Charlotte, NC, experienced a severe weather event earlier this week that caused massive storm damage to Charlotte homeowners and business owners alike. Storm damage results from severe weather such as hail storms, tornados, hurricanes, blizzards, and more. On February 6th, 2020, Charlotte experienced a severe storm damaging residential and commercial roofing, automobiles, and property. If you think you have storm damage, it’s best to call in a local expert to help you assess the damage and assist you with filing a roof insurance claim.
Our main goal as a Charlotte Roofing Company has been, and always will be, helping homeowners restore their homes with transparency, high-quality roof repairs, and competitive pricing. Our company was started, surprisingly enough, due to a previous severe weather event where many local Charlotte homeowners were taken advantage of by less-than-reputable roofing companies. Read more about that here. We see the Charlotte, NC community as our neighbors and not a potential sale, and our dedication to educating you on roofing terms and FAQs is one of the ways we show that.
So, do you have storm damage? Are you experiencing a roof leak after a major storm? What do you do next?
Storm Damage comes in many shapes, sizes, severity, and costs. The most recent storm in Charlotte that caused roof damage was a tornado and hail event. We’ll start by explaining those.
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- Tornado Storm Damage: Tornados are an uncommon but significant source of wind damage. Even if your home wasn’t in the direct path of the recent tornado in Charlotte, it could still have incurred roof damage, gutter damage, and siding damage just from the sheer strength of the wind that’s involved. The currents that tornados produce cause updrafts, which can *literally* suck roofing material off your home – including your wood decking! Not only that, roofs are damaged from the debris driven by those high winds. If you’ve been going around Charlotte since yesterday afternoon, I’m sure you’ve noticed a large number of trees, tree limbs, and other debris along the road or in residential home yards. That’s normal, and those do cause impact damage. Tornado storm damage is more widespread than just the event’s direct path.
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- Hail Damage: Hail forms when thunderstorm updrafts are strong enough to carry water droplets well above freezing level. The freezing process forms a hailstone that can grow as more water freezes onto it. Once the hail size is too large for the updrafts to carry, it falls to the ground level. These ice droplets cause dings in aluminum siding, gutters, asphalt shingles, and even crack vinyl siding or wood shakes. The larger the hail size, the more damage it can cause. Hail damage on roofs typically takes the form of small indentations in the shingle surface, loss of granules, and even cracked and torn shingles. Additionally, the age and condition of your roof can affect the degree of hail damage. In Charlotte yesterday, during the storm, a widespread area of the greater Charlotte region experienced a 1/2″ hail event with wind gusts up to 60 mph. This can, will, and likely did cause damage to your roofing system. We highly recommend you call a trusted roofing company to assess your roofing system.
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- Impact Damage: One of the most evident signs of roofing damage comes from fallen trees, tree limbs, and power lines. Extreme wind pressure can cause these items to fall and damage your property. Although this kind of damage is often unavoidable, please find a local roofing company that uses high-quality materials and offers a warranty on their repairs when making your storm damage repairs.
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- Water Damage: Water damage can affect your entire home. Moisture in the home can lead to mold and mildew growth, unsightly staining, and the deterioration of your home materials.
When to call a Charlotte Roofing Contractor?
We’re biased, but it’s always better safe than sorry, and most roofing companies offer free roof inspections for this exact purpose. However, if you’re not sure, if you do not see any large debris on or around your roofing system, and if you’re not experiencing roof leaks from storm damage, you may be safe to wait to call in a roofing expert. However, if you see branches or limbs around your property, experienced high winds, or if you have any missing shingles – calling a roofer to inspect your storm damage may be wise. If you’re in Charlotte, NC, looking for a roofer to inspect for storm damage, our phone number is (704) 729-4898.