A homeowner can end up holding two hail reports for the same roof that disagree. One inspector counts eleven hail hits on the north slope, another counts four, and both reports are signed. The gap usually has less to do with who is honest and more to do with what each person looked at, how they looked at it, and when. Before anyone picks one number to act on, it helps to find out where each count came from.
Where the counts split
Hail inspections on asphalt shingles are done by checking a set area on each slope for bruises, granule loss that exposes the mat, and fractured mat under the surface. The area counted is usually a test square, commonly ten feet by ten feet, though the convention varies by inspector and by the purpose of the report. A count per square on the north slope means little unless you know where that square sat, whether it sat near the ridge or near the eave, and whether the inspector counted only spots they could confirm by touch.
Four things commonly separate two reports on the same roof:
- The slopes checked. One report may cover only the front and the side that faced the storm, while the other walks all four slopes.
- The light. Hail bruises are easier to see in low sun from a particular angle. A morning walk and an afternoon walk can show different things on the same slope.
- The test method. Some inspectors count only spots they can press and feel. Others count every mark that looks like a hit and note it as possible. These are different numbers.
- The condition of the roof. Heat-aged shingles, moss, debris in the valleys, and a previous repair can all hide or mimic a bruise.
None of this means one report is wrong. It means the two reports may be answering slightly different questions, and the numbers cannot be compared until you know what question each one was answering.
Ask each inspector the same five questions
Call the person who wrote each report and ask for the same details from both. A good inspector will answer without hesitation, and a report that its author cannot explain is worth less than one that can be walked through line by line.
- Which slopes did you walk, and did you walk all of them?
- How large was the area you counted on each slope, and where was it placed?
- Did you count only spots you could confirm by touch, or did you count visible marks as well?
- What time of day did you walk the roof, and where was the sun?
- Do the photos show each counted spot with a marker or chalk circle, and is there a sketch that places each one?
If one report has photos of every counted spot and a sketch, and the other has a total with no locations, the first report gives you something to check. The second gives you a number and a signature.
Read the photos, not the total
A total is a summary. The photos are the evidence. When you look at them, check that each photo shows the spot with a scale or a known reference, such as a tape or a coin, so the size of the bruise can be judged. Look at whether the photo was taken straight on or at an angle, because an angled shot can make a granule scuff look like a fracture.
Compare the same slope in both reports. If both inspectors counted the north slope, lay the two sketches over each other in your mind. Are they walking the same area? If one report has a cluster near the ridge and the other has a cluster near the eave, both counts may be correct for different parts of the same slope.
Keep copies of both reports, the photos at full resolution, and the dates each was made. Originals, not screenshots, are what anyone will need if the disagreement goes further.
Check the roof again before you decide
When the reports disagree, a third look can be worth the time. Ask the roofer who would do the work to walk the same slopes with both reports in hand. Ask them to mark where the two inspectors counted and to say which spots they can confirm. This is not the same as choosing a winner. It gives you a map of the points where the reports agree, the points where they disagree, and the points nobody has yet confirmed.
Timing matters here. Hail marks on asphalt do not heal, but they do weather. Granules keep moving in wind and rain, and a bruise that looked sharp in summer can look softer by late fall. If you are deciding in the cold months, get dated photos now rather than waiting for spring.
Where the roofer fits, and where the insurer fits
Keys Roofing documents the 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. Missouri law under RSMo 407.725 forbids a roofing contractor from representing or negotiating a homeowner's insurance claim, so how two hail reports are weighed in a claim belongs between the homeowner and the insurer, not with the roofer who writes the scope.
The roofer's job in a disagreement like this is to make the roof's condition legible. The homeowner's job is to decide what to do with that information. Keep both inspectors' reports, the photos, and any written scope in one folder. If you want to talk through the roof itself, Keys Roofing can be reached at (314) 220-2333.
What not to do with two reports
Do not pick the report with the higher number because it sounds more serious, and do not pick the one with the lower number because it sounds cheaper. Both choices skip the step that matters, which is finding out what each count was made of. Do not average the two numbers either. An average of two counts taken on different slopes, in different light, with different methods describes neither roof.
Do not rely on a neighbor's roof as a stand-in. Hail patterns are local, and the house next door may have taken a different hit from a different angle. The roof on your house is the only roof your reports describe.