What should I do before the inspection?
Keep people and pets away from loose debris, photograph what you can see from the ground, and avoid touching or moving damaged material. Place a tarp or bucket over any active drip, but do not climb onto the roof to do it.
Photographs taken before any cleanup are the most useful record you can keep. Shoot each side of the house, the gutters, the downspouts and any damage inside. Include the date and a rough sense of where each photograph was taken.
Do not remove a fallen limb from the roof yourself if it is large or near a power line. Call the utility if there is any risk to the wires, and let a technician advise on the roof once the limb is safe to handle.
What does a storm report record?
A storm report records each item of damage with a photograph, a location and a short description, along with the date of the inspection and the temporary steps taken. It separates what the storm did from what was already worn, where the difference can be seen.
The report is written in plain terms so a reader can follow it without a roofing background. Each finding names the part of the roof, what was seen and what was done to protect it, so the homeowner can see the whole picture.
Ask for a copy of the report and keep it with the homeowner's policy. If the damage is later discussed with an insurer, a dated record made soon after the storm is the strongest starting point.
How does the homeowner's insurance affect the inspection?
The homeowner's policy and the insurer decide what is covered and how a claim is handled. The roofer documents the damage and does the repair, but does not decide whether a claim is paid.
A standard homeowner policy generally responds to sudden storm damage, and it generally excludes wear and gradual deterioration. The wording of each policy decides the answer for a particular loss, so the policy should be read with care.
The inspection report is written without any promise about the outcome of a claim. It records what was seen and when, and it lets the homeowner and the insurer each form their own view of the damage.
What temporary steps are reasonable before a permanent repair?
Reasonable steps include a temporary cover over an opening, buckets under drips and moving belongings away from the water. These steps protect the roof and the house from further damage while the permanent repair is planned.
A temporary cover should be fixed securely and checked after each wind or rain event. A cover that comes loose can cause more damage to the decking and the shingles around it.
Keep a record of each temporary step, with the date, the materials used and the photographs. Ask the technician whether the permanent repair should wait for the insurer's inspection, and follow that advice before replacing damaged material.
How long after a storm should the roof be checked?
A roof should be checked as soon as it is safe to do so after a storm, because water can enter through a new opening and the damage grows with each rain or thaw. Waiting for a dry day to look at it is reasonable, but not waiting for weeks.
The timing depends on the damage. A torn section that exposes the decking should be covered at once, while a few loose shingles can be checked after the weather settles. A technician can say which applies to your roof.
A check after the first thaw or the next heavy rain is also useful. Water that did not show at first may appear once the wood is wet, and the second look often finds the damage the first one missed.
