Most storm checks start with the field of shingles, and that is right, because the field is where most of the roof sits. But a roof in St. Louis also carries a second group of small metal and plastic pieces that poke through it: box vents, turtle vents on the back slope, the dryer hood, the bathroom fan cap, the kitchen range hood, and the flue for a gas furnace or water heater. Hail that dents the shingles often dents these too. They are easy to walk past because they look like part of the roof rather than separate items with their own line on a bid.
This page is about counting those pieces after a storm, photographing each one, and making sure the written scope names each one before anyone starts pulling shingles.
Why these pieces show damage the field can hide
A dent in a thin metal hood is often easier to see than a bruise on an asphalt shingle. Hold a flashlight low and angled across the cover from the ground, and the dimples stand out. A hood that has taken hail usually sits on the same slope as the shingles that took hail, so if the hood is dented, the slope deserves a closer look. The reverse is also worth checking: a hood can look fine from the ground while the shingles around its base have lifted or cracked.
Plastic parts behave differently. A bathroom fan cap or a plastic vent hood can crack from hail, but it can also crack over time from freeze and thaw, UV exposure and age. A crack that looks fresh and sharp-edged is worth photographing next to a fresh dent in the shingles. A crack with weathered, chalky edges is probably older. Your photos should show the difference, because the roofer and the inspector will both look for it.
Make the list from the ground before anyone climbs
Walk the yard with a phone and a pen. Stand far enough back to see the whole roof, then move around each side. Write down every penetration you can see, with its slope and its rough position, such as front left near the ridge or back right above the kitchen. Use the zoom to look at each one. You do not need to know its name. Describe it as you see it, for example round metal cap with a short neck or square plastic hood with a louvered face.
Do not climb to do this count on your own. Day two after a storm is a ladder day for most homeowners, and a wet, loose or steep roof is not a place to learn what a dent feels like. The count from the ground is enough to start the conversation with a roofer, and a roofer can walk the roof with you and check each piece up close.
What to photograph on each piece
- A wide photo that shows where the piece sits on the roof, with a ridge, a gutter or a wall in frame so the position is clear.
- A close photo of the cap or hood face, held square to it, with a coin or a tape measure beside it for scale.
- A side photo that shows the neck or base where the piece meets the roof, since that is where a leak tends to start.
- A photo of the underside of the cap if you can reach it safely from inside the attic, to show whether the neck is cracked or the seal has pulled away.
- A dated photo, taken on a clear day with the sun behind you, so the light does not hide the dents.
Keep the originals on your phone or in cloud storage, and keep a printed set in the same folder as your roof estimate. The photos do not have to be professional. They have to show which piece is which and where it sits.
What a written scope should say about each piece
A written scope is the document that lists the work, and it should name every penetration you counted. For each one, the scope should say whether the piece is being replaced or reset, what flashing or base goes with it, and whether the price for that piece is shown on its own line or hidden inside a general roofing figure. A line that says vents included tells you very little. A line that says new turtle vent, flashing and shingle tie-in at back slope, right side tells you what is being done.
Keys documents damage, puts a written scope with photos and measurements in the homeowner's hands, and attends as the contractor while the homeowner deals with their own insurer. Keep the list you made from the ground with that scope. If your insurer asks what was damaged, the list and the photos are yours to bring to that conversation. Missouri law (RSMo 407.725) forbids a roofing contractor from representing or negotiating a homeowner's insurance claim, so the insurer conversation belongs to you and your insurer, not to the roofer.
Replacing an old hood is not always a like-for-like swap
An older box vent or turtle vent may no longer be sold in the same size or profile. A dryer hood may need a different exterior cap if the wall opening has changed. A furnace or water heater flue cap has a size and clearance requirement that matters for the fuel appliance, not only for the roof. Ask the roofer whether the replacement is the same size and type as the old piece, and if it is not, ask what changed and why.
Missouri has no matching statute and no matching regulation for roofs, so whether a replacement vent or hood is covered when the rest of the roof is replaced turns on the policy wording. Read the policy wording rather than assuming the answer from a neighbor's experience. Ask your insurer in writing what it will pay for and what it will not.
Questions to ask before you approve the scope
- Does the scope list each vent, hood, cap and flue that you counted, one line per piece?
- Is the flashing or base that goes with each piece named, and is it included in the price for that line?
- If a flue cap serves a gas appliance, does the roofer confirm the new cap matches the appliance clearance requirement?
- Are the photos of each dented or cracked piece attached to the scope, with the slope and position written next to each photo?
- If a piece cannot be sourced in the same type, what will the roofer use instead, and will you see the change in writing before the work starts?
- Who inspects the completed penetrations, and will you get a photo of each one after the work is done?
Before the next front
A small cap that is dented or cracked can let water into the attic one storm at a time, and the stain may show up on a ceiling a room away from the actual opening. Make the count while the damage is still easy to see. Photograph each piece in the same order you counted it, so the photos and the scope line up. Then check that the written scope names every piece you found, so the roof you approve is the roof you counted.