If you live in an area prone to storm damage, you may experience a flood of storm home services representatives after extreme weather. A storm water inspector may knock on your door or call you on the phone, trying to sell roof contracting services or offering “free” inspections. Beware of storm chasers, those contractors that come from out of town after a major storm and then attempt to cash in on the storm damage.

Be careful who you allow to complete roofing repair, and be wary of signing anything a storm water inspector might give you. Legitimate storm water services will be able to tell you truthfully if you should call your insurance company, and whether roofing repair or replacement is in order due to storm damage.

Inspection Before and After Storm

You can contact a legitimate storm water inspector to provide free inspection services after storm damage. This professional will most likely be attached to a local contractor offering storm home services, including roofing repair or replacement.

Before a hurricane, you may want to have a professional roof inspector examine your roof. That way, if damage is sustained to it during severe weather, this can be verified as “storm damage”.

Just as homeowners should not allow others to climb up on their roof, they generally should not climb on the roof after a storm either. Sometimes, however, it is necessary to prevent further damage occurring due to water leakage. When inspecting your roof to see if storm water services are necessary, look for:

• Bruises from hail scatter granules
• Dented cooling vents on air conditioning, to identify the storm’s direction
• Dented fascia, venting or flashing
• Exposed underlayment
• Granules gather in gutters and at the bottom of downspouts
• Missing shingles from wind damage.

How Storm Home Services Find You

The fallen branches and battered roofs can be clearly seen from the streets of a neighborhood with storm damage. Storm chasers and other roofing contractors watch weather reports, looking for signs of storm damage that can lead to roofing repair or better yet (for them) replacement.

Modern technology also offers storm water services access to detailed maps that show exactly where the worst storm damage will be. They also track tornados, allowing contractors to go to the neighborhoods that are hardest hit.

Storm Customer Services‘ Representatives

Although some storm home services are reputable, out of town contractors will not know all the nuances of roofing repair in your area, so it is usually best to go with a local contractor.

Make sure that any contractor or inspector has insurance before climbing on the roof. It is also best to thoroughly research any contractor that you decide to use for roofing repair for storm damage. You can contact the Better Business Bureau to confirm to confirm that these storm home services are in fact legitimate.