Free roof inspection with deck photos before we talk money - GAF and Owens Corning certified installation
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterWhat’s Happening
Hail dents on your roof and gutters almost always mean your shingles have taken impact damage that isn’t visible from the ground – and that damage is actively shortening the life of your roof. A trained eye on the roof itself is the only way to know how bad it is.
Here’s the thing about hail damage: the gutters tell part of the story, but the shingles tell the rest. When hailstones hit asphalt shingles hard enough to leave a mark you can see or feel, they’ve knocked granules loose from the surface coating. Those granules are what protect the asphalt layer underneath from UV exposure and water intrusion. Once they’re gone from a spot, that spot ages faster than the rest of the roof. The dents in your gutters are proof the storm was strong enough to do real work up top. Don’t assume the roof is fine just because the shingles look intact from the driveway.
Why It Happens
Granule Loss on Asphalt Shingles
This is the most common hail finding, and it’s easy to miss because it doesn’t look dramatic at first. Run your hand along a shingle edge after a storm – if dark, sandy granules come off on your palm in unusual amounts, the surface coating took hits. You’ll also see granule buildup in your gutters and downspout outlets after a hail event, which is a dead giveaway.
Impact Bruising and Soft-Spot Damage
Larger hailstones can bruise the fiberglass mat inside the shingle without punching all the way through. From the ground this looks like nothing. Up close, those spots feel soft when you press on them – the mat has fractured underneath the surface layer. A bruised shingle won’t leak today, but it’s structurally compromised and will crack or lift under the next round of wind or freeze-thaw stress.
Cracked or Split Shingles
Older shingles that have lost flexibility can crack outright on impact. You may be able to see these from a safe vantage point – look for shingles where the surface has a clean split rather than just a scuff. Cracked shingles are an active leak risk because water can travel directly through the crack and into the decking below, especially when rain follows the storm.
Damaged Flashing and Roof Penetrations
Metal flashing around chimneys, vents, and skylights takes hail hits just like shingles do. Dented or displaced flashing loses its watertight seal against whatever it’s fastened to. If you already had any slow drips around a chimney or skylight before the storm, those spots are the first place to look – the storm likely made a marginal seal into an open one.
What to Do Right Now
- Stay off the roof. We mean this. Wet shingles after a storm are slippery, and hail damage can make the surface unpredictable underfoot. Leave the inspection to someone with fall-protection equipment. Seriously – call instead of climbing.
- Photograph everything you can safely reach. Walk around the ground level and photograph your gutters, downspouts, any dents on metal flashing you can see from the ladder’s first or second rung, and any shingle debris in your yard. These photos matter for insurance documentation and help your technician understand what the storm looked like before they arrive.
- Check your gutters from the ground or a low step. Look for granule buildup at downspout openings and visible denting along the gutter face. Both are useful diagnostic details your Birchbark Roofing technician will want to see.
- Go inside and check your ceilings. Attic first if you have access – look for daylight through the decking or any wet insulation. Then check ceilings in upper-floor rooms for soft spots, water stains, or bubbling paint. If you find active dripping, put a bucket down and call us at (424) 766-4937 now – don’t wait for a scheduled estimate appointment.
- Don’t let anyone pressure you into signing anything on the spot. Storm chasers show up fast after hail events. You have time to get a written estimate from a company you’ve vetted before any work begins. Birchbark will give you a written price before anything starts – that’s not optional for us, it’s how we work.
How We Fix It
When your local Birchbark Roofing team arrives, the first thing that happens is a full roof inspection – on the roof, not from a drone or a driveway glance. The technician looks at shingle condition zone by zone, checks every penetration and flashing detail, and documents what they find with photos before anything is touched. From there, the recommendation is either a targeted roof repair – replacing the damaged sections with matching materials from manufacturers like GAF, CertainTeed, Owens Corning, or others we work with – or a full roof replacement if the damage is widespread enough that patching doesn’t make sense for the age and condition of the roof.
Either way, you get a written price in dollars before any work starts. That’s the Cedarwell Care Promise, and it’s also just how Erik Lindgren runs things at Birchbark. The 365-Day Done Right Promise covers every repair and replacement we perform – if it’s not right, we make it right.
Most hail-related repairs are completed in a single visit. Replacements take longer depending on roof size and material, and your technician will give you a realistic timeline in writing before the crew starts.
Frequently Asked Questions
It needs to be looked at soon – not because we’re trying to rush you, but because hail damage tends to get worse with the next weather event, not better. A bruised or granule-stripped shingle that holds through a dry week may not hold through the next rain. The longer damaged material sits exposed, the more moisture works into the decking and the more expensive the fix becomes. Call (424) 766-4937 to get someone on the roof before the next round of weather arrives.
Not necessarily. The gutters dent visibly because they’re thin aluminum or steel – shingles absorb impact differently and rarely show obvious damage from 20 feet below. Impact bruising, granule loss, and cracked fiberglass mat are almost impossible to diagnose without getting on the roof and looking closely. A clean driveway view after a hailstorm is not a clean bill of health for the shingles.
Call us at (424) 766-4937 and a live person will pick up – not a voicemail, not a callback queue. Your local Birchbark Roofing team will work to get someone out as quickly as scheduling allows. We answer every call around the clock, including nights and weekends, so there’s no reason to wait until Monday morning to find out where you stand.
The written estimate we give you is the price – not a starting point for negotiation and not a number that floats upward once work begins. If the technician discovers something during the job that genuinely changes the scope, we stop, explain it, and get your sign-off on a revised written price before continuing. You won’t be handed a surprise invoice when the job is done. That’s what the Cedarwell Care Promise means in practice.
Get It Fixed
Your local Birchbark Roofing team is ready to take a look. Call (424) 766-4937 – a live person answers every call, day or night – or book online to schedule your free written estimate. No pressure, no surprise pricing, just a straight answer about what your roof needs and what it costs.
Written by Erik Lindgren, Owner at Birchbark Roofing, part of the Cedarwell family of independently owned and operated roofing companies since 2000.
What Our Customers Say
"They repaired some lifted shingles and were so neat about it. Covered the deck, cleaned the gutters of debris when they were done, and checked the yard twice for nails. Kids play out there so that mattered."
- Lena Hargrove"Roof repair and they were meticulous about the cleanup, tarps over the garden beds and a magnet sweep for nails. We have a dog and a toddler so that mattered a lot."
- Thaddeus Bloom"New roof after hail. They covered everything below, kept the site neat each day, and did a full nail sweep of the whole yard twice. Thoughtful people."
- Caroline Prejean