How do I know if my roof has hail damage?
Start with the soft metal you can see from the ground: dents in gutters, downspouts, roof vents and the fins of the air conditioner mean hail large enough to damage shingles. Granules collecting at the bottom of downspouts are another sign. On the roof itself, hail leaves dark bruises where granules were knocked off, soft spots and cracked tabs, and those are only reliably found by someone up close.
What you can check without a ladder
The best evidence after a storm sits at eye level. Aluminum gutters and downspouts dent easily, so round dents along them tell you hail was big enough to matter and which side of the house took it. Painted metal such as a mailbox, a light fixture or the housing of the air conditioner shows the same thing. The thin fins on the side of an outdoor AC unit flatten under hail and are easy to see.
Walk the driveway and the base of each downspout. Shingles are covered in ceramic-coated granules, and a heavy hailstorm knocks thousands of them loose. A small drift of dark sand at a downspout outlet after a storm is those granules. A few are normal on a new roof. A lot, on a roof that is several years old, is a warning sign.
Look at the windows, screens and siding on the side the storm came from. Torn screens, chipped paint on trim and cracked vinyl siding show the same storm hit the house hard enough to damage the roof above.
What a roofer looks for up close
On asphalt shingles, a hail strike usually leaves a roughly round mark where the granules are gone and the black asphalt shows through. Pressed with a thumb, a fresh bruise feels soft, because the fiberglass mat underneath has fractured. Old blistering and normal granule wear look different: they are spread evenly, not in random circular hits.
The pattern matters as much as any single mark. Hail falls with the wind, so damage is heaviest on the slopes facing the storm and lighter or absent on the far side. Inspectors count hits within a marked test square on each slope, which is also how many insurance carriers decide whether a slope needs replacing.
Tile and slate crack or chip rather than bruise, and the break may be hidden under the tile above. Metal roofs dent. Wood shakes split along the grain. Each needs its own kind of inspection.
Why a roof that looks fine can still be damaged
Hail damage often does not leak right away. A fractured shingle still sheds water until heat and time finish the job, which can take a season or two. By then, many insurance policies have passed their deadline for reporting the storm, and a claim that would have been simple becomes a hard one.
That is why an inspection soon after a significant storm is worth the hour. If the roof is fine, you know. If it is not, you have photos dated close to the storm.
Related questions
What size hail damages a roof?
Hail around one inch across, about the size of a quarter, is commonly enough to damage asphalt shingles, and larger hail can damage almost any roofing material.
Can I see hail damage from the ground?
Sometimes on the gutters, vents and AC unit. Damage to the shingles themselves is usually only visible up close.
Should I get on the roof myself?
No. A wet or steep roof is dangerous, and walking on hail-damaged shingles or tile can make the damage worse.
