Hail on a Backyard Shed Roof Needs Its Own Walk

A backyard shed takes hail the way a patio cover does, quietly and without anyone looking. After a St. Louis storm the house roof gets the ladder, the gutters get a glance, and the shed at the back of the lot gets ignored until someone notices a dent in the trash can lid beside it. A shed roof deserves its own walk and its own photo set. Its pitch is usually lower than the house, its covering is often different, and the way it sits on the ground decides how much of it you can see from a ladder. Treat it as a separate roof on the written scope, not a footnote to the house.

Storm and hail

Start on the side that faced the storm. Hail in the St. Louis area often arrives with wind, and the windward side takes more of it, so that slope is the first one to photograph and the first one to check by hand. Stand at the same spot on each side and take a wide photo of the whole slope, then a close photo of any marked area. Put a tape measure or a coin on the surface so the picture shows scale. Shoot in low sun if you can. A dent shows up as a shadow line when the light comes in at an angle, and it can disappear at noon.

The covering decides what hail looks like. Asphalt shingles on a larger shed look much like the house roof: granules knocked loose, a dark spot where the mat shows through, or a soft bruise that feels different under the thumb. Three-tab shingles on an older shed can be brittle from age, so a hit may crack a tab outright instead of bruising it. Roll roofing shows hail as a split or cracked surface with the fibers showing, and it often has open seams at the laps. A brittle covering is also harder to lift without breaking, so note its condition before anyone starts work.

Metal shed roofs

Metal panels make hail damage easy to prove. A dent appears as a round or oval depression, often with a sharp crease at the edge, and the paint may crack at the lowest point. The pattern across the panels tells the story. The windward side usually shows a dense cluster of dents, while the far side shows a lighter scatter. Photograph the flat part of each panel and the rib next to it, because a rib can hide a dent from a wide shot. Check the screw heads too. A rattled fastener can lift a panel and let water in at the next rain, and that is easier to see now than after the first freeze.

Trim, walls and the floor line

Look at the fascia, the rake edges and the drip edge along the eave. Hail on the windward side can bend the drip edge and dent the fascia board, and those marks belong in the same set as the roof. Check the bottom of the walls near the ground too. Water that sits at the sill through a freeze thaw cycle can lift trim away from the foundation, and a storm can make that gap look like new damage when it is older. Hail on the door, the window glass and any vent louvers belongs in the set as well, because the shed is one structure taking one storm.

Do not climb a shed roof without a stable ladder, firm footing and someone holding the base. Many sheds are low enough to photograph most of the roof from the ground with a zoom lens, or from a steady ladder on the windward side. If the roof is steep or the ground is soft from rain, wait for a dry day.

What it costs

A shed roof is priced by its area, and small roofs are where a minimum charge can change the number. Ask whether the bid includes a minimum for a small job, and what that minimum is. A shed of a few squares can cost more per square than a house roof, because the crew still has to set up, haul material and clean the site. Ask for the shed's measured square footage written into the scope. An estimate from a phone photo is not a measurement.

The price also depends on what is under the covering. A shed sitting on skids or concrete blocks may need its frame checked before new covering goes on, and a rotten rafter tail will not hold a fastener. Ask whether the price includes replacing damaged decking or framing. If it does not, ask what that repair would add, so the number is known before the old covering comes off. Ask whether the old material is hauled away, and whether the bid names where it goes and provides a disposal receipt.

If the shed takes new shingles, name the product in the scope. Keys Roofing installs Atlas or Malarkey shingles only, so the shed line should say which of those lines is going on and in which profile. Keep the shed on its own line in the bid, separate from the house. A bundled number makes it hard to see what the shed adds, and it makes it hard to compare the shed work if you choose a different roofer for it later.

What to ask

• Is the shed on its own line in the written scope, with its measured square footage and its covering named?
• Does the scope include dated photos of each slope and wall, with a simple sketch showing where each photo was taken?
• Will the crew need to cross the yard, move a grill, a trash can or a gate to reach the shed, and who clears that path?
• Is any framing, decking or trim repair included, or only the covering?
• Who hauls the old material away, and does the bid name the disposal site and provide the receipt?
• Does the crew need the shed door cleared, and is anything stored inside that should be moved first?

One more point belongs on the list. Keys documents the shed roof the same way it documents the house, with dated photos, measurements and a written scope that stays in your hands. Keys attends as the contractor while you deal with your own insurer. Missouri law, RSMo 407.725, forbids a roofing contractor from representing or negotiating a homeowner's insurance claim, and Keys stays within that line. Any roofer who offers to take over the shed's insurance conversation for you is asking you to step outside it, so ask that question directly before you sign anything.