What we do, and what stays with you
We inspect and document. Every slope walked, every impact point photographed and dated, plus the collateral evidence that supports it — dented gutters, downspouts, air conditioner fins, window screens. Then an itemised written estimate: materials, labour, timeline, line by line.
The claim stays yours. We do not negotiate, adjust or settle with your carrier — a Texas roofing contractor is not permitted to act as a public adjuster on a job they are contracted to perform. What we give you is the evidence file, which is what carriers respond to. A phone call describing a bad roof is not evidence; forty dated photographs and a scope of work are.
If somebody offers to handle the entire claim for you, or to cover your deductible, that is a reason to get another opinion rather than a reason to relax.
What we are actually looking for
Hail damage on a modern architectural shingle rarely looks like damage. The four signatures:
- Bruising — the stone crushes the mat under the surface, leaving a spot that feels soft. Found by hand, not by eye, and the one most commonly missed.
- Circular granule loss — scattered round spots of exposed asphalt. The randomness is what separates it from even age wear.
- Cracks and splits — more common on older or brittle shingle, which is why older Garland neighbourhoods see more outright failure.
- Dented metal — vents, valley metal, flashing and ridge caps record the storm the way your gutters do.
Damage is also directional. North Texas storms mostly track from the south and west, so those slopes take it while the street-facing side can be untouched. An inspection that only looked at the front looked at the wrong side.
If there is active water coming in
Send the request now rather than waiting. Emergency tarping stops further interior damage and, just as importantly, stops the claim growing into your drywall, insulation and flooring while you wait for an appointment.
Meanwhile, inside: move what you can out from under it, put a bucket down, and if a ceiling is bulging with trapped water, pierce it deliberately at the lowest point to drain it in one place rather than letting the whole section come down. Photograph everything before you clean anything up — that is claim evidence.
Do not get on the roof in or after a storm.
How long you have to file
Texas policies generally measure the filing window from the date of the storm rather than from the date you noticed the damage, though the exact term varies by carrier and policy. In practice, spring hail is very often still claimable months later.
What weakens a late claim is not the calendar so much as the record. Once subsequent weather has passed over the same roof it becomes harder to attribute damage to a specific event. Getting it documented now costs nothing and either supports a claim or proves the roof was sound.
More detail in our guide to roof insurance coverage in Texas, including how ACV and RCV differ and why your hail deductible is probably a percentage.