A hail damage roof inspection is the record that decides a storm claim. The adjuster, the carrier's reviewer and sometimes an engineer will each read it looking for the same things: when the storm hit, how big the hail was and which way it came from, what the soft metals and siding show, how many hits were in a marked test square on each slope, whether the shingles were actually broken or only marked, and whether the roof can be repaired at all. This form walks the property in that order, keeps a photo field beside every kind of damage, and ends with a plain repair-or-replace recommendation in your own words. You can fill it in here and download a finished PDF without creating an account.
Walk the ground before you climb
Collateral damage is the corroboration. Dents in gutters, downspouts, vent caps and the fins of the air conditioner, spatter marks on painted or oxidized surfaces, chipped siding and torn screens tell you three things before you set a ladder: that hail fell here, roughly how big it was, and which elevations took it. That last one decides where your test squares go.
Measure the largest clean dent you can find and photograph it with a tape or a coin in the frame. Note the side of the house it is on. A roof claim with no collateral evidence is not impossible, but it is harder to argue, and the carrier will ask about it.
One row per slope, one test square on each
Every slope that faces a different direction gets its own row. Mark a 10 × 10 foot square in chalk on a representative part of the slope — not the worst corner, not the best — and circle every hit inside it. Then record the count, the wind-damaged shingles on the whole slope, and whether the hits broke anything: granules driven off to bare mat, a soft bruise under the thumb, a fracture you can feel or see from the back of a lifted tab.
Photograph the whole chalked square from far enough back that the lines are visible, then a close-up of each kind of damage with a scale in the frame. The form keeps those photos in separate fields per slope, so nobody has to guess which close-up came from the north face.
Functional damage versus marks
The argument in most hail claims is not whether hail fell, but whether it did harm that shortens the life of the roof or lets water in. A hit that only scuffs the surface is often called cosmetic. A hit that fractures the mat, punches through, breaks the seal or knocks enough granules off to expose the asphalt is functional. Record which you found on each slope, and describe the worst one in your own words.
Note the condition of the roof apart from the storm too: age, earlier repairs, blistering, curling. Separating old wear from new damage up front is the quickest way to make the rest of the report credible.
The recommendation and the adjuster meeting
The form ends with a decision — full replacement, replace some slopes, spot repair, or no storm damage — and a box for why. Whether the shingles can still be matched or lifted without cracking belongs in that reasoning, because a repair that cannot be made is not a repair.
If you meet the adjuster on the roof, record who came, what was agreed, what was not, and what happens next, then get the homeowner's signature on the same page. Speak while you walk, and the document writes itself: say "west slope, nine hits in the square, two creased tabs at the rake" and the counts and photos land in that slope's row.
Common questions
How many hail hits in a test square mean the roof should be replaced?
There is no single national number. Many carriers and contractors look for around eight to ten functional hits in a 10 × 10 foot square on a slope as a sign that slope needs replacing, but the thresholds vary by carrier, by roof covering and by region. Record the real count and whether each hit broke the shingle, and let the count speak for itself.
What is a test square on a roof?
A 10 × 10 foot area — one roofing square, 100 square feet — marked in chalk on a representative part of a slope. Every hail hit inside it is circled and counted. Doing one on each slope that faces a different direction shows how the damage varies with the direction the storm came from.
What counts as collateral hail damage?
Damage to anything other than the roof covering that shows hail fell: dented gutters, downspouts, roof vents, pipe flashings and chimney caps, crushed air conditioner fins, spatter marks on painted surfaces, chipped siding, cracked window trim, torn screens, dented fences and vehicles. It is the evidence of hail size and direction.
How do I tell wind damage from hail damage on shingles?
Hail leaves round, random hits across a slope, often with granules driven off and a soft bruise beneath. Wind lifts tabs and breaks the seal, leaving creases across the shingle, torn tabs and missing pieces, usually concentrated near edges, rakes and ridges on the side the wind came from. Record them separately on each slope.
Should I note damage that was there before the storm?
Yes. Recording age, earlier repairs, blistering, curling and general wear as separate from the storm damage makes the report more credible, not less. A reviewer who sees you separated the two is far more likely to accept the storm damage you did record.
Who can use this form?
Roofing contractors documenting a storm for a homeowner, public adjusters, independent adjusters, home inspectors asked about a storm, and property managers recording damage across buildings. It is a record of what you found, not a carrier's claim form.