Uploaded September 2024 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Unnecessary roof replacements are out of control, and they're driving homeowners insurance rates sky-high in Minnesota. Everyone needs to take a chill pill when it comes to roof replacements.
Here are a few notes from my recent blog post on this topic (structuretech.com/hail-damage-hail-no/)
I've seen roofers and hail claim adjusters bicker over precisely what is and isn't hail damage. I don't claim to be an expert in assessing hail damage. For that, I turn to a study done by Haag Engineering, which I've heard referenced by industry experts countless times for the past couple of decades. Here's a link: structuretech.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/hail-damage-to-asphalt-shingles.pdf. And here's another helpful document from Haag: structuretech.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/hail-damage-to-asphalt-shingles.pdf.
Here are a few key points from the first report:
It takes 1.5" ice stones to damage thicker, laminated-type shingles half the time.
When you lose granules on shingles from a hail storm, you do not shorten the life of a roof. You read that correctly.
You need an actual bruise (or hole or tear) to call something hail damage. "Shingle bruises are an indentation with fracture in the mat that feels soft like that of an apple bruise. The bruise is usually obvious as granules are also dislodged from the impact area."
That last point needs repeating. You need real bruises to call it hail damage.
Unnecessary roof replacements are out of control, and they're driving homeowners insurance rates sky-high in Minnesota. Everyone needs to take a chill pill when it comes to roof replacements.
Here are a few notes from my recent blog post on this topic (structuretech.com/hail-damage-hail-no/)
I've seen roofers and hail claim adjusters bicker over precisely what is and isn't hail damage. I don't claim to be an expert in assessing hail damage. For that, I turn to a study done by Haag Engineering, which I've heard referenced by industry experts countless times for the past couple of decades. Here's a link: structuretech.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/hail-damage-to-asphalt-shingles.pdf. And here's another helpful document from Haag: structuretech.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/hail-damage-to-asphalt-shingles.pdf.
Here are a few key points from the first report:
It takes 1.5" ice stones to damage thicker, laminated-type shingles half the time.
When you lose granules on shingles from a hail storm, you do not shorten the life of a roof. You read that correctly.
You need an actual bruise (or hole or tear) to call something hail damage. "Shingle bruises are an indentation with fracture in the mat that feels soft like that of an apple bruise. The bruise is usually obvious as granules are also dislodged from the impact area."
That last point needs repeating. You need real bruises to call it hail damage.
