Hailstorm Talk
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Roofguy
Hail season is right around the corner. I use this free site to keep track of who got what hail: http://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/
The growing trend is for one engineering firm (who shall remain nameless, for now) to dictate what size hail it takes to damage a commercial roof. Insurance companies then use their "It takes at least 2" hail to damage a commercial roof" statements in order to deny legitimate hail claims.
The truth is that it's a lot more complicated than that. If the hail is hard, oblong, or jagged, a smaller stone can puncture membranes. If the stone is rifled by high winds, it can blast through base-flashings that otherwise would withstand the impact. I saw nearly every roof in Spur, Texas receive severe damage from just nickel sized hail - because the freak hail hit in February when 40 degree temp meant the BUR roofs were very brittle.
So, when the adjuster rolls out stats from an engineering firm to "claim" there can be no damage because the hail was only golfball sized, he may be attampting to deny a legitimate claim.
fayetteroofing
Interesting. I've used that website with great success. Sometimes I even print the maps and show them to customers who are skeptical that hail hit their area. Just a tip :)
Roofguy
We're working on tests that will demonstrate that there can be no size-based standard for determining hail damage to a commercial roof. No adjuster should turn down a hail damaged roof claim based solely on the size of the hail in the area.
The tests are intended to provide ammo to roofers when an adjuster uses an engineer's opinion that 2" hail is required to damage commercial roofs. The information will be free to all roofing contractors.
