Does Your Torrance Home Have Hidden Signs of Storm Damage?

9/9/2020 (Permalink)

This is what your roof could look like if unchecked year after year, storm after storm. Call SERVPRO to instill confidence in your home's condition.

Most people don’t give a second thought to their roof once it is installed. Until and unless they see signs of damage inside the house, they don’t call a roofer for maintenance. When it comes to storm damage, sometimes the aftereffects are not that visible. Therefore, you don’t inspect the roof and focus more on the visible damage the storm left behind.

Perhaps this is the biggest mistake because storm damage signs are not always visible. As you can guess, most of the damage is caused to the roof. A missing shingle or a fallen tree limb are signs that you can easily spot, but then there are the missing granules, lifting shingles, and dented gutters that you always miss. Even if the storm had no power in it and consisted of light rain, it still warrants a check.

Following are the hidden storm damage signs that you should watch out for:

Wind Damage

Some signs of wind damage are hard to detect, while others are impossible to spot. Here’s what you need to look for:

• Shingles that are stressed, cracked, or lifted
• Splits, chips, and cracks in siding
• Chipping paint
• Dings and dents from debris

Due to excessive wind damage, you are left with a structurally compromised house that needs repairing.

Hail Damage

When exploring hail damage, you probably look for signs such as dents and dings. Depending on the severity of the issue, these damage signs are at the top if the list. However, you should also look for the following:

• Cracked shingles or ones that have been lifted from their place
• Granules piled near the drain spot. This means that the roof has lost its protective layer that prevents heat buildup from the UV rays
• Cracks in the siding’s fiber cement (chips are easily visible if you view the siding from the ground)
• Chipped paint beside the windows
• Dented screens or cracked window castings
• Debris from the roof stuck in the gutter, which can cause water to accumulate on the surface and slowly seep underneath the shingles (this kind of damage takes time to become visible, which is why it is important to clean the gutters first thing after a hail storm)

Water Damage

The trickiest of them all is water damage, which leaves a path of destruction in its wake. The water slowly seeps from the roof and into the walls. It destroys the insulation and causes damp patches on the ceiling. This leads to mold and that is when you spot the damage. Here’s what you need to look for:

• Swollen or soggy wood
• The slightest discoloration on ceilings and any other surface
• A musty smell

And this is how you spot damage cause by storms. For professional storm damage services, contact SERVPRO. We offer 24/7 emergency restoration services.