Storm damage roof repair in Scottsdale: monsoon wind, rain and hail

What monsoon storms do to Scottsdale roofs

A monsoon microburst is a column of cold air hitting the ground and spreading out; the wind can reach 60–80 mph. It is brief, it is local — one side of Shea can get hammered while the other gets a sprinkle — and it does four things to a roof:

Lifts and displaces tile. Wind gets under the eave and rake tiles first. Tiles that were never nailed or clipped (often the case on 1990s production homes north of the 101) slide, stack up or land in the yard. The underlayment they were covering is now in direct sun and direct rain.

Drives rain under the tile. Rain at 70 mph goes uphill. On a roof with sound underlayment that is fine. On a roof with 20-year-old felt it is a leak, usually the first one the house has ever had.

Chokes valleys, crickets and scuppers. The wind strips palo verde, mesquite and eucalyptus and puts it in the valleys. On flat and foam roofs it blocks the scuppers, water ponds, and it finds the parapet crack it has been waiting for.

Breaks tile with hail and debris. Hail is not a yearly event here like it is in Denver, but the storms that do produce it — the October 2010 hailstorm is the one everyone remembers — crack concrete tile by the hundreds, punch skylight domes and bruise shingles. Cracked tile is the typical job in hail damage roof repair. Scottsdale concrete tile is usually replaced per piece unless a whole slope was hit.

Dust storms add a fifth: a haboob loads a roof with fine dust that turns to mud in the rain that follows and ends up in every gutter and scupper.

Emergency roof repair in Scottsdale: the first 24 hours

If water is coming through the ceiling, deal with the inside first: move furniture and valuables, put a bucket under the drip, and turn off the breaker for any light fixture that is wet. Photograph the ceiling, the walls and anything on the floor, then walk the outside and photograph the roof from the ground — tile in the yard, a dark patch of exposed felt, a blocked scupper. Nobody should be on a wet tile roof after dark.

Then request an estimate. When you call an emergency roofing service in Scottsdale, say water is actively coming in, ask how soon a roofer can come out, and ask whether they can tarp or temporarily seal the area first. No one can honestly promise a time during a big storm week, because the whole Valley is calling at once. A tarp or temporary seal on one area typically runs $300–$700; emergency roof tarping explains what a tarp does and does not buy you. Tarping and sealing are the whole job in emergency roof repair. Scottsdale roofers do the permanent fix once the roof is dry.

What happens after a storm

There are four steps to storm damage roof repair. Scottsdale storms are short, so use the dry days between them.

1. Stop the water. A roofer tarps displaced tile areas, clears valleys and scuppers, and temporary-seals flashing that has opened up. You photograph what you can from the ground before anything is moved.
2. Call your insurer. Report the damage and ask what they need from you. Keep receipts for the tarp and anything you did to prevent more damage.
3. Get a written repair estimate from a licensed roofer. It should list the tile, underlayment area, flashings and labor, with photos of what they found.
4. Repair. Reset and re-secure tile, replace what is broken, rebuild valleys with new underlayment, replace shingles, recoat foam where the coating tore. Storm damage tile roof repair is mostly per-tile and per-valley work. The repair page has prices by job type.

Insurance: what usually applies

Sudden wind and hail damage is generally covered by homeowners policies; underlayment that wore out over 20 years generally is not, even if the storm is what finally pushed water through it. Your policy and your adjuster decide which is which. Photograph the damage, call your insurer, and get a written repair estimate from a licensed roofer. The adjuster decides what's covered. In Arizona only a public adjuster licensed by the Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions (DIFI) can negotiate a claim for a homeowner; in a dispute, a licensed public adjuster or an attorney can advise.

Be wary of any roofer who offers to waive, cover or rebate your deductible — it can put your claim at risk. Ask your insurer or an attorney. Deductibles vary — some are a flat amount, some a percentage of dwelling coverage; check your declarations page.

Roof age matters too. Some policies pay actual cash value on older roofs, and some insurers ask about roof age at renewal — check your declarations page or ask your agent, ideally before monsoon roof repair is on your list. The Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions has a plain-language guide to claims at difi.az.gov.

Storm chasers

After a big monsoon event, trucks with out-of-state plates sometimes work the neighborhoods from Grayhawk to Scottsdale Ranch offering free inspections. Some are fine. The ones to avoid say the whole roof needs replacing before they have lifted a tile, ask you to sign an assignment of benefits or a contingency agreement on the spot, or cannot give you an ROC number. Check a roofer's license with the Arizona Registrar of Contractors (ROC) license lookup before you sign anything. The hiring questions post has the full list.

Before the season

The cheapest storm repair is the one you do in June. Clear the valleys and scuppers, re-secure loose eave tile, replace cracked tile, and get a look at the underlayment condition so you know what you are dealing with. A roof inspection in May or June costs less than the first monsoon leak and tells you whether this is the year for the underlayment. The monsoon damage checklist is the after-storm version.