know.
The five things to look for
- Displaced, lifted or dented panels. On metal, look along the roof plane at a low angle — dents show up in raking light that are invisible straight on.
- Debris in valleys and gutters. Blocked valleys back water up under panel laps, which is how a storm causes a leak weeks after the weather has passed.
- Flashing, vents and pipe boots. These are the most commonly damaged parts of any roof and the least commonly noticed.
- Granules at the downspouts. On a shingle roof, a heavy wash of granules after hail means the mat is being exposed. This is the clearest early warning you get.
- Fresh stains inside. Check ceilings and the roof space, particularly near chimneys and where roof planes meet walls. Remember water travels before it drops, so the stain is rarely under the hole.
Photograph it now
If there is any chance of a claim, photographs taken before anyone touches the roof are worth more than anything you can produce later. Get wide shots that establish which building it is, then closer ones of each area of damage. Most phones record the date automatically — leave that on.
Photograph interior damage too, including the ceiling, the roof space and anything ruined by water. Keep receipts for emergency measures like tarps, which are usually recoverable.
Date the storm itself
Insurers will want to know which weather event caused the damage, and "sometime in the spring" is not an answer. NOAA maintains a public record of severe weather reports — the NCEI Storm Events Database lets you search hail and wind reports by county and date, which is a straightforward way to establish that a storm passed over you and when.
Be careful who turns up
Storms bring crews from out of the area who work the damage and move on. Some are perfectly good. The ones to be wary of are the ones asking you to sign something on the doorstep, pressing for a decision that day, or offering to cover your deductible — that last one is not a favour, and in most states it is fraud.
A contractor who will still be here in five years is worth more than one who is quicker this week.
What a proper inspection covers
A real inspection gets onto the roof safely, checks panel and coating condition, fasteners, every flashing and penetration, the valleys, and the decking underneath where it can be assessed. You should get photographs of what was found and a written assessment — see how we approach metal roof repair, including the difference between a leak and condensation, which gets confused constantly after wet weather.
If you are anywhere across North Arkansas and Southwest Missouri we can come out and look. Check whether your town is in our area — and if you are between two of the places listed, you almost certainly still are.
