How to Tell If Your Roof Has Hail Damage

WatchEscaping From Hail: Choose G3 as Your GC

Hail season in North Texas usually peaks in spring, but storms can roll through almost any time of year. After the sky clears, the question on every street is the same: "Did my roof get hit?" Matthew says it best: damage is damage. It cannot hide. You just have to know where to look.

Please don't climb on your roof to find out. Falls are serious, and walking on a damaged roof can make it worse. Most of the early clues are visible from the ground.

What Clues Can I Spot From the Ground?

Start with what we call collateral. These are softer surfaces that show hail more clearly than shingles do:

• Dents in gutters and downspouts. Run your hand along a downspout and you may feel dimples.
• Dings on roof vents, caps and flashing. Look up at the metal vents and the slant-back vents near the ridge.
• Damaged window screens and dented window wraps.
• Spatter marks on fences, decks, mailboxes or the AC unit, where hail knocked off dirt or oxidation.
• Bent fins or damage on the AC condenser outside.
• Granules in the gutters or at the bottom of downspouts. A pile of what looks like coarse sand can mean shingles lost their protective coating.
• Damaged siding, paint or stucco.

Matthew says there needs to be a story. Collateral damage helps tell it. It shows the size and direction of the hail that hit your property.

What Does Hail Damage Look Like on Shingles?

On asphalt shingles, which is what most homes here have, hail damage often looks like:

• Bruises. Dark spots where granules were knocked away. They can feel soft, like a bruise on an apple.
• Exposed mat. Spots where the black asphalt or fiberglass mat shows through.
• Cracks or fractures, sometimes radiating out from a hit.
• Missing granules in random patterns, not in straight lines.

Hail damage tends to be random. Wear and tear tends to be more uniform. That's one reason a trained inspector looks at the whole roof, not one spot.

Does Hail Damage Look Different on Other Roofs?

Yes. Metal roofs show dents. Tile roofs can crack or chip. Wood shakes can split. Impact-rated shingles, like the Class 3 CertainTeed Landmark shingles we install, are designed to withstand certain hail sizes better than standard shingles, but they're not hail-proof. Big storms can still damage them.

Why Does Hail Damage Matter If the Roof Isn't Leaking?

Because it doesn't always leak right away. Bruised or cracked shingles can lose their protection over time. Water finds its way into weak spots, especially in North Texas, where heavy spring rain follows hail. A roof that looks fine from the street can be shortening its life one storm at a time.

What Should I Do If I Think My Roof Was Hit?

1. Take photos from the ground of gutters, vents, screens, the AC unit and anything dented.
2. Write down the date of the storm and save any weather alerts you got.
3. Check your attic and ceilings for new water stains.
4. Get a professional inspection. Our roof inspection page explains how we do it.
5. Decide with facts. We'll show you the photos and tell you what we found. If there's damage, we'll recommend you talk to your carrier about it. You decide. We don't call it in for you, and we don't hard sell.

What Does a G3 Hail Inspection Look Like?

We inspect the roof slope by slope, look at the collateral, chalk-mark hits so they show up in photos and document everything. You get photos of what we saw, good or bad. If we don't see damage, we'll tell you that too. Learn more about our roofing work on our roofing and storm damage page, or call (945) 300-9018. Not sure which you're seeing? Here's how to tell wind vs. hail damage.

Frequently Asked Questions

Keep learning: see our Roofing & Storm Damage page, read Roof Claim Denied? What Homeowners Should Know Next, or read what homeowners say in our customer reviews.