Four Basic Steps to Determine if your Shingle Roof Has Been Damaged by a Hail Storm

Hello everyone, I hope your weekend went well.  I went to see the new Bond movie with my brother Friday and last night I went to a west coast swing dancing class and social event.  Other than that, I’ve been doing my usual stuff like working out and my job inspecting buildings.  Today, I’ve decided to write a blog post explaining four basic steps to determine whether a composition shingle roof has been damaged by a hail storm and quantify the extent of damages.  I’ve avoided this topic for two reasons: one is that there is a lot of information out there about this already, and the second is that it takes some prior experience to make an accurate assessment.  However, it is one major component of my job and I feel like I can provide some practical information that will help you should you need it.

1) Look for spatter marks on surrounding surfaces (http://goo.gl/COQH3i)

Spatter marks serve as a indicator of the size and direction of the recent hail.  The size of the spatter can be compared to the impact marks elsewhere to determine the extent of recent damage.  The directionality can be determined as well by figuring out which directional faces have or do not have spatter.  In addition, spatter will fade over time – this can differentiate between different ages of spatter marks within a recent time period in most cases.

2) Look for impact marks at susceptible surfaces (http://goo.gl/m15Wmc)

Impact marks can also be observed on some metal and wood surfaces.  Air-conditioning units are a good indicator due to the fact that they have 4 sides and metal/coil fins that are either soft or oxidized.  Spatter can be observed as mentioned before, as well as indentations.  Furthermore, the indentations can be examined to check for soiling, oxidation, or other forms of staining to determine the relative age of the older indentations.

3) Look at the general condition of the roof (http://goo.gl/7p5Yul)

The general condition of the roof will also affect the extent of hail damage.  Examples of other things that damage shingles aside from hail are general weathering, mechanical scrapes, blistered asphalt, and raised nails.  A roof with a worse general condition will be more susceptible to damage and could reduce the compensation should you involve the insurance company, similar in practice to automobile insurance compensation.

4) Look for hail impact marks and examine their condition/quantity (http://goo.gl/2nguV8)

The last step is to look for hail impact marks on the shingles.  Sometimes a relative age can be determined by checking for weathering of the reinforcement or asphalt within the exposed asphalt/shingle reinforcement.  To quantify the extent of damage, you can count the number of recent and/or old hail impact marks, as well as other general conditions if desired, withing a 10′ x 10′ square.  This is referred to as a test square by engineers and inspectors in the roofing business and is helpful information when estimating the cost of various types of repairs.

These 4 steps are the basic process I use to determine the extent of damage to a shingle roof.  Does anyone else have experience in roof inspections?  If so, what would you add to this list as a basic procedure?  For homeowners, have you had to deal with an issue like this before and how was the experience?  If you enjoyed my post, hit the like button, follow my blog for updates and share this post with your friends.  Thanks for reading and have a good week!

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4 Steps for Selecting a New Goal

Hello everyone, I hope you have been doing well in my absence.  I’ve gotten side-tracked lately with work and other stuff, but I’m going to try and get into blogging again – hopefully it will stick this time.  Today, I would like to talk about the process I like to use for determining whether I should set a new goal in current or new interest. There is a lot of advice about how to make a goal SMART: specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. However, advice on determining what your new goals should be is not discussed as often.  Hopefully, by following these 4 steps, you can increase your engagement in achieving new goals.

1. Determine whether or not the goal will remain compelling
If you’re like me, you try a lot of different things because you like the new experiences.  However, not all of them will necessarily be something that engages you over a long time period.  Something that is just a for-fun, random experience might be not be a good candidate for a new goal until you try it more often.

2. Determine what some possible end results would be
Try and imagine what the end result would look like. It might sound cool; but if you take some time consider how the end goal fits with your overall life plan, it helps you figure out if this goal is something you truly want to pursue.

3. Determine how much time you want spend achieving this goal and how much time it would take to actually do so
By determining how much time is required on a base level, you can determine if you realistically have the time or want to spend the time achieving this goal.  This goal could be a great idea until now, but the time required might not be practical.

4. Determine if this is something you would like to achieve in comparison to some of your other interests
Compare all of the above to current and new goal requirements. If it makes it past the steps above and any new or current goals don’t similarly conflict with it, you should consider setting up a concrete plan for completion.

The above steps are a basic process I use for determining new goals that I have found really helpful.  Especially since I have this desire to be good at everything and that is not practical on any level.  Hopefully, this helps you in determining good goals in the coming months.

Do y’all have any thoughts on these steps? And do y’all use a process like this for selecting goals? If yes, what is the process?  If you enjoyed my post, hit the like button, follow my blog for updates and share this post with your friends.  Thanks for reading and have a good week!