How does hail show up on a shingle roof?
As bruises, cracks or missing granules, and not always where the eye looks first. A roofer checks the shingles that face the storm direction and the ones at the edges of the roof.
Hail bruises an asphalt shingle by crushing its surface and the granules bonded to it. The damage is often a soft, dark spot that feels different under the thumb, or a crack through the mat. Missing granules can also come from age and sun, which is why a single granule-bare patch is not proof of hail on its own. The roofer compares the pattern across the roof and looks for matching damage on soft metal like vents and flashing.
The FACTS sheet is clear that the automated hail reports for the metro do not confirm damage. A report puts hail somewhere in the area and tells you nothing about a particular roof. That is why the inspection is recorded with photographs and a written note, which is also what an insurer or an adjuster will ask to see.
- Check shingles on the storm-facing slopes first
- Look at metal vent caps and flashing for dents
- Record each finding with a photograph and a measurement
When is a lifted shingle a repair and when is it a replacement?
A few lifted or missing shingles are a repair. When shingles crack or tear on lifting and the mat is brittle, the roof is at the end of its life and the replacement question comes up.
Repairs work when the shingles can be lifted without tearing and when the sealant strip still has some bond. If a shingle snaps when lifted, the mat is brittle, and replacing a few shingles only moves the problem to the next row. A roofer tests a sample of shingles across the roof before deciding, and says which result applies.
Matching is the other limit. Shingle lines change and some products are no longer made in the same colour or profile. If a replacement cannot be matched, the roofer explains the trade-off between a visible patch and a larger job, and the choice is yours.
- Lift a sample of shingles and note whether they tear
- Check whether the product can still be matched
- Compare the number of failing shingles with the age of the roof
Why do flashing and valleys leak more than shingles?
Because they are where two planes of roof meet and where water is forced to change direction, and every joint is a place the sealant can fail.
Water on a pitched roof runs down the field of shingles and is shed cleanly at the edge. At a wall, a chimney or a valley it has to be turned, and that turn is what the flashing does. A flashing that is short, nailed through the wrong place or sealed with the wrong product lets water back under the covering. Most ceiling stains at a wall line are flashing, not shingles.
Valleys carry the most water on the roof, so worn valley metal or valley shingles are a common source of leaks that show up only in heavy rain. The repair is to reset the valley, replace the metal where it is torn and make sure the shingles above it are laid to shed water into the valley and not across it.
- Reset or replace step flashing at the wall line
- Check valley metal for splits and loose nails
- Replace vent collars with cracked rubber rather than sealing them
What should a pitched roof repair include in writing?
The roofer lists each area of work, the materials and the reason for each line, with photographs of the damage. Anything that is not a repair is named as a separate item.
A written repair scope should say what is being replaced, what is being resealed and what has been checked and found sound. It should also name the materials, so you know whether a matching shingle or a manufacturer's sealant is being used. A line that says repairs as needed with no detail is not a scope, and you should ask for the detail before work begins.
The record also protects the homeowner later. If the roof is inspected for an insurance claim, a dated set of photographs before and after the work is the strongest evidence of what was there.
- Each repair area, with a photograph before and after
- The material and the product for each line
- Any item found but not repaired, named and dated
