Hail damage roof replacement, decided slope by slope
State Restoration Services replaces hail-damaged asphalt roofs across the north and northwest Chicago suburbs. Some hail roofs need every slope replaced, some need two, and some need nothing at all. We inspect each slope separately, put what we find in writing, and build the new roof to current code once you and your insurer have settled the scope. Small repairs after hail or wind are on our storm damage repair page.
Start with the size of the stones that fell
Stone size predicts what we are likely to find before anyone sets a ladder. You can look up the reports for your storm date on the National Weather Service Chicago office page.
Granules come off and the shingle shows light bruising. On a sound roof this is rarely a replacement.
Bruises you can feel with a thumb begin here. Older, brittle shingles take it worse than a roof put on two years ago.
Mats crack, tabs tear and seals break. Most of the full replacements we write follow stones of this size.
This is the size a Class 4 shingle is lab-tested against. Expect damage to gutters, vents and siding too.
Size is a first read, not a verdict. Wind speed, the direction the storm came from and the age of the roof change the result, which is why two neighbours can end up with different scopes.
Four ways a hail inspection can end
We walk every slope, mark test squares and photograph the soft metals. The written report lands on one of these.
Leave it alone
A few shallow bruises, seals intact, no bare mat. We give you the photos and the date, so there is a record if a later storm adds to it.
Repair shingles
Damage sits in one small area, the roof is young enough to lift a shingle without snapping the next one, and a matching colour can still be bought.
Replace the hit slopes
The storm came from one direction and the windward slopes are bruised edge to edge while the sheltered ones are clean. Those slopes come off to the deck.
Replace the whole roof
Bruising with exposed or cracked mat is on most slopes, or the shingle is discontinued and new slopes can't be matched to the old ones.
On a claim the insurer decides which of these it pays for. Our part is an accurate count per slope and an estimate written to current code. How carriers treat a discontinued colour is covered in our guide to shingle matching in Illinois.
Hail that ruins shingles has marked the rest of the house
A replacement scope that lists only shingles has usually missed something. We check these on the same visit, and the ones in our trades go on the same estimate.
- Gutters and downspouts with round dents on the side that faced the storm. Our guide to hail-damaged gutters explains when a dent is a functional problem.
- Aluminum roof vents, pipe flashings and valley metal. They dent before shingles bruise, so they show how hard the roof was hit.
- Ridge cap shingles, which sit highest and take stones from both sides.
- Vinyl or aluminum siding on the storm-facing wall, with cracks or chips near the bottom edge of a panel.
- Window screens and the wraps around window frames.
- Skylight frames and their flashing, if the roof has any.
- Air conditioner fins. We photograph them as evidence of the storm, and an HVAC company handles the repair.
Who pays for which part of a $16,400 hail roof
Take a seven-year-old architectural shingle roof approved at $16,400, on a home insured for $350,000 with a 1% wind and hail deductible. The bill splits three ways.
The same roof under a 2% deductible leaves $7,000 with you, so read your declarations page before the inspection. A roofer in Illinois may not pay, waive or discount that deductible to win the job. The rule is section 18 of the Home Repair and Remodeling Act, 815 ILCS 513/18. If the deductible is the hard part, our financing page lists the payment plans we offer. The full arithmetic is in our deductible guide.
We also can't negotiate your claim, because Illinois reserves that for licensed public adjusters. Our affiliate State Adjusting Services does that work, and our insurance claim page explains how the two companies divide it.
A hail replacement is the moment to choose between standard and Class 4 shingles
Your policy pays for a roof of like kind and quality to the one you had. A full tear-off is also the only kind of job most insurer discounts for impact-rated roofs accept, so the choice is made now or not for another twenty years.
Standard architectural shingle
- It is what most claims pay for in full, less the deductible.
- We install GAF, Owens Corning and IKO lines.
- It makes sense if you expect to sell within a few years or your insurer offers no credit for an impact-rated roof.
Class 4 impact-rated shingle
- It passed a lab test with a 2-inch steel ball dropped from 20 feet without cracking through the back.
- The price difference over a standard shingle is normally yours to pay.
- Some carriers give a yearly premium credit in Illinois. Ask your agent for the figure in dollars, and for the form the roofer has to sign.
- It can still dent and lose granules, and hail is not covered by the shingle warranty.
Ask us to price both on one estimate. Every other line stays the same, so the gap between the two totals is the true cost of the upgrade. Our Class 4 guide quotes the manufacturers and insurers word for word.
What goes on once the old roof is off
A hail replacement is built the same way as any roof replacement we do. In the suburbs we work in, an architectural shingle roof usually costs between $9,000 and $18,000 installed, and the estimate lists each of these.
- Tear-off to the deck, with soft or rotted sheathing photographed and replaced before it is covered.
- Ice and water membrane at the eaves, valleys and penetrations, then synthetic underlayment over the rest.
- New flashing at chimneys, walls and vents. Hail-dented flashing is not reused.
- The shingle you chose, with matching ridge caps and ventilation set up correctly.
- The village permit and its inspection.
- Any item current code requires that the old roof lacked. Many policies pay for these under Ordinance or Law coverage, as our code upgrade guide explains.
When we'd tell you not to replace after hail
Three cases come up every storm season. Your wind and hail deductible is larger than the roof would cost, so there is nothing for the insurer to pay. The marks turn out to be blisters or ordinary wear, which our guide to blisters and hail tells apart. Or the bruising is light, the roof is sound and it has years left. In each case you still get the photos and the written report.
Does hail damage always mean a full roof replacement?
No. Light bruising on a sound roof is often left alone or repaired shingle by shingle. Replacement comes in when exposed or cracked mat is spread across whole slopes, when the roof was already near the end of its life, or when matching shingles are no longer made.
How long do I have to file a hail claim in Illinois?
Most Illinois homeowners policies set a filing window, commonly about one year from the date of the storm, and the wording differs by policy. Have the roof inspected well before that date, because bruises get harder to tie to one storm as months pass.
Will insurance pay for all slopes or only the damaged ones?
The carrier decides, based on your policy, the damage on each slope and whether a matching shingle is still sold. We document every slope the same way, including the clean ones, so the decision is made on a complete record.
Can I upgrade to Class 4 shingles on an insurance replacement?
Yes. The claim normally pays for a roof like the one you had, and you pay the difference for the impact-rated product. Tell us before materials are ordered, and ask your agent which certification form the insurer wants signed.
Want this looked at?
We inspect for free, document what we find and prepare a code-compliant estimate you can hand to your insurer. Our partner, a licensed public adjuster, State Adjusting Services, can represent you on the claim.
Call (866) 992-2982. Free Inspection