Hail Damage Roof Repair in Garland, TX: What to Check and How the Claim Works

Hail is the most common reason a Garland, TX homeowner ends up calling a roofer, and the frustrating part is how little of it you can see from the driveway. A storm rolls across Lake Ray Hubbard, the yard is covered in ice for ten minutes, and the next morning the roof looks fine. Six months later there is a stain on the ceiling. This guide walks through what to check after a storm, what a proper inspection covers, and how the insurance claim works from the first call to the finished roof.

Why Garland roofs take so much storm damage

Garland sits on the east side of Dallas County, and the storms that build west of the city often arrive here fully developed. Residents remember the December 2015 tornado that cut through the city and neighboring Rowlett, but in most years the damage comes from spring and early-summer hail and the straight-line wind that travels with it. Homes near Lake Ray Hubbard sit in open exposure with less to slow the wind, while the established neighborhoods around Downtown Garland and Duck Creek have older roofs that were already worn before the storm hit.

Roof age matters. A large share of Garland housing was built between the 1960s and 1980s, and a 15-year-old shingle has fewer granules and a drier asphalt mat than a new one. The same hailstone that bounces off a two-year-old roof in Firewheel can crack the mat on an older roof two miles south.

What to check after a hailstorm (from the ground)

Stay off the roof; hail-damaged shingles are slick. Instead, walk the property and look for the signs that usually travel with roof damage:

• Dents in gutters, downspouts, mailboxes, and the soft metal on your AC unit. Hail that dents metal is usually hard enough to damage shingles.
• Granules collected at the bottom of downspouts or in splash blocks, or bare asphalt showing on shingle edges you can see from the ground.
• Shingle pieces, ridge caps, or pipe-boot covers in the yard after a wind event.
• Torn window screens, chipped paint on fascia, and cracked or split fence boards on the side the storm came from.
• Any new water stain on a ceiling, especially under a valley or around a chimney, in the weeks after the storm.

None of these confirms roof damage on their own, but if you see two or three of them, the roof deserves a closer look. We cover the shingle-level signs in more detail in our guide to spotting hail damage on your roof.

What a free inspection in Garland actually covers

Our inspections are free, and they are the same whether or not a claim follows. An inspector walks every slope, not just the one that faces the street. On each slope we look for hail bruises (soft spots where the mat is broken under the granules), fresh granule loss, creased or lifted shingles from wind, and impact marks on vents, pipe boots, flashing, and skylights. We chalk and photograph what we find, then check the attic for daylight, wet decking, or stained insulation.

You get a written photo report that shows every slope, every marked hit, and the collateral damage on gutters and vents. If the roof is fine, the report says so and you have a dated record of its condition. If it is damaged, the report is the document you and your insurance company will both be working from.

How the insurance claim works, step by step

The claim process confuses a lot of homeowners because it has a specific order, and skipping a step costs time. Here is how it usually goes.

1. Inspection first, claim second. Get the roof inspected before you call your carrier. If there is no real damage, you avoid opening a claim that goes nowhere. If there is, you file with photos in hand instead of a guess.
2. File the claim. You call your insurance company or file online, give the storm date, and describe the damage. Only the policyholder can open a claim.
3. The adjuster visit. The carrier assigns an adjuster to inspect the roof. We can meet the adjuster at your home, walk the roof with them, and point out everything in our report. That meeting is where most disagreements get settled, because both sides are looking at the same shingles.
4. The carrier decides. The insurance company, not the roofer, decides whether the claim is approved and what it covers. Our job is to make sure nothing was missed and the damage is documented clearly.
5. Scope and supplements. The adjuster’s estimate lists the work the carrier will pay for. If it leaves out items the roof actually needs (replacing damaged flashing, drip edge, or code-required underlayment, for example), we submit a supplement with photos explaining why.
6. The work and the final payment. Many policies pay part of the claim up front and hold the rest until the roof is finished and the final invoice is submitted. We handle that paperwork with your carrier.

Most policies also have a deadline for reporting storm damage, so check yours and don’t let a “maybe” sit for a year. For the bigger picture on what a Texas homeowner’s policy does and doesn’t cover, see our guide to storm damage insurance claims in Texas.

Your deductible: what Texas law says

After a big hail event, you will see yard signs and door hangers promising a “free roof” or offering to “take care of your deductible.” Be careful. Texas law prohibits a roofer from waiving, absorbing, or rebating your insurance deductible, and a homeowner who goes along with it can be exposed too. The deductible is your share of the claim and it has to be paid.

We will never offer to cover a deductible, and a contractor who does is telling you something about how they do business. What we can do is make sure the claim scope is complete, so the carrier’s payment covers the roof you actually need rather than a stripped-down version of it.

Repair or replacement after hail?

Not every hailstorm means a new roof. A light storm that bruises a handful of shingles on one slope and dents a gutter is a repair. Hail that leaves hits across most slopes, strips granules in sheets, or cracks the mat on an older roof usually means replacement, because patched shingles on a roof that is failing everywhere else won’t hold. We tell you plainly which one your roof needs and put it in writing. On an older roof with layers of previous shingles, a replacement means tearing down to the decking, replacing any rotted boards, and installing new underlayment and flashing, which is the part that keeps the next storm out.

FAQ

How soon after a storm should I get my roof inspected?

Within a few weeks is ideal. Hail damage doesn’t heal, but it does get harder to tell apart from normal wear as the roof ages, and claim deadlines run from the storm date.

Will filing a claim raise my rates?

That depends on your carrier and policy, and we can’t answer it for them. What we can do is confirm whether there is real damage before you file, so you never open a claim you didn’t need.

Do you meet the adjuster at my house?

Yes. Tell us the appointment time and we’ll be there with the photo report. The adjuster and the carrier make the decision; we make sure they see everything.

What if the adjuster says there’s no damage but you found some?

You can ask the carrier for a re-inspection, and our chalked, dated photos are the evidence for that request. If the carrier still declines, we’ll give you a straight answer on whether a repair is worth paying for yourself.

Need a roof inspection in Garland?

Lotus Leaks & Roof Restorations is a GAF Master Elite contractor (GAF ID #1134408) based at 6275 W Plano Pkwy Ste 500 in Plano, a short drive from Firewheel, Downtown Garland, and the Lake Ray Hubbard neighborhoods. Call (214) 499-1898 or request your free inspection online, and we’ll walk every slope and hand you the photo report. You can also learn more about our roof repair services in Garland, TX, or read what to do in the first hours after you discover roof damage.