Wood shingles frequently split right down the middle after being struck by serious hailstones.
Hail roof wood shingles.
Wood shingles are highly resilient to hail damage and even with a few cracks and splits the function and performance of the shake roof is maintained.
Punctures to soft roofing materials look for punctures or cracks in soft roofing materials like pvc or weathered roof patch compounds.
Shingles can be tricky when it comes to spotting hail damage but they re not the only type of roof out there.
The most effective way to minimize hail damage is to choose durable hail resistant roofing materials.
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.
While some shingles also achieve this rating few shingle roofs presently installed around north america are hail resistant.
Shingles labeled as impact resistant were purchased and put through a series of in lab tests that simulated the effects of hail impacts.
You have others like wooden shake clay slate and metal roofing.
Additionally the age and condition of a roof could affect the degree of damage.
Dents on aluminum roofing is common and wood and vinyl shingles frequently crack after a hail storm.
Clay and slate roofing tiles tend to suffer cracks and or gouges with large hailstones and metal roofing will suffer dents.
For example hail can cause dings in aluminum siding gutters or asphalt shingles whereas it can crack vinyl siding or wood shakes.
Hail damaged wood shingles may be completely split or cracked or have indentations that affect the long term integrity of the shingle.
You will see a clear impact mark following a hailstorm.
A wooden shingle is hail damaged if there is a split or puncture in the wood that is clearly the result of a hailstone impact.
You will also note a bright unoxidized color running along the split or in the case of a puncture an unweathered layer of wood that is underneath the top layer.
Through research and testing ibhs was able to manufacture hailstones that replicated the properties of hail produced naturally.
However if wood shakes are severely cracked the felt water barrier underneath the shingle becomes compromised and eventually allows water to seep through the roof and into the structure.
Alternatively softball sized hailstones can be dense enough and strong enough to puncture a roof.
Here are the top hail resistant roofing options available for modern homes.