Freezing Rain Is a Storm Too, and It Marks the Roof Differently

A freezing rain storm does not look like a hail storm once the ice melts, and that difference decides what you photograph first. Hail leaves round dents and bruised granules on soft metal. Freezing rain leaves a glaze on everything it touches, and then the damage shows up in what the glaze weighed down. St. Louis gets freezing rain in some winters, usually when warm air rides over a layer of below-freezing air near the ground. The damage tends to appear in the days after the surface thaws, which is why a walk the morning after the ice looks different from a walk a week later.

Why the glaze matters more than the rain

Water that freezes on contact adds weight in a way that ordinary rain and light snow do not. Even a thin glaze can be enough to split a tree limb, and the same weight sitting on a gutter run, a ridge cap or a porch roof loads hangers and fasteners that were sized for rain and some snow. You cannot see that load while it is happening, but you can see what it leaves behind: a gutter pitched the wrong way, a hanger pulled out of the fascia, a limb lying across the shingles.

Gutters and downspouts come first

After the thaw, walk the gutter line from the ground with a phone camera. Look for sags that show as a low spot between two hangers, gaps where the trough has separated from the fascia, and downspouts that have split at a joint. Ice inside a downspout can crack the seam at an elbow, and a split seam may not leak until the next heavy rain. Note where the water now comes out at ground level. A gutter that dumps at the wrong point can send water against the foundation wall, and that is a repair the roof bid should name even if the roof itself is sound.

Shingles and the eave after a glaze

Ice that sits on shingles for several days can work under the edges, especially at the eave where the roof is coldest and the drip edge is exposed. Look for tabs that lift at the bottom course, granules collected in the gutter in a new pattern, and any ice that stayed in a band along the eave after the rest of the roof cleared. Ice dams form when melt water runs down the slope and refreezes at the edge, and freezing rain can start that cycle at the first thaw. A water stain on an interior ceiling below the eave is worth checking the same day, because the stain may be the only sign that water has already passed the shingles.

Limbs, wires and the roof edge

Look at the trees over the house before you look at the shingles. A limb that came down onto a roof is a separate repair from the glaze, and where it landed matters. A limb on a valley, a ridge or a dormer can crack a deck board as well as tear the shingles around it. Keep clear of any line that is down or hanging low. Utility crews handle the wire, and the roof repair waits until the crew says the area is safe to work. Do not climb a glazed roof or a ladder set on ice to see the damage up close, because the photos from the ground will carry most of what an inspector needs at this stage.

What to photograph before and after the ice melts

Photograph during the glaze if you can do it safely from the ground, and again after the thaw. The two sets show different things. Shoot each gutter run from both ends, each downspout where it meets the ground, and the eave line from the yard at a low angle so that any sag shows against the fascia. Take wide shots of the roof from each side, then close shots of any lifted tab or split joint, with a tape measure or a coin in the frame so the scale is clear. Keep the original files with their date stamps. A photo that has been cropped or edited is harder to rely on later, so keep the first version untouched and make any copies from it.

What Missouri law leaves to you

If your insurer is involved, the claim is between you and your insurer. Missouri law (RSMo 407.725) bars a roofing contractor from representing or negotiating a homeowner's insurance claim, and that prohibition is why a legitimate roofer will not offer to deal with the adjuster for you. What a roofer can do is document the damage, put a written scope with photos and measurements in your hands, and attend the inspection as the contractor while you handle the insurer yourself.

What to ask the roofer who shows up

• Which gutter runs and downspouts did you measure, and where are the photos of each one?
• Does the eave show lifted tabs, and is that tied to this storm or to older wear you can see in the same photos?
• What is the plan for any limb on the roof, and who clears it off the shingles?
• Will the written scope list each item with a photo and a measurement, so I can compare it with what I photographed myself?

Repairs that freezing rain tends to reopen

A gutter that has been pulled from the fascia may need the fascia board repaired before the gutter is rehung, because a loose hanger in soft wood will pull again at the next freeze. Ask the roofer to say whether the fascia was checked, not only the gutter. Downspouts that cracked at a joint should be replaced at the joint rather than taped, since the next freeze will open a taped seam. Ice on the roof can also mean the attic has been cold and damp along the eave, so look at the attic side of the sheathing on the same visit. The freeze and thaw cycle in St. Louis repeats through late winter, so a repair that waits until spring can take another round of ice before it is finished. A temporary fix that holds through one thaw is not the same as a repair that is done.

Call the office when the damage is clear

If the photos show a sagging gutter, a lifted course of shingles or a limb on the roof, call Keys Roofing at (314) 220-2333 and ask for a written scope. Keys documents the damage, puts the scope with photos and measurements in the homeowner's hands, and attends as the contractor while the homeowner deals with their own insurer. Keep the photo file, the scope and the dates together in one folder, so the record of what happened in the storm stays in one place and is easy to find when you need it.