Columbia, SC experiences its fair share of hail storms. While the vast majority of people know that hail is capable of damaging cars and windows, only a handful realize how significantly it can impact roofs. Unfortunately, many people let hail damage go unaddressed leading to various problems ranging from water damage to structural issues.
If you would like to ensure that hail damage doesn’t impact your home, you need to work with a reputable company to help fix the problem. At Midlands Roofing, we have years of experience with hail damage roof repair in Columbia, SC. Call us today at 803-414-6801 for advice and roofing repair services.
What Can Cause Roof Damage?
Roof damage can be the result of many different factors, but the most common are:
Weather Conditions
Harsh weather is perhaps one of the biggest causes of roof damage. Hail storms, thunderstorms, high winds, hurricanes, deep cold, and high heat can all cause damage. Hailstones are particularly known to cause serious damage by breaking shingles and tearing them right off. Hurricanes, on the other hand, also wreak havoc on your roof, if they actually leave you with one.
Neglect
Staying on top of repairs and maintenance is important to the health and life of your roof. You need to regularly check your roof for any leaks or cracks. Failure to do so almost always leads to damaging consequences. Minor issues should never be ignored. Always make sure that they are addressed in a timely manner.
Improper Installation
Improper installation is often a major cause of roof damage. Perhaps the roofing contractor failed to use underlayment, simply roofed over old shingles, or failed to install proper flashing. Roofing contractors take plenty of shortcuts to save both time and money. Unfortunately, they end up costing more time and money.
What Happens If Roofing Storm Damage Goes Unrepaired?
If roofing storm damage is not fixed promptly, it can lead to many dangers for your roof and home, which include:
Mold and Mildew
If moisture finds its way into a building undetected through a storm-damaged roof, mold and mildew can flourish in hidden areas. Exposure to mold and mildew can have serious health consequences. Fixing roof damage promptly can help prevent mold growth, but once it is established, costly specialized remediation may be required.
Fire Hazards
A storm-damaged roof is less efficient and therefore lets moisture and water in ultimately putting you at greater risk of a house fire especially if you have electrical wires stored in the attic. A leaking roof could put water in contact with electrical wiring in the attic, causing a fire that may destroy part or all of your home and endanger your family’s safety.
Slips and Falls
Moisture leaking underneath a storm-damaged roof may cause wood decking to rot. This can create a soft spot that you may never know was there until you fall through it when walking on the roof surface thus resulting in a severe injury. Furthermore, if water is actively leaking into your home, it may puddle on the floor, causing an indoor slipping hazard.
Wasted Energy and High Utility Bills
A storm-damaged roof causes water damage that can reduce the efficiency of your insulation, which results in wasted energy. The insulation becomes saturated and takes a long time to dry out. If you put off repairs for too long, chronic water intrusion will significantly deplete the insulation and your home will lose hot and cool air, resulting in higher utility bills.
Compromises the Structural Integrity of Your Home.
If your storm-damaged roof is not addressed for extended periods, it will result in a roof whose structural integrity is compromised that could collapse on you and your family at any time. If the leaks are particularly bad, the damage won’t be just limited to the roof. Water that drips into the walls can also undermine the structural integrity of your entire home down to the foundation.
Require a Full Replacement of the Roof
Roof replacement is not something to be rushed into without careful consideration, but is often a consequence of leaving a storm-damaged roof unrepaired for too long. Fortunately, once the new roof is in place, it can be good for 20 to 30 years or more to come, which makes it a worthwhile investment.
How to Check for Hail Damage to Roof
Hail can affect just about any part of a home, but it is the roof where hail damage is most common. Unfortunately, it isn’t always easy to spot hail damage to your roof, which is why we have prepared this handy checklist to help you out:
- Cracked Tiles, Split/Dented Shingles: Dented hail hits can lead to cracks in your roofing tiles. If you have a shingle roof, check for splits in the shingle body itself and dents of any size.
- Damaged Chimney Cover: Metallic chimney covers are an excellent place to look for hail indentations since the metal sheeting is susceptible to dents of all sizes.
- Curled or Missing Shingles: Hail hits can eventually tear off shingles or damage them to the extent where they start curling up.
- Damaged Siding: Inspect your siding for splatter marks, paint chips, cracks, or holes that could signify hail damage to your roof.
- Damaged Gutter Guards: If your gutter guards are damaged by hail, they will show denting and scratch marks.
- Shingles on the Ground: If you find shingles in the yard or perhaps a few that have been blown into the neighbor’s yard, you likely suffered a destructive blow from the hailstorm.
- Granules in Downspouts or Gutters: If you find shingle granules in downspouts and gutters, you likely have suffered hail damage to your roof.
- Damaged Satellite Dish: Satellite dishes mounted on roofs are excellent barometers of hail strikes. Check for paint chipping, dents, loose components, and displaced or broken pieces of the dish.
Need Quality Hail Damage Roof Repair in Columbia, SC? Call Us Today!
We often get severe hail storms in Columbia, SC and they can cause significant damage to your home’s roof. If you have experienced hail damage to your roof, you should get in touch with our roofing team today. Our success rate at Midlands Roofing speaks for itself.
Call us today at 803-414-6801 for a free price estimate for your roof repairs.
