Protecting Roofs from Hail Damage

By SureCoat Systems.

Helpful information to share with your customers to keep their roofs safe when hail strikes.  

Hail can occur at any time, no matter what the season is. According to NOAA’s Severe Storms database, there were 5,382 major hail storms in just 2019. And in 2018, $810 million in property and crop damage was caused by the 4,610 major hail storms. 

More than 10.7 million properties in the United States were affected by one or more damaging hail events in 2017 according to Verisk Estimates.

Hail pellets can vary from pea size to seven inches in diameter and anything larger than 1-3/4” has the potential to inflict significant damage. All too often, roofs sustain severe damage during a hail storm but owners and building occupants won’t realize any damage has occurred until the roof is beginning to leak due to latent damage.

Hail damage to buildings can be seen mostly on the roof and windows, so it’s imperative that you inform your customers to check them when the hailstorm passes. Up to 30% of hail claims are dated wrongly for their loss, considering that the damage has been noticed and claims were filed much later (up to one year) following the actual damaging hailstorm.

Keep in mind that often the damage appears to be on the surface and many property owners may think it’s cosmetic, but hail damage can reduce the lifespan of a roof and harm its water shedding capabilities even when it doesn’t look like much.

When replacing your customers roofs, encourage them to use hail-resistant roofing products. The insurance industry has an Underwriters Laboratory standard ranking, the UL 2218 standard. The standard has four impact-level designations that will help you compare products. Roof coverings that show the most resistance earn a Class 4 rating; the least, a Class 1 rating.

A great roofing solution is a high-strength, fully reinforced liquid applied system. A benefit of these fully reinforced systems is that small hail will not damage the system because of its elasticity. Although large hailstones may damage it, the upside is that coated roofs can be easily repaired with another coat over the damaged area. This makes liquid applied systems a welcomed system by many insurance companies.

The SureCoat Roof System is a high-strength, fully reinforced liquid applied system that has been engineered with the highest-grade raw materials and cross-linked resins to provide increased durability and elasticity protecting against the toughest ponding water, high winds and debris. It can be used to repair all levels of damage on metal roofs, built-up roofs, SPF, PVC, TPO, EPDM, Hypalon and other single-ply membranes.

The SureCoat Roof System has a perfected elongation of 400%, sustains an elongation of 160% at freezing and has an advanced tensile strength of 2800 psi. ASTM weathered testing results did not show any signs of cracking, splitting, separation or rupture when under examination; magnified ten times through ASTM hail resistance testing which meets or exceeds FM standards.

On top of all that the SureCoat Roof System has saved clients thousands of dollars on roof repairs and restorations, a great example, we ended up helping a client save about $200,000 with no tear off or replacement necessary.

If budget is a concern for your customers, have them tackle their most vulnerable areas and work on the roof in sections, doing patches, repairs or a partial roof project that is proven to protect against further damage, ultimately saving time and money for your customer and their insurance company.

All in all, SureCoat Systems can be applied to hundreds of roofs all across the country where hail storms are common. Our coatings ability to remain flexible, durable and resist damage from future hail storms can be translated into huge savings for building owners.

Learn more about SureCoat Systems in their RoofersCoffeeShop Directory.

Original article source: SureCoat Systems