Slate Roof Hail Damage

Slate tiles may be punctured cracked or broken by hail.

Slate roof hail damage. Note the aluminum vent above. Original slate was poor quality the installation was a side lap single layer of slate and the size of the hailstones. Shingles might be the trickiest type of roof to assess for hail damage. But metal clay and slate roofing can also be difficult.

On june 6 2018 hailstones the size of baseballs hit parts of north texas from carrollton to coppell to arlington with significant property damage. However there are a number of factors that could cause damage such as. Because slate is a sedimentary stone composed of layers hail damage may appear as a slate with a portion of layers missing. In this episode of the build show we made an ice cannon to simulate hail hitting a roof.

Clay and slate roofs will usually have cracks or gouges when the stones hit while metal roof repair will show dents from the impact of the hailstones. Any of these conditions could be deemed functional damage if the damage is serious enough. We shot ice at four roof samples. It has been beat to death by the hail but only a few of the slates have been damaged.

Hail is frozen water propelled through the air by the force of wind and gravity and it can damage a slate roof upon impact. In most cases slate roof tiles are resistant to hail damage and other impact damage. Because seamless gutters are frequently feature aluminum or copper construction the signs of hail damage include telltale denting. Clay slate roofing will have cracks and or gouges and metal roofing will have impact dents like we saw on the gutters at the beginning.

This condition would be considered functional damage only if it were severe. If your roof contains one layer of common asphalt shingles it usually takes a 1 or above diameter hail stoneto cause damage roof hail damage. Gutters are also susceptible to hail damage. Hail damage is primarily displayed as holes with sharp edges in the slate although it can include slates with broken corners or edges.

Roofs with multiple shingle layers may be damaged by smaller hail stones due to a softer support surface directly under the top shingle layer. Hail is a powerful force of nature that can even damage roofs made with concrete tiles if the stones are large enough and wind speeds are high. In general slates can be perforated by objects either from inside or outside a roof. However there are some guidelines.

Metal roofing is one of the easiest to spot for hail damage. Another common source of slate roof damage around a chimney is wear and movement caused by flashing leaks and in freezing climates frost. Later when the building sagged settled or moved the framing pulls away from the chimney causing damage to the roofing slates and flashing and leading to leaks in this area. Here are some examples of hail damage on a metal roof.