The most effective way to minimize hail damage is to choose durable hail resistant roofing materials.
Hail bruising roof shingle.
If you have wooden shingles be on the lookout for splitting.
Hail damage can also be affected by the number of shingle layers on a roof.
As hail hits it may leave a circular crack in a shingle.
A bruise feels soft when it is pressed on due to the internal fracturing of the mat.
Second layer shingles are more susceptible to damage than first layer shingles because the surface directly underlying the shingle is less supportive than dense wood.
Hail is a powerful force of nature that can even damage roofs made with concrete tiles if the stones are large enough and wind speeds are high.
Shingle bruising is not outwardly noticeable and you may be tempted to ignore the issue.
Bruising will feel like indentations on your roof s surface.
They are not always visible but should be addressed upon discovery as failure to do so can cause holes to eventually form in your shingles leaving your roof vulnerable to nature s elements.
Hail damage can either be functional or cosmetic in nature.
Functional hail damage to asphalt shingle roofs is characterized by a concentrated loss of granules usually somewhat circular in shape and accompanied by a fracture in the shingle mat or a bruise in the shingle mat.
As you re inspecting your roof you may find splitting or cracking.
Because seamless gutters are frequently feature aluminum or copper construction the signs of hail damage include telltale denting.
Gutters are also susceptible to hail damage.
Shingles labeled as impact resistant were purchased and put through a series of in lab tests that simulated the effects of hail impacts.
The bruise is a damaged portion of the roof in which the base or shingle mat is squashed.
Hail resistant is not hail proof.
Identify the types of damage caused by hail.
Missing granules aren t the only indication of hail damage to shingles.
Here are the top hail resistant roofing options available for modern homes.
Look for areas on the shingle that have exposed black substrate.
The 3 major signs of hail damage include bruising cracking and granules missing from asphalt.
Through research and testing ibhs was able to manufacture hailstones that replicated the properties of hail produced naturally.
Marshall and herzog 1999 more specifically defined functional hail caused damage to asphalt shingles as punctures tears or fractures bruises in the shingle mats figure 1.
Check for missing pieces in the asphalt of the roof.
In other words the hail has placed enough pressure on the shingles that the fibers within the mat have loosened and have started to come apart.
How are bruises repaired.
It s important to remember that no roof is 100 immune to the damaging effects of an intense storm or some other catastrophic event.
