Photograph before anything gets cleaned up
Before any debris gets swept up or any tarp goes on, photograph what is on the ground: dented siding pieces, cracked window screens, damaged patio furniture, and any hail that is still visible in a shaded spot. Hail size and density in the yard help establish the storm's severity, and that context matters when an adjuster is comparing your claim against a broader storm event.
Take wide shots of each side of the house and the roof from the ground before anyone climbs up, since those establish the overall condition before a closer inspection begins.
What we look for on the roof
Hail bruises the mat beneath the granules without always cracking the shingle open, so we press on suspected spots to check for softness and look for granule loss in the scattered pattern a storm leaves behind. We photograph each slope separately, since hail direction during a storm often damages one side of a roof more heavily than another, and that pattern is part of what supports a fair assessment.
We also check flashing, vent boots, and ridge cap, since those smaller components take hail damage just as readily as the shingle field and are sometimes overlooked in a quick inspection.
Gutters, downspouts, and siding
Gutters dent easily and are one of the more visible signs of a hailstorm's severity, so we photograph any dents, especially on the side of the house that faced the storm. Siding gets the same treatment, checking for cracked panels, dents on vinyl or steel, and impact marks on trim. Downspouts sometimes get knocked loose or dented at the elbow, which is easy to miss from the ground.
Keeping a written record
Note the date and approximate time of the storm, and if you have any record of hail size from a weather report or a neighbor's account, keep that with your notes. A written record of when you first noticed damage, paired with dated photos, is more useful to an adjuster than a verbal description weeks later.
If we come out for an inspection, we provide our own written findings, including the shingle's rated impact class where that information is available, which gives you a second, independent record to include with a claim.
What comes after the inspection
Once damage is documented, the claim process and the repair timeline are two separate tracks that sometimes move at different speeds. We are happy to have our findings available for an adjuster to review, and we can proceed with any necessary emergency repairs, like tarping an open section, regardless of where the claim stands, since a roof left open does more damage the longer it waits.