When a hailstorm or high-wind event hits San Antonio, two things happen fast: your roof loses years of life overnight, and dozens of out-of-town "storm chaser" roofing trucks show up in the neighborhood the next morning. We're the opposite of that — we're local, we'll be here in five years to honor the warranty, and we actually know how Texas insurance claims work.
Why San Antonio storms matter more than you think
San Antonio sits on the edge of "hail alley" — the central Texas corridor that produces some of the most severe hail in the country. Hail stones 1 inch or larger are effectively roof-killers; anything above 1.5 inches guarantees damage to standard Class 3 asphalt shingles. Our April–June season brings multiple qualifying events most years. On top of that, straight-line wind gusts during severe weather regularly exceed 60 mph, which is the manufacturer wind rating threshold for standard shingles — above that, install quality determines whether your roof holds.
What hail damage actually looks like
Hail damage on asphalt shingles is rarely dramatic. What you're looking for on the roof surface:
- Granule displacement — small round spots where the asphalt layer shows through. The fiberglass mat becomes exposed and UV degradation accelerates.
- Shingle bruising — soft spots where the mat fractured from impact but the surface still looks intact. You feel them by hand.
- Cracked shingles — lineal cracks radiating from the strike point, often along the butt edge.
- Metal damage — dents in gutters, downspouts, roof vents, and flashing. Metal damage is an easy visual confirmation that hail fell at damaging size.
- Soft metal verification — dents in A/C condenser fins, window screens, and metal patio furniture confirm hail size.
Wind damage is more visible: lifted tabs, missing shingles, creased shingles (where the wind bent them back), exposed underlayment. Both types qualify for insurance claims when the event matches a documented NOAA storm at your address.
Our storm damage process
- Emergency response (if needed). If there's active water intrusion, we tarp the affected area same-day or next-day to prevent further damage. This is covered under most insurance policies as mitigation.
- Free damage inspection. We climb the roof, chalk-mark hail strikes, photograph every slope, and verify whether damage qualifies for a claim. We'll tell you straight — if it doesn't qualify, don't file.
- Claim filing support. You call your insurance and file. We provide the damage documentation that goes with the claim.
- Adjuster meeting on-site. We meet your insurance adjuster on the roof. This matters — adjusters consistently find less damage when they're alone. With a qualified roofer on the roof walking through damage, legitimate claims are approved properly.
- Scope review and supplementing. When the scope arrives, we check it line by line. Missing drip edge? Missing starter strip? No ice-and-water shield in the valleys? We write supplements for everything owed.
- Material selection. We help you choose shingles — and if the storm was bad enough that a Class 4 upgrade makes sense, we walk through the cost vs. insurance discount tradeoff.
- Install and final inspection. Same high-quality install as any other replacement — we don't cut corners on insurance jobs.
A word about storm chasers
After every big San Antonio hail event, you'll see pickup trucks with out-of-state plates and a hastily-printed magnetic sign driving the neighborhood offering "free roof inspections." The pattern is consistent: they knock, they climb, they find "massive damage," they offer to handle your insurance, they take your deductible, they install a low-grade roof as fast as possible, and they leave town. When a problem shows up a year later, good luck finding them.
We're Wannamaker Roofing. We're based in San Antonio. We'll be here in ten years. Our workmanship warranty is honored by the same people who installed the roof. That's the difference.