A Homeowner's Guide to Hail Damage on Greater Denver Area Roofs
What hail actually does to a roof, and what you can check yourself from the ground. Plus what to do in the week after a storm.
What to Check From the Ground
After a hailstorm, everything at eye level tells you most of what you need to know. The car, the gutters, the screens and the paint took the same hail as the roof. They show it where you can actually look at it.
Go and look at these:
- Your car. The most reliable thing in the driveway. If the car is dented, hail that size hit the house too.
- The gutters and downspouts. Look for dents in the aluminum. The top edge of a gutter run and the round face of a downspout show it first.
- Window screens. Tears, punctures, or a screen pushed out of its frame.
- The air conditioning unit. The metal fins bend, and they bend at hail sizes that don't visibly break a shingle.
- Painted wood and siding. Chips, pits and marks, mostly on the side of the house the weather came from.
- Deck rails, mailboxes, garden furniture, plants. Anything soft. Anything metal.
- The ground at the bottom of the downspouts. A little pile of shingle granules that looks like coarse sand.
None of that tells you the roof is damaged.
What it tells you is that hail of a certain size hit this address on a certain day. That's genuinely worth knowing. The roof itself can't be judged from the ground by anybody, and that includes us.
So photograph what you found, with your phone, that week, and note the date while you still remember it.
Protecting Your Own Evidence
The instinct after a storm is to get the ladder out. Your claim is better served by staying on the ground, and only one of the reasons is about falling off.
Walking on a hail damaged roof creates marks, and foot traffic scuffs granules off in patterns that read like weather. Blistering, scuffing and manufacturing faults already get confused with hail by people who look at roofs for a living. A homeowner who's been up there has muddied their own evidence. The person deciding the claim can't tell which marks came from the sky and which from a work boot.
A hail damaged roof is also a worse surface than an undamaged one. People get badly hurt on roofs every year.
Photograph everything you can safely reach from the ground. Got an upstairs window? Look at the roof from there too. Getting us up there to photograph it properly is the next step. That isn't the same thing as filing a claim.
The Week After a Storm, in Order
- Write down the date of the storm while you still remember it.
- Photograph everything at eye level that got hit. Car, gutters, screens, siding, paint.
- Check whether your neighbors are getting roofs. It tells you what the storm did on your street.
- Call your own insurance agent and ask what your policy covers for wind and hail, before you file anything.
- Get a roofer on the roof to look at it and photograph it properly.
- Ask them straight whether there's enough damage to be worth filing on.
- If there is, open the claim yourself. Nobody else can open it for you.
- Keep every document your insurance company sends you.
Step four matters more than it looks. Coverage for wind and hail varies a lot between policies. Your own agent is the only person who can tell you what yours says. Once a claim is open there's a whole second process behind it, and most people have never seen one.
When Hail Season Starts and Ends Here
The damaging hail season in the Greater Denver Area runs from the middle of April to the middle of September. The Greater Denver Area sits in one of the most hail-prone stretches of the country. That comes from the state's own emergency management people, not from us.
The calendar matters for a practical reason. A storm in June that nobody looks at until the following spring is a much harder conversation. The same storm, looked at in July, is not.
Two things happen while you wait. More weather goes over the same roof. And the answer to "when did this happen" gets less certain every month.
What people get told is that the damage "doesn't look new." That sentence ends a lot of claims. It's a good reason to have a roof looked at early.
Why Neighbors Get Different Answers
Two houses on the same street can take the same hail on the same afternoon and still get two different answers. It's the thing homeowners find hardest to swallow, and there are real reasons behind it every time.
- The roofs are different ages. An older roof gives up under hail that a newer one shrugs off. Two houses built the same year have often been re-roofed in different decades.
- The roofs face different ways. A storm arrives from a direction. Whether your house catches it depends on which way your slopes point. And on what's standing between you and the weather.
- The shingles are different. Not all shingle is the same, and some of it takes an impact much better than the rest.
- The trees are different. A mature tree over one house and not the other changes what reaches the roof.
- The policies are different. Two neighbors can have very different cover for wind and hail without either of them knowing it.
None of that means anybody got away with anything, and it doesn't mean your roof is fine either. It means the answer is specific to your house. The only way to get it is to have your own roof looked at.
Hail Damage Without a Leak
The thing people expect from a damaged roof is water coming in. Hail damage usually doesn't do that, and that's exactly what makes it dangerous.
The stone knocks the granules off. Those granules are the layer protecting the shingle from the sun. Without them, the shingle starts aging faster than it should.
Underneath, the stone leaves a bruise. The layer below the surface can crack without the shingle breaking anywhere you could see it. Roofers call that a mat fracture. It's the actual damage, and it isn't the dent.
The roof then carries on keeping water out. Sometimes for a season. Sometimes for years. Then it stops.
So a dry ceiling proves nothing. A roof with no leak in it can still have lost several years of life in one afternoon. And the leak often turns up long after the window for reporting that storm has closed.
Words You Will Hear
- Soft metals. Gutters, downspouts, vents, flashing (the metal that seals roof joints), and the fins on your air conditioner. They dent before shingles visibly fail, which is why anyone looking at hail damage looks at them first.
- Elevation. One face of your house, or one slope of your roof. Damage usually gets reported one elevation at a time.
- Cosmetic damage. Damage that looks bad and hasn't shortened anything's life. It gets treated very differently from damage that has.
- Functional damage. Damage that has shortened the life of the roof, whether or not it's leaking.
- Test square. A marked area on a slope that gets counted, rather than counting the whole roof. If you find chalk marks up there after somebody's been on it, that's what they were doing.
The words your insurance company uses are a different set again. They matter more once a claim is actually open.
How Wind Damage Is Different From Hail
People say "storm damage" and mean two different things.
Hail comes straight down and marks the whole roof at once. Wind works along a roof, and it usually leaves nothing at all that you can see from the ground.
What wind does is break the seal along a row of shingles. It lifts them, and then it lays them back down looking almost normal, with a crease across them. The next storm takes them properly.
There's a name for wind damage that runs along a whole row like that. It's called zippering.
What Our Customers Say
Adam Mayka
Josh with Semper Fi came to look at my roof after the most recent hail storm and couldn’t have been nicer. He was honest, thorough, and explained everything about the inspection process in great detail. His attention to detail and communication made it a very comfortable experience. Albeit we don’t need a new roof, when that time does come I will be using Semper Fi and I will recommend them to all of my friends and neighbors
Todd Reynolds
Was very responsive. I was able to get what was needed in regards to our roof inspections on three houses quickly. And worked with our insurance agent getting the right information needed for our insurance needs. If you’re looking for someone that knows roofs and you need inspections or confirmations regarding your roof. Highly would recommend recommend this company
Zilvinas Sutkus
We had Semper Fi Restoration Inc. complete the roof on our 10,000 sq. ft. commercial building, and we had a great experience from start to finish. We had the opportunity to meet Joshua Bosley and worked mainly with Leo, our project manager. Leo’s communication throughout the entire project was top-notch. As with any large commercial roofing project, we ran into a few unexpected snags along the way, but the Semper Fi team stepped up and took care of every issue with no questions asked. They stood behind their work, kept us informed, and made sure everything was handled properly. It’s refreshing to work with a company that takes responsibility and follows through on what they promise. We are very happy with the finished roof and would definitely recommend Semper Fi Restoration Inc. to anyone looking for a dependable and professional roofing company. Thank you to Joshua, Leo, and the entire Semper Fi team for a job well done!
Michael Molina
There are a lot of Roofing Contractors out there so when I was referred Josh and his team by a close friend I knew there must be something different about them. From the first meeting with Josh and Daniel I felt comfortable and at ease. I had a lot of questions and they answered them without hesitation and in extreme detail which I appreciated. They helped me through the entire insurance journey and made sure I was covered before any work was done which helped lift that burden off my shoulders. Also, you will not find a Owner as diligent as Josh when it comes to QA/QC of the work done by his crews making sure the roof/gutters you get are up to HIS standards. I appreciate Josh and Daniel for getting the work done and definitely exceeded all my expectations. I don't usually write reviews but their work deserves some praise, I will definitely be referring them anytime I hear anyone I know is even thinking of getting or needing a new roof.
Larry Walters
We had a great experience working with Joshua Bosley and Semper Fi Restoration after our home suffered large hail damage. They are honest, trustworthy, professional and knowledgeable. They held subcontractors to their high standards. This has been the best experience we have ever had with a roof replacement and other hail damage repairs. Working with Josh, Kat, and the team was a pleasure. We highly recommend Semper Fi to others! Larry and Darlene W.
Zachary Koch
I wanted to take a moment to leave a review for Josh and his team at Semper Fi Restoration. Josh came out the same day we called to provide an estimate and inspect our roof, and a member of his team completed the repairs first thing the very next morning. We truly appreciated the quick turnaround, excellent customer service, and quality workmanship in repairing the damage to our roof. The entire process was smooth, professional, and stress-free. I highly recommend Semper Fi Restoration to anyone looking for a reliable and responsive roofing company!
Lisa Smith
When my insurance refused to pay for my hail damaged roof, Semper Fi worked with my insurance to successfully get them to pay. They helped me with the entire process and communicated well. They were always available if I had questions. Their crew did a good job. They cleaned up after themselves. I highly recommend this company.
Aubrey Monckton
I had a fantastic experience with Leo at Semper Fi Restoration Inc. He recently completed some roof repairs for me, and I couldn’t be happier with the results. Leo was professional, honest, responsive, and clearly takes pride in his work. He explained everything thoroughly, showed up on time, and made the entire process smooth and stress-free. The quality of the repairs was excellent, and it’s clear he genuinely cares about doing the job right. It’s hard to find contractors you can truly trust, but Leo absolutely earned my confidence. I highly recommend Leo and Semper Fi Restoration Inc. to anyone needing roofing work or repairs. Outstanding service from start to finish!
Michael Kerr
Josh Bosley and Semper Fi Restoration recently completed hail damage work on our residence. Josh handled EVERYTHING with our insurance company. The work was completed on time, as promised. Clean-up was great. Josh came back and guaranteed we were happy with everything - including fixing two small areas that we felt needed additional work. He ensured we were 100% happy prior to moving on. He was a great communicator, very patient with us, and made us extremely happy that we chose him and Semper Fi. I rarely leave reviews - but would highly recommend him. Final note, our insurance agent recommended him to us and he was as great as advertised.
Sharine Webber
Semper Fi Restoration recently completed installing a new roof and we are so impressed with the service from start to finish. Leo Jett thoroughly explained the whole process and answered all of our questions. He was a huge help with the insurance claims and demonstrated a sincere desire to make sure everything was done professionally and to the highest standards. The crew were hard workers and also demonstrated the same commitment to completing the job right. Leo always followed up with us and made sure we didn't have any concerns or questions. We highly recommend Semper Fi Restoration!!
Jeff Cisneros
Josh is absolutely amazing, his service and follow-up is thr best I have ever experienced. The thing that really impressed me was his honesty after inspection, he shared that I didn't need a new roof. There are very few companies with that level of honesty. He has earned a customer for life.
Judy B
Leo Jett was fabulous! He walked me through every step of the process and made this a great experience. His customer service was more than I could have hoped for. After spending 25 years in the HOA business, Semper Fi would be a contractor I would recommend to anyone needing a new roof.
sukhvir singh
Outstanding service from start to finish. Semper Fi Restoration Inc exceeded all expectations with their roofing work. Their professionalism, expertise, and attention to detail were second to none. The team was reliable, efficient, and truly cared about delivering top-quality results. I have nothing but respect for this company and highly recommend them to anyone needing roofing services. Thank you, Semper Fi, for an exceptional experience.
Matt
We worked with Josh and his crew to get our badly damaged roof repaired. Josh had no hesitation to get over as soon as he could walk the roof spent hours doing his inspection to make sure everything was covered not one thing was left out. He was very thorough. I am a person that wants to understand everything and he had no hesitation to explain and walk me through every process. I highly recommend Semper Fi Restoration. They are honest and will get the job done right
Common Questions
Can hail damage a brand new roof?
Yes. A new roof handles it better, and hard enough hail damages anything up there. Age helps. It isn't armor.
What is considered storm damage to a roof?
Anything the weather did that has shortened the life of the roof or opened it up. Hail, wind, ice, and things the wind threw at it on the way past.
How do I prove storm damage to my roof?
Photographs, dates, and a roofer who can document it slope by slope. The photographs you take from the ground that week fix the date. And the date is the thing most often argued about.
How do I claim roof damage from a storm?
You open the claim with your own insurance company. Nobody else can do that for you, and anyone who offers to is telling you something about themselves.
After that, an adjuster comes out and writes a scope. What happens once the claim is open is a longer process than most people expect.
Do I have to use a roofer to check it, or will my insurance company just send someone?
Your insurance company will send an adjuster once a claim is open, and that adjuster works for them. Getting your own look at the roof first is how you decide whether to open a claim at all.
What if I don't know when the storm was?
It can usually be worked out. Hail gets recorded, and the date can be checked against your address rather than guessed at.
That's worth doing before you call your carrier. "Sometime last summer" is a weaker starting point than an actual date.
Have the Hail Damage Checked
Headline: Get Someone Up There Who Does This Every Day
We'll get on the roof and photograph what's up there. Then we'll tell you plainly what it is and what it means for your claim. Send us the address, or call and we'll take it from there.