Hail Damage To Built Up Roofing

According to the national oceanic and atmospheric administration noaa there was a total of 4 611 hail storms in the united states during the year 2018 with 2019 ending on a higher number as of year end more than 5 396 hail events were recorded although most people think that property and roof damage only occur in rare instances with larger than average hailstones even the smallest.

Hail damage to built up roofing.

The hail resistance of built up roofs has been known to be substantial especially when covered with loose and embedded gravel in an asphalt flood coat. Top 3 hail resistant roofing options. However occasional disputes arise in the settlement of insurance claims over the size hail needed to cause damage to a built up roof and what those characteristics are. In addition the authors firm has conducted a series of ice impact tests on various built up roofing samples to determine damage thresholds and have compared these results with field observations.

Assessing hail damage on gravel ballasted built up roofs. While tar and gravel roofing or built up roofing systems have many positive aspects if you live in an area or the roof is in a location where it will receive strong sun exposure hot tar roofs will likely damage the roof s membrane if it is left uncovered or unevenly covered by the gravel. That storm dropped a record setting 4 83 inch diameter hailstone in bethune colorado. One of these storm clusters was a beast of a hail storm in colorado.

Old hail damage to most roofing materials will typically have characteristics that are distinguishable from new hail damage. Department of commerce national bureau of standards august 1969 page 6. The most effective way to minimize hail damage is to choose durable hail resistant roofing materials. Here are the top hail resistant roofing options.

Haag s expert engineers will be there to establish cause and extent of failure or damage to industrial commercial or residential roofs. For example old hail damage to asphalt shingles will appear weathered with the asphalt layer having a grayish tint whereas new hail damage will appear fresh with the asphalt layer being a dark black color. Every year multiple hail storms cause billions of dollars of property damage. In this interview with denise johnson ryan chauncey executive director of operations at nelson forensics explains the difficulty of assessing hail damage on gravel ballasted built up roofs and why hail size isn t enough to evaluate damage.

Greenfeld hail resistance of roofing products u s. Hailstorms can cause catastrophic damage to roofs especially when they are made from materials that aren t designed to hold up to high impact debris. Roofing industry committee on weather issues hailstorm investigation oklahoma city oklahoma april 2004.