If you notice drastic changes in the shape of the roof, or if the roof starts getting damaged due to several natural elements such as wind, hail or heavy rains, this might be just the beginning of the storm.
As they form the top part of the house, the roof incurs a great damage because of high winds, heavy rains, flying debris and hails, that form an inseparable part of the stormy weather. Being the most vulnerable part of the house, roof damage repair surely needs to be accelerated to prevent your house from any further mishappenings or property damage. A damaged roof can lead to several other damages, as small as minute changes to the interiors of your house to huge damages leading to changed structures of the house.
Whilst there are several factors from lightning to heavy rains that can cause damage to your roof, to a smaller or larger scale, roof damage from wind is one serious issue and can even lead to a weakened structure of the house. Despite the rains or hails being the major factors responsible for the damage, the roof storm damage from wind cannot be ignored. The roof damage from wind might go unnoticed, but the damage caused by it is possibly the worst in the longer run.
Your roof surely can resist typical wind loads, the exponential damage caused by wind and flying debris over the years needs to be taken care of. Taking smaller initiatives such as replacing the missing shingles or fixing the roof storm damage during the early days would not only strengthen the house but also make it strong enough to resist any kinds of further damages, from water leaks or higher fuel costs to keep up with a damaged roof system.
How Can Wind Damage your Roof?
The effect of wind moving over a roof is uncertain, and at times, unnoticed. While the center of the roof has the lowest stress levels, the edges and perimeters are adversely affected. If you observe closely that you might as well see that most of the damage starts from the edge, and then expands towards till the center, and increases at a substantial rate due to continuous wind exposure if left untreated. You can prevent the wind damage by assuring the materials on the edges are strong enough and are checked under regular intervals of time to stand strong against high winds and certain add-ons, such as flying debris and damages occurring due to trees.
While inspecting the roof damage from wind, you might notice that the damage is always accompanied by debris, branches of trees, floating leaves or shards of glass. In fact, these things can lead to more damage than the wind itself. You might as well check the gutters and the downspouts as tables easily clog them, thus adding up to difficulties on the road. Hence, while taking care of the storm damage repair, you might as well ask to consider wind as a collective factor and take measures accordingly.
How to Check for Roof Wind Damage
Keeping the following points in mind can help you fight strongly against the roof damage from wind and let you take preventive measures to safeguard your property from further damages.
Inspect the outdoors:
Plan out a detailed inspection of the roof, look up for the curled, worn out or missing shingles in and around your property. If you find only a handful of damaged shingles in your garden your backyard, the roof storm damage would not be much expensive and just requires replacing the damaged shingles. However, if the number is fairly large, you might as well want to replace the roof. Also analyze the conditions of the roof flashing, chimney, gutters as well as fencing.
Perform an Indoor Inspection:
If you find brown, yellow, green random moisture marks across the ceilings and the walls, or if you notice the paint coming off, this indicates a damaged roof and you might want to dig into the matter a little deeper. Also, if your energy costs are rising surprisingly high all of a sudden, you might want to check the compressions on the roof system.
If you feel that your room damaged after a thorough analysis of the outdoors, check out for the following things and counter the damage
Shingles:
Curled, worn, broken, damaged or missing shingles.
Roofing Cement:
Crumbles of cement all over come up as a good sign of roof storm damage.
Wood shakes:
Decayed molds, curled up shingles.
Flat roof:
Cracks, patches, deep tears, blisters or wrinkles on the roof and alongside the attic.
Vents and Soffits:
Damaged vents, missing shingles and curled up shingles.
Gutters:
Loosely attached to the structures, missing gutters, clogged gutters with debris, downspouts or rusty gutters. Clogged gutters can cause shutting down of the pipelines, building up stress on the gutter fasteners, and slipper walks below.
Chimneys:
Damaged bricks, cracked joints or flashing chimneys. Chimney flashing might lead to tearing and several adverse damages because it is independent of the house.
What to do if your roof suffers storm damage?
If you find all these signs, there are chances that the roof damage from wind is intense and requires immediate roof damage repair.
Look out for the immediate actions:
Your house must be damaged a lot more than you might expect it to be at the first sight. If you are skeptical about the damage, you might relocate and shift to a safer place until your roof gets repaired.
Document the changes:
Treat your home like a crime scene and take notes of all the damage done to your house. Normally, after the storm, the most damaged areas are the roof, windows, and ceilings. Taking pictures would not only ease out the insurance claim that you plan to apply for, and help you get the money faster.
Make temporary repairs:
Make sure that you have covered up all the exposed areas, the broken windows, and the other important belongings before heading up to the roof. Certain temporary repairs will help you protect them during the time your roof is getting repaired.
Get Help from a Professional:
Look out for a roofer, and book a professional inspection. Using professional to inspect your roof is highly recommended to prevent you from hurting yourself, or your property. There is no damage greater than personal injury, hence, it is always advisable to look out for a professional and measure the damage. The professionals have their own set of tools and safety measures, that might ease up the process.
Hire a contractor:
Avoid storm chasers. Look out for the genuine contractors, who do not end up charging you a handsome amount for low-quality services. Check if they are licensed, check out the local review and only then sign the contract.
Check your insurance:
Contact Your insurance agent to analyze the situation and decide if you should file a claim. Once you go ahead with the claim, keep a thorough record of all the bills, the purchases made, and present it to the company in a well-organized manner.
Thus, a little precaution can help you set up your roof, and protect your house against further odds and damages, protecting it from all kinds of natural disasters.