Common Questions
How do I know my roof has been damaged from hail?
Most homeowners cannot tell from the ground. An experienced inspector is needed for an accurate assessment. If you have had recent hail in your area, it is a good idea to request a free inspection.
Can I trust the words of my inspector?
At Roman Construction, all inspections have digital pictures taken and printed out for you upon completion. We review pictures with you and explain the damage. It is great for showing to other people not home during the inspection.
Will the whole roof be covered?
During our inspection we will do a test square on at least two sides of the roof to determine if the whole roof is covered for damage. A lot of times age, repairability, and discontinued material will also give you complete coverage.
Should I call my agent?
It is better to call your insurance claim hotline directly; agents usually will just refer you to this number.
Now what?
After you file the claim an adjuster will contact you to set up an appointment to look over damage to you property. During this time it is crucial to contact your representative to meet your adjuster during assessment. It is necessary for Roman Construction to be there for many reasons:
• Having large enough ladder to reach
• Being able to walk on steep roofs if adjuster will not
• Going over all damage besides roof
• Measurements and pricing
• Making sure nothing is missed
Is that it?
Once the meeting is complete with the adjuster, he or she will go back and write your estimate for the loss. We use the insurance company's pricing to make it easier for you. If there are any discrepancies with the estimate, we will go back to your insurance company to rectify the issues.
Cedar Roofing Products
Cedar shakes and shingles perform well in hail storms when compared to other products. Haag Engineering of Dallas, Texas, has determined that cedar products receive only superficial marring from marble-sized hail, while composition shingles are bruised, requiring product replacement.
Wood Roofs: Damage and Repair
Hail Characteristics
• Pea Size
Amount of roof damage: None
• Marble Size
Amount of roof damage: Minimal to wood
Composition shingles can be bruised or chipped
• Golfball Size
Amount of roof damage: Splitting of shakes and shingles begins
Severe damage to composition shingles
Roof damage is defined as follows:
Once a (composition) shingle has been bruised, a progressive deterioration ensues and culminates with a hole in the shingle. A puncture or "bruise" affects the water-shedding capability and the long-term serviceability of a roof and, hence, is damage.
Hail impacting a cedar roof can cause damage if the hailstones are large enough and have sufficient densities, hardnesses, and impact velocities to split the wood they strike. If a shingle (or shake) does not split when it is impacted, it is not hail-damaged.
Further testing of The Clarke Group cedar shakes has shown an even greater durability to hail. The tests conducted at Haag Engineering in January 1995 showed these quality heavy cedar shakes withstood impacts of 2" ice balls traveling at 71 miles per hour.
Research has also revealed the following:
Hail mark depressions which do not initially cause a split do not create a potential for future splitting.
Most hail-caused depressions disappear with wood fiber recovery and natural weathering.
Older but physically sound shingles are no more affected by hail than new shingles.
Hail will not affect the natural weathering process of cedar shingles.
The opportunity for damage to asphalt shingles is significantly higher than cedar "since large size hail falls only in a small region of the total storm area" according to Haag Engineering.
There is no permanent visual damage to cedar when hail indentations occur. Indentations on wood shakes and shingles will recover and are unnoticeable after several months.
If required, repair of cedar roofs is easy, and the products natural coloring allows perfect matches. Cedar shakes and shingles do not have color coatings with varying color lots, as do virtually all other products.
File a Storm Damage Insurance Claim
If you need to file your property claim, you can do it online by clicking on the link that corresponds with your insurance company.
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