HOW TO ASSESS AND DEAL WITH STORM DAMAGE TO YOUR ROOF
What good is a roof if it can’t protect your home or business from the elements? In truth, roofs are an obvious necessity for just that reason, but that doesn’t mean they’re completely impervious to our often radically changing weather in Australia. If your roof’s been subjected to damage from a particularly nasty storm, here’s what you can do:
Assess Wind Damage
Using the Beaufort scale of wind speed, a gale-force wind has a speed of about 34-40 knots (62-74 km/h). The Australian Bureau of Meteorology also considers these speeds to be worthy of a warning, so although they’re somewhat infrequent, they do occur across Australia in coastal cities such as Melbourne and Sydney, for example.
How much can a roof bear? Well, it depends a lot of on the quality of the roof and the roofing material, but most roofs can bear gale-force winds to some degree, although wind gusts between 80-100 km/h (heavy gale) will most certainly cause some roofs to be damaged or to even collapse if the roof installation was poor. Not something you want to see or to happen to you.
Check for Tree/Branch Damage
Powerful storms are often more than simply wind. Bolts of lighting can fell mighty old trees faster than the blink of an eye, which can unfortunately land on your roof, causing mild to tremendous damage depending on the size of the branch or tree
Checking for branches and tree damage is usually pretty obvious, but after the storm has passed give your roof a visual inspection or climb atop the roof to inspect for branches if necessary. Everything you find will be important for insurance and safety, so follow up with a phone call to a reputable roofer to remediate the damage after you’ve gotten yourself and your family to safety.
Hail and Precipitation
Although uncommon, hail storms have been known to hit Melbourne in the past (even this year), causing damage to roofs across our great city and state. Moreover, the heavy rains that sometimes accompany storms can be a little too much for roofs to bear.
The problem is not usually due to the roof improperly draining away rain (though ropey construction can definitely exacerbate the problem) but rather due to how much is coming down at once, thus overwhelming the roof’s ability to wick away rain in a controlled manner.
What to Do After a Storm
The first thing to do after a heavy storm is to get yourself and your family to safety. After the storm has passed, however, it’s time to get to work. Go outside and perform a visual inspection on the roof and take note of any visible signs of damage. Report this to insurance and avoid moving back in if the roof has collapsed (e.g. due to a tree penetrating the roof).
Your next call should be a reputable roofer that can remediate the damage, or in the worst case, rebuild the roof to a higher standard.
Roof Guard Roofing
Melbourne’s friendly roofers at Roof Guard Roofing have a wealth of experience when it comes to dealing with the aftereffects of Melbourne’s stormy season, so give us a ring and enquire about our services.