June 2023: Back to Back very large hailstorms

[Dashakhs]

How do you know hail damage on a roof occurred?

Southern Denton County. Some houses based on our Ring Neighbors app got 3"+ hail but judging by what we saw out of our windows as it was happening, maybe 1, 1.5" at most? Just a few pieces too. I went outside Monday morning after and didn't see any dented gutters, AC unit, etc. Didn't see any shingles missing. Neighbor's windshield was OK too. I keep my car in the garage.

Could it just be that our neighborhood went unscathed?

For what it's worth, we got nobody at our doorbell trying to sell their services. I figured that's a bit of a tell tale sign anyway if something truly went bad they would totally be around our street.

It's just our first time experiencing that so we want to know we're doing things properly and assessing things properly to know exactly when we'd have to get something professionally checked, etc.

[escanlan]

Originally Posted by Dashakhs

How do you know hail damage on a roof occurred?

Southern Denton County. Some houses based on our Ring Neighbors app got 3"+ hail but judging by what we saw out of our windows as it was happening, maybe 1, 1.5" at most? Just a few pieces too. I went outside Monday morning after and didn't see any dented gutters, AC unit, etc. Didn't see any shingles missing. Neighbor's windshield was OK too. I keep my car in the garage.

Could it just be that our neighborhood went unscathed?

For what it's worth, we got nobody at our doorbell trying to sell their services. I figured that's a bit of a tell tale sign anyway if something truly went bad they would totally be around our street.

It's just our first time experiencing that so we want to know we're doing things properly and assessing things properly to know exactly when we'd have to get something professionally checked, etc.

A check is very easy with a pair of binoculars, even on a 2 story roof, as long as you can see all roof surfaces. The main thing to remember as you check is look for inconsistencies and what is different. Hail that damages will leave a pock mark look on the roof and vents on the roof as well as damaged shingle edges or when bad enough torn shingles. A roof that is not damaged beyond "cosmetic" (more on "cosmetic" later) is uniform in appearance. A damaged roof can many times be seen without binoculars as "spotted" where the hail hit it. Also look at vents for dents and dings. With binoculars you can see more closely if the hail chipped/damaged shingle edges, left deep pock markets in shingles that have broken through the surface layer and to the underlying mat material. Those also typically look like shiny spots where the mat material is showing through.


Again the key to helping find it is to look for the differences in the roof appearance.


Now onto the "cosmetic" aspect as insurance companies have been changing their criteria for whether they will repair, replace, or nothing at all. Hail can cause blemishes on the shingle surfaces and these in themselves may not affect the shingles ability to perform its job. If you get enough of them they can be very visible and unsightly but again not stop the shingle from performing its job. As a result insurance companies have been denying claims based on just "cosmetic" conditions. Unfortunately if you make a claim it will be recorded including the condition they found the roof in. It should not hurt any future actual damage claims but "never say never" especially with insurance companies.


You can contact a roofing company that offers free inspections and estimates and I do believe there are plenty of honest ones out there. However there are also many on the other side of that scale that you need to watch out for. The honest ones understand that hail can miss damaging a house and destroy the roof next door (I've seen that happen). So they work on the chances they can go into a neighborhood and pick up a couple of jobs for their free inspection efforts.



One word of warning no matter who inspects your roof. If it is the insurance adjuster they will typically start circling the hail hits with a light colored marking device. That crap never seems to fully wash off if at all and you could have them circling a number of strikes and markings visible for a long time if those areas are not repaired. Your house will stick out like a sore thumb that way. If you bring someone in (other than an adjuster) they may or may not try this. In either case I won't allow it on my roof AT ALL! There is no reason to do that if the insurance company trusts their adjusters judgement and roofers have no reason to do that at all.


Another item to take into consideration is if you only have enough bad strikes to prevent a full replacement call by the insurance company and fall well within your deductible to just repair them you need to make a decision on the actual repairs to be done. Replacing individual shingles will leave visible differences on the roof surface even if the roofer uses the same model and color you had. Normal wear and production lot differences can cause enough color/shade differences to be visible. A good roofer can help you make a decision on the level and methods of repair as there are choices.

[Dashakhs]

Thank you for all the tips! Never would have thought about the binoculars haha.

Think we were OK but always good to consider everything. Appreciate it.

[Dallaz]

Here’s another round of large hail. Southern Dallas County is under a severe thunderstorm warning for ping pong ball size hail! I’m so tired of this s***! We’ve literally been getting this type of weather since last weekend!

[Dallaz]

Tornado Watch issued for The Metroplex and much of North Texas until 10pm. When will it end y’all, when will it end?! I have never been more prepared for heat and no rain ever in my life.

It’s like a bad rerun everyday!

[escanlan]

Originally Posted by Dallaz

Tornado Watch issued for The Metroplex and much of North Texas until 10pm. When will it end y’all, when will it end?! I have never been more prepared for heat and no rain ever in my life.

It’s like a bad rerun everyday!

It will end when every CD poster sends me a mere $1,000.00! My contact information is available to all or PM me and I can send you the information.

[Dashakhs]

So once storms clear out, it'll just be hot? Does the summer have random storms/rains/lightning that just aren't severe? That'd be nice if so.

[ThomasCrown]

Originally Posted by Dashakhs

So once storms clear out, it'll just be hot? Does the summer have random storms/rains/lightning that just aren't severe? That'd be nice if so.

Hail like we've been seeing is very rare this late in the year, usually it's March/April you have to watch out for. But TX is known for severe thunderstorms that pass through quickly without hail.


Seattle is known for always being overcast and rainy, last year they had 40 inches of rain. Dallas in comparison, has far more sunny days, but we had 37 inches of rain last year. When it does rain here, it comes down hard in a deluge and flash flooding is common.

[Jeohnny]

Originally Posted by Dallaz

Here’s another round of large hail. Southern Dallas County is under a severe thunderstorm warning for ping pong ball size hail! I’m so tired of this s***! We’ve literally been getting this type of weather since last weekend!

Houston has better weather

[Dashakhs]

Originally Posted by ThomasCrown

Hail like we've been seeing is very rare this late in the year, usually it's March/April you have to watch out for. But TX is known for severe thunderstorms that pass through quickly without hail.


Seattle is known for always being overcast and rainy, last year they had 40 inches of rain. Dallas in comparison, has far more sunny days, but we had 37 inches of rain last year. When it does rain here, it comes down hard in a deluge and flash flooding is common.

I'm good with rain/storms in summer. Break from overbearing sun haha. Good to know they're not hail producers usually in summer. Or at least big ones.