It's not as bad as it sounded when it fell at 5am the other day, but I was able to get onto the roof to assess the damage. The branch was about 4.5" in diameter and reach penne 6-8' long. From the ground, it looked like there was a little stick clean up and two minor dents in the leaf guard. Those leaf guard pieces could probably be popped back straight, or simply replaced. Once on the roof I saw a couple dings in the shingles. Here's pics. Would you think this is something to report to our home insurance? Honestly I think the one or 2 dings could be filled in with a special caulking. The one in the second pic lower left corner of the one I think definitely needs caulking. The third picture looks like I could caulk the tab back on as it looks like it sheared the last part of the team off. This sucks because this roof is only about a year old. We put a lot of $$ into the house in Spring of 19. Roof, gutters, windows, insulation, siding all done in Spring 19. I'm no pro roofer. What do you guys think? How much damage is this $$ wise?
I didn't want to clean anything up in case I do need to file a claim. I've got a lot more pictures in case I do. Needless to say this ash needs to come down now.
Just my opinion but I would just fix it and I save any claims I may need to make someday for something big. The shingles are fairly easy to replace.
Geeze Horkn I know the roof is new and there-in lies the dilemma. Would be a shame to patch up the new roof with wet/dry roof patch.....but it would work effectively. Deductible would have to paid or would it be waived?
Unless the fix would be a good deal more than your deductible, I wouldn't - especially if you can fix yourself. I know with my insurance company (which has been good), even if you report something, then it turns out to be less than the deductible (they don't pay out), it still goes on your history. The history could later come back to bite you if you end up having another claim in the not-to-distant future. But definitely document everything in case there is actually more damage than you believe.
See if you can find a tube of Thru-the-roof. It is clear, and works really well. It will seal wet or dry and will stick thoe tabs down good.
+1. New shingles are much easier and forgiving to remove than old brittle fully set in the sun shingles are. You should be able to match the color perfectly as they are still sold (assuming as only 1 year old), and not faded from the sun yet. You want to gently pry up the damaged shingles with a flat bar and pull the roofing nails out without damaging surrounding shingles. To get to and to remove the nails you’ll have to pry the surrounding shingles free but not take off. You will have to go two rows above your replacement shingles with the nail removal, as the nails will hit the top edge of the new shingle. Slide the new ones in place and hold the above shingles up just enough to hit the new roofing nails in. To be safe in this colder time of year id run a bead of clear 100 percent silicone at the nail line to give a good seal with the next course. You won’t see this caulking once the shingle above it is down. Good luck
Yeah, pick a nice warm day and remove the damaged ones and replace with new. A handyman familiar with the process shouldn't cost too much. It's not hard to pull out a shingle but it does take a little practice/learning process. There can be slight color differences in all shingles but they're usually close enough. When you're doing a whole roof you tend to keep an eye on color variations from bundle to bundle and start mixing them in if you see a difference.
Call insurance, do not caulk (yet, and caulk will not last and does not look like it will leak til they inspect it). If they turn you down no harm done, but it you do not make the call it will count against you. Insurance depreciates roofs on age and weather on the entire roof, not accounting for acts of nature like that branch hitting just that one corner of your house and will not cover it unless they are aware of it. Too many people paying monthly premiums trying to do the right thing but smacks them in the face that the insurance company does not care if you tried to be a good customer and save them money by extending the roofs life with your own repairs. If you are not insured, go ahead and fix it, but if you are I'd advise you to report it to your homeowners insurance company.
Not so sure about that not leaking.....if (when) that hole fills up with moisture and then freezes a few times.....well........
