Storm Damaged Shingles

When shingles become damaged by various types of storms, the warranty you received from your respective shingle manufacturer can become tricky. Understanding the different type of damage that may happen to your shingles is very important to know to make inspecting your roof simple.

Extraordinary weather is the most often cause of damaged shingles. This weather includes hurricanes, hail, tornadoes, lightning, winds higher than warranted, or cold-weather related damages such as ice-damming. It's important to note that most manufacturers do not provide warranties for this type of damage, although it. Damage that may occur as a result of this weather could either be immediately noticeable or can be latent damage which doesn't appear immediately. Latent damage can cause shingles to deteriorate prematurely and and take on many forms such as:

• Granule loss at points of impact of debris or caused by stresses the shingles endure
• Cracks in the granule-asphalt surfacing- especially if high winds blew the shingles back
• Exposed fiberglass mat- which may or may not be immediately visible
• Loosening of the self-seal integrity creating the potential for future shingle blow-off

It's also important to point out the pitfalls of tarping a damaged roof. While this is an effective method to protect the building, shingles that were nailed through must be replaced, and this also will not be covered under the manufacturers warranty. Something else to note is, while it's possible to replace individual storm damaged shingles, this isn't often recommended. There's often a high chance surrounding shingles have the potential for latent damage that would require later replacement, so at the very least getting your roof inspected would be vital.