Hail on Pool Equipment Is Worth a Photo Before Winter

Hail that goes after the roof often hits everything standing in the yard too. If you have a pool in the St. Louis area, the equipment pad is one of the places that gets missed. The heater, the pump, the filter tank and the chlorinator sit out in the open, and their lids and housings catch the sky first. Before you call anyone about the roof, walk the pool area with your phone and record what is there.

Which pool parts take hail

Most backyard pools in this area run a pump, a filter and a heater, and some add a salt cell or a heat pump. Each piece has a different surface, and hail reads differently on each one. Pump and filter housings are often thermoplastic or composite, and hail on those shows as a white crater, a chipped lip around the lid or a hairline crack running out from a dent. Filter tanks are often fiberglass or plastic. Hail rarely punctures them, but it can crack the pressure gauge face or break the valve handle. Gas heater cabinets are usually painted steel, and hail leaves round dents that show up better in low sun. Heat pump heaters have aluminum fins, and the fins bend the same way condenser fins do after a storm.

How to photograph the equipment

Take the photos in daylight with the sun low on one side, because a shadow turns a shallow dent into a visible line. Shoot each piece from three distances. Start with a wide shot that shows where the unit sits in the yard, then a medium shot of the whole unit, then a close shot with a coin or a tape measure in the frame for scale. Name the files by piece, for example pump lid, heater left side, heater top, filter tank, gauge face. Keep the original files straight from your phone rather than screenshots, because the original file records when each picture was taken.

Photograph the concrete pad under the equipment too. Hail that lands on concrete leaves pits and chips, and those marks help show when a storm came through, although they do not prove what the roof took. Take one wide shot of the pad with the equipment still in place, and one after you move anything off it.

What to look for on each part

• Pump and filter lids: round or oval craters, chips along the edge, or a crack that runs from a dent toward the rim.
• Heater cabinet: round dents in the panel, paint cracks at the rim of each dent, and any dent near a gas line, a control panel or an electrical connection.
• Heat pump fins: bent or flattened fins, especially on the side that faced the storm wind.
• Filter gauge and valve handle: a clouded or cracked gauge face, or a handle with a broken edge.
• Pool cover and reel: small holes or tears in the mesh, which show up as light spots when you hold the cover up against the sun.

Write down anything that looks normal too. A clean heater panel beside a dented one is useful to have on record, because it shows the pattern of the storm across the pad.

Storm and hail: what the roof file needs from the yard

Pool equipment does not sit under the roof, so a roof scope will not list it unless someone writes it in. A roof inspection can note the hail on the shingles, the soft metal on the gutters and the downspouts near the pool. The heater and the pump belong on their own list. Keep that list separate so the roof photo log stays clean and easy to read.

Your policy decides whether the equipment is covered at all, and that wording is yours to read with your own insurer. Missouri law forbids a roofing contractor from representing or negotiating a homeowner's insurance claim, so a roofer will not argue for the pool equipment with your insurer on your behalf. A roofer can document damage they can see, put a written scope with photos and measurements in your hands, and attend as the contractor while you deal with your own insurer.

What it costs

The cost of pool equipment work depends on the part, the model and whether the damage is cosmetic or functional. A cracked lid on a pump is usually a small part. A heater cabinet can be a bigger job, and a fin repair on a heat pump is a different job from a full coil replacement. A dent on a painted steel cabinet may never affect how the heater runs, while a crack near a gas connection needs a technician before anything else is done. The price you pay will follow the model number and the part, so get the figure in writing.

Ask for the quote to name each part separately. A line that says pool equipment repair with no detail will be hard to compare later, and it will be hard to match against your photo file. If one fin set can be repaired while the rest of the unit stays in service, ask the technician to show the two options side by side.

What to ask

1. Which parts have damage that affects how the equipment runs, and which damage is cosmetic only?
2. Is there a temporary cover you should use on a cracked lid until a technician sees it?
3. Does the heater's warranty or service record depend on the model and serial number, and where are those numbers printed?
4. Will the quote list each part on its own line, with the model and the price for each?
5. Does any electrical or gas work need a licensed technician, and is that work outside what a roof crew should touch?
6. Can you have a copy of the written findings and the photos for your own file?

Before the next front

Hail season in the St. Louis area runs through the spring and early summer, but storms come through in every warm month. If a housing lid is cracked, ask a technician about a temporary cover before the next storm, and check the cover after each one. A heater with bent fins can lose some efficiency, so the bent section is worth showing to a technician even when the unit still runs. Put the fin damage on the list with the photo, and keep a note of the date you first saw it.

Storms in this region often come in a line, so check the pad again a day or two after the first front passes. A second round of wind can move a loose cover or a lid that was already cracked, and the second look may show damage the first walk missed.

Notes for the file

Write down the storm date, the model and serial numbers for each piece, and one line for each photo. Keep the photos in a folder where you can find them quickly when a technician or your insurer asks. Add the date of each repair estimate and the name of the person who gave it. If you also call Keys about the roof, the scope can note the gutters, the downspouts and the other exterior items near the pad, and the pool equipment stays on your own list. Keys can be reached at (314) 220-2333.