Whenever a storm strikes your area, it often causes significant damage to your home’s exterior surfaces, particularly your roof. Strong winds could rip away parts of your roofing or cause trees and branches to fall on its surface. Also, turbulent weather including heavy rains, hail, and ice, can cause serious dents and holes to your roofing, causing water leaks.
When this happens, it’s critical to have a plan and strategy to deal with the roof damages. This feature shares five important steps in handling roof damage after a storm. Keep on reading to learn more.
- Prioritize Safety
Whether your local area experienced wind, lightning, hail, heavy rains, or all of these, the aftermath of a storm may still pose danger to you and your family. So, make sure that you and your loved ones are safe and unharmed. Don’t do anything even if there’s only light rain or wind.
Consider arranging for a temporary lodging when evacuating your home, especially if you think that your roof is unstable or a part of it has collapsed.
- Assess The Damage
Once the storm has passed and you think it’s safe to be outside, you can start assessing the damage it created on your roof. That said, you still need to be cautious of the potential hazards, particularly on or near your roofing.
These hazards may include downed power lines, broken windows, fallen trees, caved-in roofing materials, and clogged or standing water on the eavestrough that needs to be drained or repaired. Click here to learn more about eavestrough repair.
If possible, climb to your roof to have a better view of the potential damage. But always be cautious during inspection since your roof could have structural damage, causing it to collapse at any time. In general, here are some of the roof damages you need to look for:
- Missing, rotting, curling, dented, cracked, and damaged shingles;
- Cracks, surface bubbles, wrinkles, tears on flat roofs;
- Water build-up in gutters and eavestrough. Also look for dents, missing or hanging sections on flashing and gutters;
- Crumbling or loose bricks on chimneys; and the like.
Most homeowners do do-it-yourself (DIY) assessments. However, if you want to save time and ensure proper inspection, hiring roofing experts like D’Angelo & Sons Roofing is a great option. They can help in providing a comprehensive assessment of roof damage from the storm. Roofers can provide a complementary project quote that you can provide to an insurance adjuster to get an accurate and fair claim as well.
Regardless of whether you assess the damage on your own or hire an expert, make sure to do proper documentation. Keep your camera or smartphone with you and take clear videos and photos of any damage to your roofing system.
- Contact Your Insurance Company And Start The Claim Process
If you detect any damage to your roof, it’s important to call your insurance provider right away. Time is of the essence when filing a claim. The sooner you can submit a claim, the latest you can get reimbursement for the damage so you can have your roof repaired and restored.
It’s best to contact your insurance agent by phone and email. Discuss and explain the damage that occurred as a result of the recent storm. Plus, make sure to provide them with the videos and photos you take. In general, your insurance agent should guide you through the steps to make a successful claim.
After submitting a claim, your insurance provider will arrange an appointment for an insurance adjuster to visit your house. They’ll evaluate the damage to your roof to have proper estimates on your compensation.
Make sure that you’re around when the insurance adjuster comes to your home so you can show and explain potential damages on your roof, which can help provide an accurate claim estimate. Also, you can provide the insurance adjuster with the roofing project quotes made by your roofing contractor.
If possible, you can even ask your roofing contractor to be present during this appointment to ensure a more accurate assessment of the damage. In addition, the adjuster can also tell you right away what damages are covered and how much you’ll receive once you’ve paid the policy’s deductible.
- Clean, Repair, And Restore
Once the adjuster has finished checking for damages, you can now call for a reliable roofing service (if you haven’t done so in the previous steps) to do the necessary repair and restoration. Make sure to do your research and choose a reputable roofing company with experience in storm roof damage.
Depending on your service appointment, you can start cleaning storm debris and do emergency repairs on your roof to prevent further damage while you’re waiting for the roofing contractor. Just make sure that your roof doesn’t have significant structural damage that may collapse at any time.
Remove any tree debris from your roof, gutters, and eavestrough. You can try covering holes in your roof to prevent water and moisture from seeping in. Remove any standing water or clogs from your eavestrough or gutters to prevent pest infestation and mold growth.
Depending on the severity of the damage, your roofing contractor may suggest either a roof repair or replacement. Regardless of what fix is needed, a reliable roofing contractor can help restore your home’s roof to normal as quickly as possible.
- Record All Your Expenses
Once your roof repair is underway, it’s important to keep a record of all receipts of your expenses for the project including labor and materials for repairing and restoring the roof. Also, don’t forget about any accommodation expenses you incurred as a result of moving out of your home due to severe damage to your roof.
This way, you can receive fair reimbursement from your homeowner’s insurance policy. Having organized paperwork and documentation can help avoid headaches and potential problems when getting your compensation later on.
Takeaway
The roof is your home’s first line of defense against outdoor elements and harsh weather conditions. And sustaining significant damages after a storm can leave you, your family, and your personal belongings vulnerable to the outdoor elements. So, it’s important to immediately take the above steps after a major storm to help you move along with the repair and restoration process and prevent further damage to your roofing.
