ItsMyRoof
Problems
Start with the symptom. Each page names the possible causes in order of likelihood, with a safety verdict on each and the diagnostic that tells them apart.
Damage Identifier
What separates functional damage from cosmetic marking and from ordinary aging. Everything below is observable from the ground, from a properly set ladder, or from the attic, except where noted.
Hail
A soft, dented spot with no clear edge. You feel it before you see it — press it and it gives slightly, like a bruise on fruit. Safe from the ground
What it means The impact fractured the shingle mat underneath. This is functional damage: the shingle will fail early even though it is not leaking today.
What an adjuster evaluates This is what adjusters are looking for. They mark and measure bruises inside a test square, usually 10 by 10 feet, and count them per slope.
visible with binoculars from the ground; the press test is a roofer's job
Clean, dark patches where granules have been knocked off, often in a random scatter rather than a pattern. Safe from the ground
What it means Granules are the shingle's UV protection. Scoured areas age faster. On its own, without mat damage underneath, this is commonly classed as cosmetic.
What an adjuster evaluates Granule loss alone is frequently judged cosmetic. Granule loss with bruising underneath is not. The distinction is what the argument is usually about.
granules accumulating at the downspout are visible without a ladder
Dents in soft metal elsewhere on the property: gutters, downspouts, vents, the air conditioner fins, a mailbox, a car roof. Safe from the ground
What it means Corroborating evidence that hail of a damaging size actually fell here. Soft metal dents at smaller stone sizes than shingles bruise.
What an adjuster evaluates Collateral damage is routinely photographed as part of establishing that the event occurred and roughly how large the stones were.
all of it is at ground level and it is the most useful thing a homeowner can photograph
Wind
A horizontal line across a shingle tab, like a fold, often with the tab sitting slightly proud of the course below. Safe from the ground
What it means The wind lifted the tab far enough to break the shingle. The sealant strip has failed there and the tab will lift again in the next storm.
What an adjuster evaluates Creasing is the classic functional wind indicator, and it is directional — concentrated on the slopes that faced the wind.
creases read clearly in a zoom photograph taken from the yard
Gaps where whole tabs or shingles are gone, and shingles in the yard or in the gutters. Safe from the ground
What it means The most unambiguous damage there is, and the most urgent — the underlayment is now the only thing between weather and your deck.
What an adjuster evaluates Rarely disputed. Photograph the gaps and the shingles where they landed before anything is cleaned up.
photograph from the ground; the roof is now a fall hazard where the covering is gone
Tabs that lift when the wind blows and lie back down after, with no crease. Safe from the ground
What it means The sealant strip never bonded, or has released. Common on shingles installed in cold weather that did not warm enough to seal.
What an adjuster evaluates Harder to establish, because a tab that is lying flat when the adjuster visits looks fine. This is one to photograph while the wind is blowing.
observed and filmed from the ground on a windy day
Age, not an event
Edges turning up across the whole roof, fairly evenly, worst on the sunniest slope. Safe from the ground
What it means The shingle is drying out and reaching the end of its service life. Uniformity is the tell — weather damage is directional, age is not.
What an adjuster evaluates Read as wear and tear, which no policy covers. A claim resting on uniform curling is unlikely to go anywhere.
clearly visible from the ground with binoculars
Small round pocks, sometimes open, sometimes still domed. Easily mistaken for hail bruising. Safe from the ground
What it means Trapped moisture or volatiles in the asphalt expanding under heat. It is a manufacturing and ventilation issue, not an impact.
What an adjuster evaluates Distinguished from hail by shape and distribution: blisters are round and evenly scattered including on slopes that were sheltered from the storm.
visible in a zoom photograph; distinguishing it from hail is a roofer's call
Dark streaks running down the slope, usually on the north or shaded side. Safe from the ground
What it means Algae. It is cosmetic and it does not shorten the roof's life meaningfully. Moss is different — moss holds water against the shingle and does cause damage.
What an adjuster evaluates Not a claim. Worth knowing so you do not spend money chasing it, and so nobody sells you a replacement for it.
identified from the ground; cleaning it is a separate question with its own hazards
Leaks and water
A brown or yellow ring on a ceiling or a wall, sometimes with the paint slightly domed. Safe from the ground
What it means Water has been arriving for a while. The stain is almost never directly under the entry point — water runs along rafters and decking before it drops.
What an adjuster evaluates Interior damage is documented as part of the loss. Photograph it before any repair, and photograph the attic above it if you can get there safely.
interior inspection, and the attic from the hatch
Daylight visible through the roof deck when you are in the attic with the lights off. Safe from the ground
What it means A hole, a gap, or missing sheathing. Water is getting in wherever light is getting in.
What an adjuster evaluates Unambiguous. Photograph it from inside with the lights off, and note where it sits relative to the rooms below.
done from inside the attic, standing on joists, not on the deck
A dip or wave in the roof line seen from across the street, or a ceiling that is bulging downward. Do not go on the roof
What it means Structural. Either the decking has rotted or something in the framing has failed. A bulging ceiling holding water can come down all at once.
What an adjuster evaluates Treated as structural damage and usually escalated. Do not put weight on that roof and do not stand under a bulging ceiling.
the structure cannot be verified sound; a rotted deck gives way under a person
We describe what adjusters generally evaluate. We do not predict whether a claim will be approved, and nobody who has not read your policy can.