When spring arrives in the Midwest, it brings hail storms. If you’re worried about your roof’s condition and how to protect it from hail damage, Kirberg is here to help you. Let’s go over how hail damages a roof and how our hail damage repair services can protect your commercial or residential roof. When you understand how hail damages roofs, you can work with your roofing contractor to prevent that damage from happening.
How Hail Damages Different Roof Types
Hail harms different roof types in a variety of ways. Your roof’s materials determine the type of damage hail storms leave behind when they strike your area. Different types of hail-related roof damage include the following:
- Asphalt Shingle Roofs: Hail leaves dents in asphalt shingles, which often results in granule loss on individual shingles throughout the roof. Granule loss exposes the shingles’ roofing felt, and the hailstones can create soft spots on the shingles they hit. When the shingles don’t have granules to protect them, they can expand as the temperature rises and drops. All this damage leads to leaks and mold growth on and underneath your roof.
- Slate and Tile Roofs: Hail often punctures slate tiles, leaving small holes in each tile. Clay and ceramic tiles also sustain hail damage, but it often cracks these tiles instead of leaving punctures. These types of damage also lead to leaks and water damage, and they require specific roofing services to repair them properly.
- Flat Roof Membranes: Hail hits flat roof membranes and leaves depressions that don’t look like much at first. However, these depressions can create future cracks in your membrane if you don’t take care of them. Out of the different flat membranes we work with, TPO is most vulnerable to hail damage. EPDM membranes and built-up roof systems are more resistant to damage during hail storms.
These are the common types of hail damage that these roof types sustain. However, high winds, changing temperatures, and additional precipitation can increase the amount of hail damage your roof receives.
Can Hail Damage a New Roof?
Yes, it can. Even if your roof is newly installed, you should have it inspected after a hail storm occurs. Luckily, hail usually doesn’t damage new roofs as much as older roofs. However, they’re not immune, so you should stay in touch with your contractor and have them inspect your roof after your area experiences any type of severe weather.
How Can You Prepare for a Hail Storm?
You can take several different precautions to protect your home or commercial building from hail. These precautions include the following:
- Have your roof inspected regularly to ensure it’s in good condition. If your roof is in good or excellent condition, it’s more likely to resist hail damage.
- Protect outdoor equipment and furniture. Commercial building owners should install hail guards and shields to protect outdoor HVAC units. Homeowners should cover patio furniture or pull it inside.
- Close windows, curtains, and blinds before a hail storm occurs.
If you take these precautions, you can reduce the amount of hail damage your roof and your building or home sustains.
How Does Kirberg Protect Your Roof?
We protect your commercial or residential roof with our comprehensive roofing services, which include:
- Roof Inspections: We examine your roof in the aftermath of a hail storm to assess its levels of storm damage.
- Roof Repairs: Once we assess the damage, we repair it so the storm damage doesn’t create larger roofing problems in the long run.
- Roof Replacement: If your commercial or residential roof has sustained hail damage and it’s near the end of its lifespan, we can replace it with a new roof system.
- Commercial Roof Restoration: Commercial flat roofs can sustain large amounts of hail damage throughout their lifespans. We restore these roofs with spray-on coatings that extend their useful lifespans and keep them protected.
All these services help your roof withstand any hail storms that occur.
Prevent and Repair Hail Damage With Kirberg Company
Reach out to us today to begin protecting your roof from hail damage. We can help you keep your roof safe so it doesn’t leak or develop other serious problems in the wake of a hail storm.