Serious thunderstorms came to the Houston area over the weekend, and they were remarkable because they dropped hail the size of ping pong balls. When the day started, the skies were clear and it was a beautiful day. Things changed very quickly in the afternoon when hail the size of golf balls began to fall from above. Hail this large has the potential to cause significant damage to a building’s roof. Therefore, many people may have discovered that they need the services of a Houston roofing company.
Hail does not need to fall for a long period of time in order to cause damage, and it is evident that this is exactly what happened in Houston when one examines their automobile. The damage that residential and commercial roofs may have received is less obvious, but it is very likely to exist.
Severe Damage and Latent Damage
Houston residential roofing may have two different types of hail damage: severe and latent. Severe damage occurs when a piece of hail breaks a shingle or tears it upon impact. This damage is easier for a homeowner to observe than latent damage.
Latent damage occurs when a piece of hail hits the roof and causes the protective mineral surface granules to be removed from the shingle. As a result, the asphaltic matrix is exposed to ultraviolet light. Because of this exposure, the shingle will deteriorate faster than it would have if the protective covering had remained intact.
Increased Vulnerability to Hail Damage
Some roofs are more susceptible to hail damage than others. For example, if your roof has shingles that were placed on top of a previous shingle roof, the top layer of shingles is likely to sustain damage in a hail storm. In contrast, shingles that have been installed directly on top of a roof deck are less likely to be impaired because wood decking is more resistant to the damaging properties of hail. Also, if the ventilation of your roof is inadequate, the edges of your shingles can begin to curl. Curled edges do not have enough support and are often very fragile. This causes them to be easily broken when hit by hail. Furthermore, as time goes by, the asphalt within the shingle hardens, and this weakens the structure, so older shingles are more inclined to break during hail storms.
Why You Need a Professional Houston Roof Company
Since it is not always easy to see hail damage, you must do a careful inspection of your roof to determine if there is anything that needs to be fixed. However, this can be very dangerous for a home or building owner who does not have experience searching for this type of damage. A better option is to allow a professional Houston roof inspector to examine your roof for you. These professionals will evaluate every accessible location of your roof and will document every instance of hail damage that they find. Because your shingles can deteriorate over time, you need someone who can discern definitively that the damage your shingles have sustained was caused by the hail storm in the Houston area.
Paramount Roofing, Inc. has the professionals that you need to find the damage in your roof and repair it. If it cannot be repaired, we will replace it. We work on residential as well as commercial buildings. Contact us today at 713-748-4000 if you believe that your roof may have been damaged in the recent hail storm. We will offer you a free on-site evaluation and price quote if your roof needs repairs.