How to Check Your Roof for Storm Damage After a Lowcountry Storm

The ten minute walk around

Start in the yard and circle the house slowly. You are looking for anything that was not there before the storm.

• Shingles in the yard. The most obvious sign. Even one shingle on the ground means an open spot on the roof.
• Lifted or creased shingle tabs. Look along the ridge and the edges. Wind peels shingles up and creases them even when it does not tear them off. Creased shingles look like a flap that sits slightly proud of its neighbors.
• Missing ridge caps. The shingles along the peak take the most wind. Gaps up there let water straight in.
• Granules in the gutters and downspout splash areas. A pile of what looks like coarse black sand means shingles took a beating, often from hail.
• Bent or detached flashing. Check around the chimney and where the roof meets walls.
• Fence and yard clues. If the storm moved your patio furniture or leaned your fence, it was strong enough to lift shingle tabs.

Then check the attic

Grab a flashlight and go up on a sunny day if you can. Daylight showing through the decking means a hole. Dark water stains, damp insulation, or a musty smell that was not there before all point at water finding a way in. Small leaks in the attic can run along rafters and show up on a ceiling ten feet away from the actual entry point, so a stain anywhere is worth taking seriously.

What hail damage looks like here

Hail in the Lowcountry is usually small, but even dime size hail bruises shingles. From the ground you might see dented gutters, dinged downspouts, or pockmarks on soft metals like the mailbox and AC fins. If the metal around your house took hits, the roof did too. Hail bruises break the granule surface and the shingle fails early, sometimes a year or two later, which is why insurers treat hail seriously.

When to call someone

If you found anything on the list above, get a professional inspection before the next rain, not after. A tarp or a temporary patch costs little. A soaked ceiling costs a lot.

We do free storm inspections across Summerville, Charleston, and the tri-county area, and we document everything with photos you can hand straight to your insurance company. If the damage is real, we will help you work through the claim. If it is not, we will tell you that too and you keep the photo report either way. Details on how we handle storms are on our storm response page, or call or text 843.252.4610.