Severe weather in Chatham County leaves the same trail every time: lifted shingles, dented vents, torn flashing, and a homeowner wondering what to do first.
The order matters. The first 48 hours decide how well your home is protected and how smoothly an insurance claim goes. Here is the checklist we give our own neighbors.
What storm damage looks like from the ground
- Hail bruising across the shingle field
- Wind crease and lifted tabs
- Torn flashing at the chimney
- Dented gutter and downspout
Damage marked: Hail bruising across the shingle field; Wind crease and lifted tabs; Torn flashing at the chimney; Dented gutter and downspout. Sequence: 1 stay on the ground, 2 photograph from the ground, 3 stop the water without patching, 4 professional documentation.
1. Stay on the ground
Do not climb onto a storm-damaged roof. Wet shingles, hidden soft spots, and loose debris make it dangerous even for professionals.
Everything you need to check first can be seen from the ground or from inside the house.
2. Walk the property and look up
From the ground, look for missing or lifted shingles, shingle pieces in the yard, dented gutters and downspouts, and bent flashing around the chimney. Inside, check ceilings and the attic for new stains or drips.
Take photos of everything you can see safely, with wide shots that show where the damage sits on the house.
3. Stop active leaks without patching the roof
Buckets under drips and plastic over furniture are fine. Amateur roof patches are not. They can make the damage worse and muddy the insurance picture.
If water is coming in, emergency tarping secures the roof until the permanent repair.
4. Get the damage documented professionally
This is the step that makes or breaks a claim. We inspect within 48 hours and photograph every bit of damage: timestamped, organized, and tied to your address.
Insurance decisions ride on evidence. A thorough record of hail bruising, wind creasing, and flashing damage is much harder to dispute than phone pictures alone.
5. Involve your insurance company with backup
File promptly. Claims have strict filing windows.
When the adjuster schedules a visit, we meet them on your roof and walk through the documentation point by point, so nothing legitimate gets missed or minimized. We handle the paperwork from start to finish. Dented gutters and downspouts are part of the claim too.
6. Know what an approved claim costs you
On approved claims you typically pay only your deductible. The payout funds the restoration itself, and in most cases the tarping and temporary repairs too.
Be wary of anyone who promises a free roof before an adjuster has seen anything. An honest contractor documents first and talks numbers after.
Storm damage checklist summary
Stay off the roof. Photograph what you can safely see. Stop the water without patching. Get professional documentation before the insurance conversation starts.
Storm inspections are free. If the damage doesn't justify a claim, we will tell you that too, and help you decide whether a repair will do. That is the point of working with a Pittsboro contractor who lives here, long after the storm chasers leave town.