Hail Damage on Your San Antonio Roof: What to Look For and What to Do Next

Why San Antonio and the Hill Country get so much hail

South-central Texas sits where warm, humid Gulf air meets drier air coming down off the Edwards Plateau. When they collide in spring, the thunderstorms that build along the I-35 corridor and across the Hill Country grow tall enough to freeze the moisture inside them into hail. Hail season here runs broadly from spring through early summer, though a strong cell can drop hail in any month.

That is why roofs in Bexar and Kendall County, from Converse and Leon Valley out to Helotes and Boerne, take a beating that flatter parts of the state do not, and why a roof with brittle shingles or unsealed flashing is the one that fails after the next round.

How to spot hail damage from the ground

You do not need to climb the roof to find the first clues. Hail that hit the shingles hit everything else on the property too. Walk the perimeter and look at:

• Gutters and downspouts. Dents along the top lip of the gutter and down the downspout are usually the clearest sign. Loose shingle granules inside the gutter mean the roof is shedding its protective surface.
• Soft metals. Roof vents, the chimney cap, the condenser fins, and the mailbox dimple before a shingle shows anything.
• Window screens, siding, and paint. Torn screens and chipped paint on one side of the house tell you which slopes took the worst of it.
• The ground. Broken shingle pieces, granule piles below downspouts, shredded leaves on one side of the yard.

Why the worst damage usually isn't visible from below

A hailstone rarely punches a hole in an asphalt shingle. It leaves a bruise: a soft spot where the granules were knocked loose and the fiberglass mat underneath fractured. From the driveway that looks like nothing; on the roof, an inspector finds it by thumb and by sighting across the slope in low light. Those bruises are what let water through over the following seasons, which is why “I looked and it seems fine” is not a reliable read.

What to do in the first 72 hours

1. Document everything before anyone touches it. Photograph gutters, vents, screens, and any hail on the ground next to something for scale. Note the date and time of the storm.
2. Stay off the roof. It is slick with loose granules, and a bruised shingle will not show you anything you can act on. Leave it to someone with a harness and a reason to be up there.
3. Tarp only if it is safe and necessary. If water is coming in, a tarp can limit interior damage, but only from a ladder you can set safely, never in wind or after dark. If in doubt, put a bucket under the leak and call.
4. Do not sign anything at the door. Storm-chasing crews work neighborhoods after every hail event. Take the paperwork inside, verify the company is licensed and insured in Texas, and call it back on your schedule.
5. Get a proper inspection. It tells you whether there is enough damage to justify a claim before you call your carrier, and it produces the photographs and hit counts you want when the adjuster arrives.

How a Texas homeowners insurance claim actually works

Every carrier has its own forms, but the sequence underneath is the same.

1. Inspection. A contractor photographs the damage and counts hail hits inside a marked test square on each slope, the same method adjusters use. Everything else is measured against this baseline.
2. Filing. You open the claim with your carrier and give them the storm date. You receive a claim number and, usually, an assigned adjuster.
3. The adjuster meeting. The carrier sends an adjuster to inspect the roof. Have your contractor there: a second set of eyes pointing out damage slope by slope is the most useful thing that happens in the whole process.
4. The scope. The adjuster writes an estimate, the scope, listing what the carrier agrees is damaged and what it will pay to put right. Your deductible applies against that figure.
5. Supplements. If the scope missed something, whether a slope, flashing, code-required components, or the cost of matching discontinued shingles, the contractor submits a supplement with photographs asking the carrier to revise it. This is normal and can run more than one round.

Why “partial replacement” approvals happen

A first scope often approves the slopes that faced the storm and denies the rest. Sometimes that is right. Often the adjuster counted fewer hits on the sheltered slopes and drew a line. But a roof is one system: mixing new shingles into old leaves two ages of material on one house, a visible color difference, and seams where they meet. A contractor who documents this, with per-slope hit counts, manufacturer information on discontinued shingles, and the applicable code requirements, can ask the carrier to reconsider. Whether the carrier agrees is up to the carrier. What a good contractor can promise is that the case gets made properly.

Laura's roof is the pattern in miniature: a partial approval, a documented case for why partial did not protect the house, and a revised scope. It is also why Dee goes to the adjuster meeting himself.

Repair or replace? How the decision is made

Not every hail-hit roof needs replacing, and a contractor who says otherwise before measuring is guessing. The decision turns on four things:

• Extent. A handful of bruised shingles on one slope is a repair. Hits across every slope is a replacement; patching a uniformly damaged roof only moves the next leak.
• Roof age. A young roof with modest damage can be repaired and serve its full life. An older roof already losing granules will not hold a patch well.
• Matching. Shingle colors and profiles get discontinued. If yours is no longer made, a repair means a visible patch, which is also part of the supplement case.
• Decking. Soft or delaminated decking has to come out regardless, and at that point a repair starts to approach the cost of doing the job once and properly.

We tell you which you need, in writing, with the photographs that show why. For what a full replacement involves, see our San Antonio roofing services page.

Why the contractor's certifications matter on a hail job

GAF and Owens Corning make the shingles on most roofs in Bexar County, and both run contractor programs. GAF Certified means GAF has vetted the contractor for licensing, insurance, and installation practice. Owens Corning Preferred Contractor is the equivalent standing with Owens Corning.

On an insurance job that matters: the carrier is paying to restore the roof to the manufacturer's specification, and the warranty depends on the installation meeting it. Apache Roofing & Construction holds both credentials, is licensed and insured in Texas, and carries a 5.0 rating on Google across 67 reviews. Ask which warranty fits your roof and we will show you the actual terms.

Hail damage questions we get in San Antonio