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Storm and Hail DamageBased in Midlothian, TX
What a Texas hailstorm actually does to a roof, and how to tell the difference between damage and weather.
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Storm Damage
What this actually involves.
Ellis County sits in the part of North Texas that gets hail every spring and sometimes twice. The damage that matters is rarely the damage you can see from the ground. A hailstone does not usually punch through a shingle. It bruises the fiberglass mat underneath and knocks the granules off the spot it lands on, and that bruise is a hole in the roof’s UV protection that opens up over the next two summers rather than that afternoon.
That is why a roof can look fine from the yard and be finished. An adjuster will not take your word for it and neither should you. A functional hail claim is proved on a test square: a marked ten-by-ten section on each slope, with the hits inside it counted, photographed and mapped against the storm date. Enough hits per square and the slope is called; not enough and it is not. The number varies by carrier, which is exactly why the counting has to be done properly rather than argued about.
How It Works
Call or text
Tell us what you are seeing. An active leak jumps the queue over a roof you are wondering about.
The inspection
Shingles lifted, flashing checked, the attic side looked at, and photographs of all of it.
You get the answer
Repair, replacement, or nothing yet. If a storm caused it, that changes who pays, and we say so.
The work, then the magnet
One crew start to finish, and a magnet over the drive, the lawn and the beds before anyone leaves.
The Difference
The parts that decide whether it lasts.
Wind is the other half and it is under-claimed because it is invisible. A gust that breaks the sealant strip leaves the shingle sitting flat and no longer stuck down. Creases across the tab, a line of tabs lifted along a rake edge, and granule wash in the gutters after a windy front are the signs. Insurers cover wind. Nobody claims it, because nobody sees it.
Timing is the thing people get wrong. Most Texas policies give you a limited window from the date of the storm, often a year, and a bruised roof does not start leaking inside that window. By the time it leaks, the claim is time-barred and the damage becomes wear and tear, which is not covered by anyone. A free inspection after a storm costs nothing and puts a date on the file.
After a bad storm, plenty of homeowners call around and find contractors who can only do part of what the house needs. Roofing, gutters and painting sit in the same claim on a storm loss, and splitting them across three contractors is how line items get dropped.
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Why Homeowners Pick Us
Storm Damage, done the honest way.
What a Texas hailstorm actually does to a roof, and how to tell the difference between damage and weather.
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Storm Damage, answered.
How do I know if I have hail damage?
You mostly cannot from the ground. Look for granules in the gutters and downspout splash blocks, dents in soft metals like gutter aprons, vent caps and window screens, and spatter marks on a deck rail. Those soft metals are the tell, because they dent at a smaller stone size than a shingle bruises at.
How long do I have to file after a storm?
Most Texas policies set a limit from the date of loss, commonly one year. Check your own policy. The practical risk is that a bruised roof shows no symptom until well after the window closes.
Will filing a claim raise my premium?
A weather claim is not an at-fault claim, and rates in a hail region move with the region more than with one house. That said, it is your call, and an inspection that finds nothing costs you nothing and closes the question.
What if the storm was two years ago?
Then the honest answer is probably that the window has closed and the roof is now a wear-and-tear problem. That is worth knowing before you pay someone to file it.
Do you chase storms?
No. We work out of a yard in Midlothian and we were here last spring. The check anyone can run on any roofer after a storm is the same: ask where the office is and whether it was there a year ago.
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More from Hamlin Roofing and Repairs
Storm Damage
Storm Damage, handled from the first inspection to the final nail.
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Find out whether it is a repair.
Free, and the answer is sometimes that you do not need us yet. If it does need work, you get the scope and the number before anyone starts.
Hamlin Roofing and Repairs LLC 2450 Presidential Pkwy Ste 300-A, Midlothian, TX 76065 (469) 807-4040 · info@