Storm Damage Roof Checklist for Fort Collins Homeowners
The afternoon cells that build over the foothills and roll east across Fort Collins between May and August don't announce themselves much. Twenty minutes of hail, a yard full of shredded cottonwood leaves, and by dinner the sun is out and there's a truck with out-of-state plates idling at the end of the street. What you do in the next 48 hours decides whether you end up with a roof paid for by your insurer or a denied claim and a contract you can't get out of. Here's the checklist.
Before you look at the roof
Stay off it. Bruised shingles can't be seen from the ground and are hard to see from a ladder. There's nothing you'll learn up there that's worth a fall, and hail-loosened granules on a wet slope are like ball bearings.
Photograph the ground evidence while it's fresh. Hailstones on the lawn next to a tape measure or a coin. Dents in the gutters and downspouts. Torn window screens. Splatter marks on the fence and the siding. Chips out of the deck stain. Dings in the car. Note the time and date. This is the evidence that hail of a damaging size fell on your property, and it fades fast — stones melt, and the neighbors' roofs get replaced.
What to check from the ground
Walk the house with a pair of binoculars.
- Gutters and downspouts: dents the size of a fingertip or larger mean hail of an inch or more, which is what bruises shingles
- Roof vents, turtle vents, and the furnace flue cap: soft aluminum, dents show clearly
- Ridge caps: cracked or missing caps, or pieces on the lawn
- Granules: piles at the bottom of downspouts and in the splash blocks. Some granule loss after any storm is normal on an older roof; a lot of it is a sign the mat took hits
- The AC condenser: bent fins on the side that faced the storm
- Windward slope: the wind ahead of a hail cell comes from the west or northwest here, so the slopes facing that way get the most hail and any creased or lifted shingles from the gust front
What to check in the attic
If it rained hard after the hail, go into the attic with a flashlight and look for fresh wet spots on the underside of the decking, especially around pipe penetrations and in valleys. Hail that cracks a shingle through can leak the same day; bruising usually doesn't leak until the exposed asphalt weathers open over a year or two. Our post on finding a leak from inside shows what to look for.
Get an inspection before you call the insurer
This is the step most people skip. An insurance claim goes on your record whether it's paid or not, and a claim for damage that turns out to be wear is the worst outcome — nothing paid, and a mark against the house. So have a roofer walk the roof first. A real inspection chalks a 10-by-10-foot test square on each slope and counts hits; eight or more bruises in a square is generally a replacement for that slope. If the roof is only scuffed, we'll tell you, and you'll have photos on file in case it leaks later.
If it's a claim
- Call your insurer with the photos and the inspection report. Get the claim number and the adjuster's name.
- Meet the adjuster with your roofer present. The chalk marks and the report are what keep a slope from being missed.
- Read your declarations page. Many Colorado policies now carry a separate wind-and-hail deductible of 1–2 percent of the dwelling value, and a growing number pay actual cash value rather than replacement cost on roofs over 15 years. Know your number before the estimate arrives.
- Get the scope in writing and compare it to the roofer's. If the adjuster left off ice-and-water shield or a slope, request a re-inspection with the documentation in hand.
The hail damage and claims page walks through the whole process.
What not to do
Don't sign anything on the doorstep. The crews working Harmony Road and Timberline the morning after a storm carry contingency agreements and assignments of benefits. A contingency agreement locks you into that company if the claim is approved, before you've seen a price or checked a license.
Don't accept a deductible offer. Colorado's Residential Roofing Bill of Rights makes it illegal for a roofer to pay, waive or rebate any part of your deductible. Anyone offering is planning to inflate the invoice, and the claim can be denied if the insurer catches it.
Don't let anyone on the roof who won't show a City of Fort Collins contractor license and an insurance certificate. Colorado has no state roofing license, so the city license is the check. Our post on questions to ask a roofing contractor has the full list.
Don't wait until spring. Bruises weather and become harder to attribute to a specific storm, and many policies limit hail claims to a year. Get the inspection within a few weeks.
If water is coming in right now
Put a bucket under it, poke a small hole in a bulging ceiling to let the water out in a controlled way, shut off any circuit with a wet fixture, and call. Emergency tarping runs $300–$700 and is almost always covered as mitigation under the claim. Keep the receipt.
Need roof work in Fort Collins?
Call for a free estimate. Mon–Sat 7am–7pm.