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After a Texas storm: what to check, and in what order
What is worth looking at from the ground after wind or hail, what needs somebody up there, and how not to get taken by a door knocker.
We get storms that do real damage and we get storms that look worse than they were. After a bad one, the useful thing is to know what to look at, in what order, before deciding whether anything needs doing at all.
From the ground, the same day
- Walk the perimeter and look for shingle pieces, granules washed into a pile at the bottom of a downspout, or bits of siding or trim in the yard.
- Look up at the roofline from a distance. Lifted or missing shingles and a displaced ridge cap are usually visible from the ground.
- Check the chimney chase and any siding on gables — wind gets under edges and lifts them before it takes anything off.
- Look at gutters for dents and for sections pulled loose.
- Then go inside and look at ceilings, especially in corners and around any penetration. A stain that was not there yesterday is the thing that matters most.
What actually needs somebody up there
Anything you can only half see, and anything at all if there is a stain indoors. Damage that matters is often small and in an awkward place — a lifted edge, a torn boot around a vent, flashing that has moved where the roof meets a wall. None of that is visible from the driveway.
I do not want you on the roof after a storm. Wet shingles, loose debris and damaged decking are how people get hurt, and the inspection is the cheap part of this.
Door knockers
After every significant storm, crews show up in the neighbourhood offering free inspections. Some are perfectly legitimate. The ones to be careful with have a pattern:
- They found serious damage in five minutes, from the ground, on a house they have never seen before.
- They want you to sign something today, and it is framed as authorising an inspection rather than authorising work.
- They offer to handle your insurance claim for you, or to make the deductible disappear. That last one is not a favour to you.
- They cannot give you a local address, and the vehicle is from several states away.
You are allowed to say no and get somebody local to look. Real damage will still be there tomorrow, and a repair done in a hurry by somebody you cannot find afterwards is worse than the leak.
Related: Roofing & Siding
More from the blog
- How I price a job, and why I won't guess over the phone
- The new-build punch list your builder never came back for
- Is your shower failing, or just ugly?
- Before you call anyone: the photos to send
- One visit or three? How to group a punch list
- Drywall cracks: which ones matter and which ones don't
- Why a texture repair shows, and how matching actually works
- Choosing flooring that survives a Central Texas house
- Gutters: what they are actually protecting, and when to clean them
- Cabinets: reface, repaint, or replace?
- Interior painting: the preparation is the job
- Building outdoors in this sun: what actually lasts
Ready to get that list handled?
Send a few photos and I'll tell you what it takes. Free written estimates across Leander, Cedar Park, Georgetown, Round Rock and the towns nearby.