Inspections

If you suspect hail or other severe weather, contact us.  Your house can have serious damage without you even knowing it.  Even the slightest of damage can let water into cracks which then leaks inside the structure of the home.  This can result in mold, weakening of the wooden frame, damage to electrical wiring, and will attract insect infestations.  Many people are also allergic to mold and even those who are not will still suffer illness from mold.

There are also long-term, hidden cost implications of not fixing roofing and exterior problems right away.

• Insurance Coverage.  If you don’t fix problems with the house right away, insurance companies may have grounds to deny coverage under neglect.  Damage to the roof or exterior can lead to secondary damage to the inside of the house.
• Warranty Coverage.  The various components of your home each have different warranties.  However, they all depend on the house being kept up with proper maintenance in the first place.  Warranties are usually voided if the homeowner neglects to take care of the component.
• Selling your Home.  You may not be able to sell your home if it will not pass city inspections.

Did you know that most insurance adjusters consider a roof totaled if they find 10 or more hail strikes in a 10×10 foot area?  If you call us, we’ll meet with your insurance adjuster and do the inspection with him.  While insurance adjusters are highly skilled at their jobs, they may not be able to identify all the damage caused by hail.  We’ll make sure they document everything so that you get your roof fixed properly.

We’ll be happy to accompany your insurance adjuster as they assess the condition of your house.  We will make certain they document damage to smaller devices on your roof.  Some insurance companies will re-use components, which obviously saves them money, but will leave you with parts that don’t last as long.  We’ll be your advocate to push them to completely replace the part with an all new part.

We know how to spot damaged components.  Look at this hood vent.  Notice the discolorations on the metal?  That means that it could’ve been damaged.

Discolorations and dents on downspouts indicate hail damage.

Shingle pieces may begin to tear off from the stresses of hail.

Hail doesn’t just come straight down, it goes at angles and affects parts of your house you may not even suspect.  One indicator is painted trim that has circular discolorations.

Did you know that insurance usually covers other things affected by hail such as fences?  When you look at your fence,  you may not notice damage but when we look, we see various circular discolorations that indicate heavy hail damage.

Shingles use granules on the outer layer.  Over time, granules disbond and wash away with rain and wind.  Some amount of this is ok but hail acts like sandpaper on your skin, it quickly erodes away the shingle and makes it ineffective.  You can identify this by looking for dark sports (“peppering”).  Granule loss can also be observed in the gutters where all the granules are deposited during hard rain.  Your drains may become completely clogged.  A large accumulation of shingle granules in the gutter indicates significant damage requiring an inspection.

Cracks inevitably happen on all roofs.  They are caused primarily by thermal expansion and contraction.  Cracks will get worse over time and leaks will form.  If not treated urgently, a single rain storm can cause massive water damage to your home’s frame and everything else underneath the roof.

Rot is caused by mold, mildew, water soak, and mechanical warping.  Damaged wood becomes a perfect biological surface on which mold will form and thrive.  Rot decreases the structural integrity of the wood and will lead to catastrophic failure.  Our deep inspections catch rot, preventing costly replacement.

Cracks, missing tiles, granule loss, and structural failure all lead to leaks.  Water will get into the wall and fall all the way to the foundation, damaging everything along the way (drywall, electrical, piping, insulation).  A leak is a serious issue and must be found.  Our deep inspections look inside walls, in the attic, and under the roof to find every cause of a leak.  We don’t settle for speculating why there’s a leak, we find and treat the root cause.

Schedule an inspection with us.  These are only a small number of things we look for.  We want to make sure your property gets repaired the right way.