While a little rain may be great for your garden and snow might be fun for your kids, storms can cause serious damage to your home.
You may or may not realize it, but there are important reasons to have a professional roof inspection after a storm.
Inspection by experts after a storm is important because the damage may not be visible to the untrained eye. For example, roof shingles can get loose and start to peel off because of wind damage, which isn’t always something you can easily identify. Also, it’s often difficult to determine whether your roof has sustained water damage until you’ve had an inspection by an expert.
Different Ways Storm Can Damage Your Roof
A common misconception is that you must be in a tornado or hurricane to experience storm damage. While catastrophic storms are certainly the most dangerous for any structure, even strong winds can have serious consequences for your roofing system.
Hail storms
When you think of a storm, what do you see? The thunderous roar of the wind and rain? The bolts of lightning that split the sky? You can add extremely damaging marble to baseball-sized hail to that vision. Hailstorms mostly damage the metal flashing of the roof, compromising your roof and possibly leading to water leakage. By the way, most insurance companies don’t cover hail damage.
Rains
Given enough time and water can erode anything. Heavy rain beats down on the shingles of your roof and over time causes them to lose their protective coating. You know what that means; weakened shingles, water seepage, ugly stains, and even structural damage, and more.
Strong winds
You don’t need a tornado to see the shingles fly off your roof, leaving parts exposed and vulnerable; a powerful wind is enough to cause that. These unprotected areas can lead to a host of issues such as dangerous and unsightly mold, damaged insulation, and a leaking or rotting roof. Tree limbs tossed atop your roof by the winds can cause holes to form, allowing huge amounts of water to pour into your home.
Winter storms
Mother Nature’s tale of snow and ice can be treacherous. Winter storms can cause shingles to break and gutters to burst. And heavy snow can weigh enough to collapse your roof.
What to expect from a professional roof inspection!
An experienced roof inspector can look for problems that could lead to costly and nasty surprises in the future. He could tell you if your roof is fine and how to avoid any damages going forward.
A professional can: –
Check for Invisible Damage
A bad storm can cause havoc including missing or damaged shingles or tiles. While you would observe it on the surface level, only the experts can inspect them to the core.
Inspects the Interior Carefully
Getting the roof checked by professional means you know about all the leaks from within the house from previously existing damage. There might be plumbing leaks that have seeped through the ceiling and weakened it, causing cracks in places like window frames, where water can get in and cause damage to interior areas of your home.
Severe Material Damage
Only the trained people can tell you the exact condition of damage. They know the difference between slight wear and tear vs. excessive wear on your roof’s surface to its constituent materials. That means if your roof needs a repair or a replacement.
Insurance
One of the biggest benefits of a professional roof inspection is handling an insurance claim. A professional will take pictures of the damage and write out a comprehensive report. He will also give you an estimate of the cost of repair. It is recommended to have a professional inspection after a strong storm when you have an old roof or at least once a year before you enter into a rough season. If you need an expert in Colorado, contact us to know more about roof inspections, repair, and replacement.
iRoof & Restoration are experts in roof inspection. We also offer roof inspections, roof replacements, commercial roofing, and emergency roofing services throughout Colorado and Texas.