Hail on Siding and Screens: Check the Walls Too

Hail that cracks a shingle or bruises a gutter usually lands on more of the house than the roof. Once the storm has passed, the walls, windows and trim on the sides facing the wind often show the same hits, and they are quick to overlook because nobody looks at them from the ladder. Before you compare roof quotes, walk the outside of the house with a phone and take pictures of every side. Those pictures become part of the record of what the storm did.

Storm and hail

Hail rarely falls straight down. Wind pushes the stones at an angle, so the south and west walls of a St. Louis house, the sides that take the weather in a typical storm, usually show more damage. The north and east sides can be lighter or untouched. Do not assume that one side tells you about the others. Photograph each elevation separately, starting at one corner and working around the house.

Vinyl siding comes up more often than any other material. Hail can crack vinyl, shatter a panel's lock edge, or leave a dimple that looks like a scuff until you tilt your head. Vinyl that is older or has spent many winters in freezing weather is more brittle, so it can crack from a hit that would only dent newer panels. Look at the bottom edges, the nail slots and the corners, where cracks tend to start. A panel with a crack along its top lock can work loose in the next wind even if it looks flat from the yard.

Aluminum and steel siding show hail as round or oval dimples, often with a little paint loss at the center. Fiber cement chips at the edges and can show a small crater where the surface has broken. Brick and stone rarely show damage, but mortar joints and sealant around the windows can crack. Check the window trim, the fascia boards on the gable ends, and the metal downspouts that run down those walls.

Window screens are the quickest thing to check and the easiest to skip. Hail can punch holes through aluminum or fiberglass mesh, bend the frame corners, or pop a spline out of its groove. Take each screen off the window and hold it up to the light. A screen with a bent corner can look fine in place and rattle in the next gust. Glass usually shows a cracked seal or a chipped corner rather than a shattered pane, so look at the frames and the edges of the glass too.

What it costs

Costs depend on the material, the number of panels and how far the damage runs, and a roofer cannot give you a number for siding from the driveway. A single cracked vinyl panel is often a small repair. A full elevation of dented aluminum, or fiber cement panels that have to be matched, usually means replacing whole runs of siding, and the match can be harder than the labor. Ask whether the color and profile are still made. Many older vinyl and aluminum profiles have been discontinued, and a repair panel from a different batch can sit a shade off the rest of the wall.

Screens are usually priced by the window, and a screen rebuild costs far less than a siding job. Ask whether the price covers the frame, the mesh and the spline, or only the mesh. Trim and gutter repairs fall somewhere between the two. A dented downspout can be replaced section by section, but a gutter run that has been bent out of line may need its hangers reset, and that belongs on its own line in a written scope.

Keep the cost of a wall repair separate from the roof number in your head while you compare bids. A roof quote that stops at shingles and flashing leaves the walls out of the picture, and you can end up with a new roof beside a siding wall that still shows the storm. A fair comparison puts the roof, the gutters and the walls on the same page, with what is included and what is not.

What to ask

Ask the roofer to walk the elevations with you and to write down what they see on each side. A written scope should list each wall, the material, the type of damage and the photograph that shows it. Ask for measurements of the damaged area, not just a yes or no. Keys documents damage, puts a written scope with photos and measurements in the homeowner's hands, and attends as the contractor while the homeowner deals with their own insurer. Keys does not deal with the insurer on your behalf, because Missouri law (RSMo 407.725) bars a roofing contractor from representing or negotiating a homeowner's insurance claim, and that prohibition applies here.

Ask what the repair will look like when it is finished. Siding repairs can leave a visible patch, and a careful crew will tell you the match you should expect before they start. Ask who will handle the paint on any metal that has lost its finish, and whether the caulk at the windows will be redone at the same visit.

Ask how the work will be photographed before and after. Keep the original photos from the storm day, the ones from your phone with the date stamp still on them. Those files show what the wall looked like before anyone touched it. Do not power-wash a cracked siding panel, do not pull a loose panel off to see the back, and do not clean dents away before someone has photographed them. Cleaning can remove the evidence that shows the damage came from the storm.

If you want someone to look at the walls along with the roof, call the office at (314) 220-2333 and ask for the walls to be included in the same visit. Bring the photos you took from the yard, and mark on a printed sketch of the house which sides you saw damage on.