What Should I Do with Hail Damage on My Siding?

Hail can be a very dangerous thing for a home. Not only can it harm the roof or any objects in your driveway, but it can also impact your siding. Some people may not realize that they have hail damage on their siding.

So how can you tell? Below are some helpful tips on how to know if you have hail damage. Read on to find out what to do if you do indeed have damage from hail to your siding.

Why Is It So Important to Know?

When there’s a bad storm, people tend to look and focus on the obvious damage. When a torrential downpour causes the roof to start leaking, people may start to call their insurance companies or want to file a loss.

What they may not realize is that the roof wasn’t the only part of the house to be damaged. If the roof took a beating, chances are that other parts such as the siding were also impacted.

If you call your insurance company to file a homeowners’ claim, you’ll want to mention any and all possible parts of the home that were damaged. One of the biggest mistakes homeowners make is that they only discuss a part of the damage.

When the assessor comes to look at the damage, they only go off of what has been told to them. Whereas you could get your siding fixed, now you may not be able to if you didn’t mention possible hail damage.

In the event of an insurance claim, it’s best to have done a thorough look at the exterior and interior of the home and to know for sure if there are any problems that have come up with the siding.

What Will Effect My Ability to See Damage?

At first, you may not even know if you have any damage to your siding. For example, some hail damage, or any damage caused by weather for that matter, can be invisible to the untrained eye. It also may be less visible at certain times of day, depending on the light from the sun.

If you’re unsure whether or not hail or bad weather has affected your siding, you can take a look around the perimeter of your home during early evening or midday when the sun won’t be too bright that it casts shadows on the house, and when there is still enough light to be able to get a good glimpse.

Another factor that will greatly impact whether or not you have damage, and if you can see it, is the type of siding you have. Unfortunately, aluminum siding can be the easiest to be damaged.

Aluminum has certain advantages such as being super resistant to bending and cracking. Certain types of siding like wood will be affected by temperature changes. Aluminum on the other hand doesn’t have that problem.

However, it is highly susceptible to being damaged such as being dented. Kids playing with a ball, for example, can easily cause a dent in the siding. It goes without saying then that hail could cause some serious problems for aluminum siding. A ball hitting the side of your house is just one point of impact. Hail is more like a thousand small points of pressure slamming your siding.

Other types of siding material such as vinyl may show holes or puncture marks where the hail has hit. This is a given way to be able to tell that there is damage, but remember that just because you don’t see any problems doesn’t mean that hail hasn’t hurt your siding.

If there are any small holes, you’ll want to address the problem right away since it can cause water to seep into your home. Water damage or water that comes through broken siding panels can result in mold and cause structural problems to your home.

Another way to spot hail damage is to look for chipped paint. Aluminum hail damage tends to be easier to spot, but any material can show chipped paint spots from hail. To make it a little bit easier to check out, you can spray the siding with a hose. The water on the siding will reflect any damage that is present.

What to Do If You Have Damage to Your Siding from Hail?

If you do happen to notice damage, there are a few steps you can take. The first thing you should do is a thorough assessment of the house, roof and siding. It can be more helpful to get an assessment of the repairs needed if you have more than one area to be fixed.

In the event that you do have damage to both the roof and siding, which is likely, the best place to go would be a company that specializes in both the roof and siding as opposed to just one. Be sure to ask for referrals. You want to be able to go to a reputable company that specializes in weather damaged siding.

If you are unable to see any actual damage, it is worth it to contact an experienced contractor who can look around and check to see if any damage is present. They would have the knowledge and training needed to detect siding damage that an inexperienced person may not be able to see. They may also have a connection to a company that can help fix your siding for a good price.

One thing that you do not want to do is to leave it untouched. If there are any holes or cracks from the hail, water can seep through and cause moisture to get into the siding. This can then result in damage to the house.

Each time a storm comes through, your house’s structural integrity will be threatened. One crack can lead to even more cracks.

You also want to avoid trying to fix siding yourself if you have no experience. Certain types of siding can perhaps be fixed with specialized tools and good know-how, but other types of siding such as vinyl often need to have the entire panel fixed.

An untrained person will have problems figuring out how to remove and fix the panel, so it’s best to allow a siding professional to do it.

Hail, rain, snow, sleet and any other weather related problems can be true hazards for homeowners. Sometimes it is obvious when parts of the home have been damaged; other times, it can be truly difficult to tell.

If you feel that you have had damage to your siding from hail, contact a contractor or take a good look using our tips so that you can get help fixing your siding to being as functional and visually appealing as before.

Go with the Midwest’s Best For Siding Replacement

In such a case where you need to replace a section of siding or your entire home, you can trust Feldco for the best product and service in the Midwest. Our high quality vinyl siding is impact resistant and will stand the test of time.

Get a free quote today and join the over 400,000 homeowners who’ve trusted us with their home improvement projects.