In Denver, CO hail storms cause untold damage to shingles on roofs. After any such storm, it’s important to check to see if you need any roof repairs. Hail damage can cause shingles to become loose or damaged and need to be repaired or replaced as soon as possible to prevent further damage.
When to Make Roof Repairs
It is important to time inspections and roof repairs carefully. It can be dangerous to go up onto a roof top in poor weather, because you may slip. You may want to wait for a sunny day to climb on and inspect your roof for hail damage.
Weather to avoid includes:
- Icy conditions
- Rain
- Hail
Climbing on top of a roof after a hail storm can be dangerous and so wait for a day when the sun is shining and the roof is dry. You may also want to call for a professional roof repair crew to go on your roof for you.
Repairing Cracked Shingles
Hail damage often leaves your shingles cracked. There’s often no need to replace the whole shingle, if you can fix the damaged area. The only thing you need to do is to use roofing sealant instead of a full roof repair.
Apply a thick layer of roofing sealant under the damage and spread with a putty knife. Once repaired, all you need to do is to hide the repair by gathering colored granules that can be found in the gutter.
Things you need to repair damaged shingles include:
- Roofing sealant
- Putty knife
- Colored granules to hide the roof repair
Replacing Damaged Tiles
There are times when a hail storm leaves shingles so damaged that they can’t be repaired. It’s easier to replace a few shingles that have become damaged in a hail storm than to carry out a complete roof repair.
If you have no shingles left from when your roof was last repaired, your local home centre should carry the right ones at a reasonable price. Once you have some shingles you can begin prying the old damaged ones out.
In order to pry a damaged shingle out you need to first remove the first row of nails in the shingle above the damaged one. Once you lift this shingle, you will see the first row of nails in the damaged shingle.
Using a pry bar, gently lift the damaged shingle. The nails should pop out easily. Gently pry all other nails out the same way. Once the nails are out you should be able to slip the damaged shingle free. Replace this with a new shingle and then nail into place.
Things you need to replace damaged shingles include:
- New replacement shingles
- Pry bar
- Roofing nails
Professional Roof Repair
Why take the risks of fixing hail damage yourself? If you aren’t a roof repair professional, then for safety reasons, you should consider calling for a professional to do this for you, after a bad hail storm. We serve Denver, CO.
