What happens during a roof inspection for hail damage?
Short answer. A hail damage roof inspection checks every slope for bruises, granule loss and fractured mats on the shingles, marks hits with chalk, and often counts them in 10 by 10 foot test squares the way insurance adjusters do. It also documents dents on soft metals like vents, gutters and flashing, which help confirm hail size and the storm's direction.
Step 1: Collateral damage
Inspectors start on the ground with gutters, downspouts, window screens, the air conditioner, fences and mailboxes. Dents and spatter marks show the hail's size and the direction the storm came from, which tells them which slopes to examine most closely.
Step 2: Soft metals on the roof
Vents, flashing, ridge vents and chimney caps dent easily. The size and spacing of those dents corroborate what the shingles show.
Step 3: The shingles
- Each slope is examined by hand and eye. A hail hit is a random spot with missing granules and a soft or fractured center that feels spongy when pressed.
- Hits are circled in chalk so they show in photos.
- Many inspectors lay out a test square, commonly 10 by 10 feet, on each directional slope and count hits inside it, the same method adjusters use. How many hits a carrier considers enough varies.
Telling hail from other damage
- Blisters are raised bumps from trapped gases, often in clusters.
- Foot scuffs follow walking paths.
- Normal wear shows as even granule loss, not random impacts.
- Manufacturing marks repeat in a pattern.
Step 4: The report
You should get photos of each slope, the test squares, close-ups of hits and collateral damage, and the storm date. That report is the backbone of a claim. More in test squares and hail damage, storm history on the North Georgia Hail Map, and the seasonal pattern in Georgia hail season.