The Roof Field and Ridge
We start at the ridge and work down each slope, looking for bruised or soft spots on asphalt shingles where the granules have been knocked loose by hail impact, and for dents or displaced ridge cap pieces. Bruised shingles do not always look damaged in bright sunlight, so we check at different angles and sometimes run a hand across a suspect area to feel for softness that is not obvious visually. We also check both slopes even when damage is only reported on one side, since hail rarely falls in a way that spares half a roof entirely.
Metal roofs and gutters get checked for dent patterns rather than granule loss, and a consistent dent pattern across a metal roof or gutter run is useful evidence of storm size and direction even when individual dents are cosmetic rather than functional.
Flashing, Vents, and Penetrations
Every point where something passes through the roof, a plumbing vent, a chimney, a skylight, gets specific attention, since these are common leak points after hail even when the surrounding shingle field looks fine. Pipe boots in particular take hail impact poorly because the rubber or plastic collar is already a weaker material than the shingles around it, and a hit that only bruises a shingle can crack a boot outright.
We also check gutters and downspouts for hail dents and for debris that may have been knocked loose from trees during the same storm, since a gutter clogged from storm debris will hold water against the roof edge during the next rain even if the gutter itself took no direct hail damage.
Attic and Interior Check
If the exterior inspection turns up anything concerning, we recommend a quick look in the attic for daylight through the decking, water staining on rafters, or damp insulation, since these are the earliest interior signs of a roof breach before it ever reaches a ceiling. Catching a leak at this stage, before it stains drywall, is a meaningfully smaller repair than catching it after it has already come through.