Hail Cracks House Numbers Too, and They Are Easy to Miss

Hail does not stop at the roof. It strikes the house numbers on the front wall, the panel or plate the numbers are mounted on, and the brick, stone or siding around them. Numbers get skipped on a storm walk because they look like trim, but a cracked, dented or chipped number is still a number that a delivery driver, a visitor or a fire crew has to read from the street, often in the dark.

St. Louis houses carry their numbers in a few common ways. Brass or aluminum numerals are screwed into brick mortar or vinyl siding. Painted wood numbers hang beside a door. Some houses have a lit address plate near the porch light. Each of these fails differently under hail. Metal numerals dent and the paint chips at the dent. Plastic and acrylic numbers can crack along the screw holes. Ceramic and stone tiles can chip at the corners, and a chipped corner can make a 3 look like an 8 from the sidewalk.

Storm and hail

Hail season in the metro runs from spring into early summer, and the same storms that mark a roof often mark the front of the house. Look at the numbers on the same walk you make for the gutters, the downspouts and the windward slope. Stand at the curb, not at the door, and look at the numbers from where a driver would see them. A number that is hard to read from the curb is a number to note, even if it still looks whole up close.

Photograph each number from about six feet back and again from the curb. Include a ruler or a coin beside the numeral so the size and the dent can be measured later. Photograph the mounting too, because a number that is still standing on a cracked mount may come loose in the next freeze. St. Louis winters push water into every small crack, and freeze and thaw cycles widen the crack each time. A hairline split in a plastic number in October can be a missing number by February.

Check the wall behind the numbers as well. Hail that dents the numeral plate often also dents the siding or the trim directly under it. On brick, look at the mortar joints near the screws. On vinyl, look for a crack at the nail slot, because a split there is the start of a bigger repair. Keys Roofing documents the damage it finds on the house, including the numbers and the wall they sit on, and puts the written scope with photos and measurements in the homeowner's hands. Keys cannot negotiate a claim with your insurer. A Missouri roofing contractor is barred by RSMo 407.725 from representing or negotiating a homeowner's insurance claim, so the insurer conversation stays with you.

What it costs

A set of replacement numbers is a small purchase next to a roof, and most people who replace them do it themselves. The cost question that matters is whether the numbers are part of the exterior work at all. If a roofer or siding crew is already on the wall, the numbers may be removed and reset for the same visit, and that should be in writing. If the numbers are not on the scope, they are often left off, and the house ends up with a patched wall and no numerals.

Ask whether a repair or replacement of the numbers is an included line, an allowance, or a separate charge. An allowance is a number the bid uses until the numbers are chosen. It is not the final price, so ask what happens if the chosen set costs more or less. For a brick front, ask whether the mortar will be touched, and whether the holes left by the old screws will be filled. A replacement that sits on a patch that looks different from the rest of the wall is a cosmetic problem that can last longer than the numbers themselves.

If the numbers are part of a larger exterior job that includes gutters, siding or trim, get them priced on the same sheet. A number that is priced separately on a different visit can add a trip, and a trip is a cost that does not appear in the number itself. Keys Roofing can be reached at (314) 220-2333 to ask whether a given exterior job includes the numbers, and the answer should appear on the written scope before any work starts.

What to ask

Before you hire anyone to work on the front of the house after a storm, ask these questions and get the answers in writing:

• Will the house numbers be photographed, measured and listed on the written scope, with the mounting surface named?
• If the numbers are removed for work on the wall, who resets them, and is that in the price?
• What is the material of the wall under the numbers, and what patch will be used where the old screws left holes?
• Will the wall be left in a condition that matches the rest of the house, and if not, what will it look like?
• Is the cost of new numbers included, an allowance, or a separate charge, and what happens if the chosen set costs more than the allowance?
• Will the numbers be checked again after the next freeze, or only at the end of the job?

Ask for the same answers from every contractor you compare. A bid that says nothing about the numbers is not a bid that leaves them out on purpose. It is a bid that did not look at them. A short written note saying the numbers were photographed and found sound is worth as much as a longer report, because it tells you someone checked the spot that a delivery driver checks first.

Finally, keep the photographs with the rest of your storm file. The numbers are a small detail, but they are part of the record of what hit the house. A dated photo from the curb, taken the day after a storm, is the easiest evidence to produce later, and the easiest to forget to take.