As small as hailstones can be, they can cause serious damage to your property. Some think that these damages only occur with larger hailstones, but the smallest hailstones can also cause trouble, most especially to roofs.
These damages can be addressed if you know what to look for. While hail damage to your roof is not always visible from the ground, there are tell-tale signs that you can look for that may indicate a roof inspection is needed.
First off, here are a few basic facts about hail you may already know:

What is Hail and How Does It Affect A Roof?

Hail is small particles of ice formed when raindrops are carried to the upper-level clouds where temperatures are below freezing. This particle drops back within the cloud, still at the below-freezing temperatures. It then repeats the same process of being carried to the upper-level clouds. The stronger the upward air currents, the larger the hailstone becomes until it’s too heavy to be held back, making it fall to the ground.

Hailstones affect the roof even to the point of leaking and other issues, depending on various factors:

• Kind of roofing material
• The age of the roofing material
• Slope direction of the roofing material
• Size of the hailstones
• Shape and weight of the hailstones
• Direction and intensity of the wind

Hail damage can cause cracks, decay, indentions and many other problems to roofs. Depending on the type and age of the roof will also be a factor in how well the roof sustains damage.
So, knowing this, how do you inspect your roof? Where do you start from? What do you look out for?

How to Look for Hail Damage

Since most homeowners may not be aware of what to look for to fully determine the extent of roof damage, you can always look out for these tell-tale signs in your inspection- safely from the ground!
Look out for dents or dings in the gutters, gutter screens, and downspouts. They are usually the first tell-tale sign of any roof damage caused by hail.. If there is any major damage to your roof, the gutters are good indicators of damage.
Look out for damage to your window sills and casings. Keep an eye out for small impact areas that can predict the state of the roof. Also, window screens are usually damaged (torn, nicked) by falling hail.
Inspect any exterior air conditioner units for dents or dings in the cover condenser coils. These can assist in finding the direction and size of hail that impacted your property.
Also, inspect the any painted wooden surfaces. You may see chipped paint which could be a definite sign of hail damage.
If you see damage on the above areas, it makes sense to have an inspection done on your roof. It takes a trained eye to discover what shingle damage may have been caused by a hail storm. It pays to have a licensed roofing company perform this inspection.

Closing Thoughts

Roof damage caused by hail may not cause immediate leaks or other obvious symptoms of a damaged roofing system, but it is likely to bring about issues sooner or later. The good news is that you can avoid further damage if the roof is inspected by a trained professional in a timely manner. We have specialists on staff who will be happy to provide a free roof inspection with a report to you free of charge. Call today if you would like to schedule your free inspection!