Storm damage
Central Florida sits in the path of tropical systems every year, and gets severe afternoon thunderstorms for months at a time. Both damage roofs. We inspect, document what we find, and give you a scope your insurer can actually work from.
What storm damage looks like
- WindLifted or missing shingles, broken sealant bonds, torn membrane
- HailBruised mats, granule loss, dented metal and vents
- Debris impactPunctures from branches and airborne material
- Water intrusionInterior staining, saturated insulation, ceiling damage
- Flashing displacementWall, chimney and equipment flashing pulled loose
The damage you cannot see from the driveway
This is the part worth understanding. Wind does not have to remove a shingle to ruin it. It can lift the shingle, break the factory sealant bond and lay it back down looking completely normal — but it is no longer sealed, and the next storm will take it or drive water underneath it. Hail can bruise the mat beneath the granules without visibly cracking anything, which shortens the roof’s remaining life without any obvious sign.
Both are findable on a close inspection and effectively invisible from the ground. This is also why a roof that “looks fine” after a named storm is still worth having looked at — particularly while the event is recent enough to be clearly attributable.
How we document it
We photograph the roof systematically: overall condition, each area of damage close up, and the interior evidence where there is any. Each finding is tied to a location on the roof so the file reads coherently rather than as a pile of photographs. Then we build a line-item scope describing exactly what needs doing.
That package is what makes an insurance conversation short. An adjuster looking at dated, organized photographs and a specific scope is in a very different position to one looking at a verbal description and a lump-sum number.
What we will and will not tell you
We will tell you what the roof’s condition is, whether the damage is consistent with a storm event, and what it will take to put right. We will not tell you your claim is guaranteed, promise that your deductible will be covered, or encourage you to describe damage as storm-related when it is ordinary wear. That kind of thing rebounds on the property owner, not the contractor.
If the damage turns out to be age rather than a storm, that is still useful information — and repair or replacement options apply either way.
Common questions
Safety first — stay off the roof. From the ground, photograph anything visibly wrong and any interior water damage, and note the date. If water is actively entering, call (407) 495-4151 so we can dry-in the area. Then contact your insurer. Those early photographs, dated, are worth a great deal later.
No, and that is the trap. Wind damage often looks like nothing from the ground — shingles can be lifted and reseated by the wind with the sealant strip broken, which leaves them looking fine but no longer bonded. Hail can bruise a mat without cracking the surface. Both shorten the roof’s life materially and both are best identified close up.
No — the claim is between you and your insurer, and any contractor who tells you otherwise is overreaching. What we do is document the roof’s condition properly, produce a clear line-item scope, and answer contractor-related questions your adjuster raises during the review.
That happens. We will walk you through what was approved against what we scoped, and what the gap actually means for the roof. Sometimes the approved portion is genuinely sufficient; sometimes it leaves a real problem unaddressed, and it is worth supplementing with additional documentation.
Policies carry deadlines and they are shorter than most people assume, so do not sit on it. Check your specific policy language or ask your carrier directly — we cannot advise on your policy terms, only on the roof’s condition.
Yes. An emergency dry-in stops further water entering while the claim and the permanent repair are sorted out. It is temporary protection, not a repair, and preventing three weeks of additional interior damage is usually the highest-value thing we can do in the first 48 hours.