Clear scope. Clean execution.
The Hill Country storm cells that track southeast across San Antonio and into Bexar County produce some of the most damaging commercial hail in Texas. The 2023 hail events that moved through the Stone Oak corridor on US-281 North and the Boerne / Fair Oaks Ranch area on IH-10 West produced golf-ball-size hail across a wide swath of commercial building inventory - striking TPO and EPDM membranes, skylights, HVAC equipment, and edge metal across dozens of commercial properties. Many of those buildings had no visible interior leaks immediately after the event. Six months later, the UV-degraded membrane around each hail impact was allowing moisture infiltration.
Hail damage to commercial flat roofs is not always immediately obvious. The damage pattern on single-ply membranes - TPO, EPDM, PVC - is membrane bruising and thinning rather than the visible punctures most building owners expect. On modified bitumen systems, hail fractures the granule surface and exposes the underlying bitumen to accelerated UV attack. Neither condition leaks immediately. Both conditions dramatically shorten membrane service life and, if documented promptly, are covered under most commercial property insurance policies.
Our role in a hail-damage response has three phases: document the damage at insurance-grade detail before any repairs are made; coordinate with your adjuster and carrier through the claim process; and execute the repair or replacement scope that the claim funds. We have run this sequence on commercial buildings across Bexar County, Kendall County, and the Boerne corridor.
Insurance-Grade Hail Damage Documentation
What insurance-grade documentation requires: The standard for a defensible commercial hail claim is a written inspection report with geotagged photographs of individual impact sites, a measurement log of hail impact density (impacts per 10 sq ft), a mapping of the impact pattern across the roof surface, and documentation of the storm date and hail size from NWS San Antonio storm data. We produce all of this during our post-storm inspection. Carriers deny or discount claims that lack this documentation - a general statement that 'the roof was damaged by hail' is not a claim.
Timing: Document before repairs. This is the most important instruction for any building owner after a hail event. Once repairs are made, the documentation of the pre-repair damage condition is gone. We respond to post-storm inspection requests within 24 to 48 hours of the event and deploy to Stone Oak and Boerne corridor buildings within the same window - these are the two San Antonio-area corridors that the 2023 hail events most heavily impacted.
Adjuster coordination: We attend the adjuster's inspection walk as your advocate. We have experience reading the carrier's position from the adjuster's behavior during the walk - which areas they photograph, which they skip, which findings they dispute. We provide our impact-density measurements directly to the adjuster in writing and flag any areas the adjuster's walk did not cover. If the adjuster's initial estimate is below what the damage documentation supports, we prepare a written supplement with our field measurements and the applicable material and labor costs.
Repair Scope - What Hail Damage Requires
Single-ply membrane (TPO/EPDM/PVC): In light hail events where impact density is low and impacts are superficial bruising without membrane puncture, a repair scope involves cleaning each impact site, applying membrane reinforcement at the impact location, and sealing with compatible weld or adhesive. For moderate to severe events - golf-ball or larger hail, or high impact density even with smaller hail - the economics typically favor full membrane replacement over attempting to patch hundreds of individual impact sites. We produce the impact-density data that drives this recommendation honestly.
Modified bitumen and BUR: Hail fractures the granule surface and exposes underlying bitumen. Repair involves re-granulating or applying a reflective coating over the damaged field - a temporary measure. Replacement is the permanent solution on any granule-surface system with heavy hail damage.
Edge metal and copings: Hail dents and displaces edge metal, which opens laps to water entry. Edge metal replacement is frequently required after significant events and is often a separate line item in the insurance estimate that owners miss.
Skylights and rooftop equipment: Plastic-glazed skylights often crack or craze under hail impact. HVAC equipment fins are deformed. These are separate line items in the claim and require separate documentation from the roof membrane scope.
Preventing Future Hail Damage Loss
Impact-resistant cover boards: All new TPO and EPDM systems we install include an HD polyiso or HD gypsum cover board rated for hail impact resistance. This is not standard practice at every roofing company - many install standard-density cover board to save $0.08 per square foot on material cost. The impact-resistant cover board significantly reduces membrane bruising in moderate hail events and is documented at closeout so the owner can present it to their insurer for premium consideration.
Annual inspection timing: Scheduling at least one annual inspection in the October-November window lets us document hail impact accumulation from the summer storm season before the damage progresses to a leak. Hail impacts that are caught within six months of the event typically require minor repair; the same impacts discovered two years later - after UV has attacked the bruised membrane - typically require section replacement.
Warranty implications: Most manufacturer warranties cover manufacturing defects but not storm damage. The exception is some premium warranty programs that include limited hail coverage - Carlisle's Sure-Weld 80-mil program and GAF's EverGuard Extreme include hail impact coverage at certain thickness thresholds. We document which warranty program is in place at closeout so you know what storm coverage you carry.
Frequently asked questions
My roof is not leaking after the hail storm. Do I still need to file a claim?
Yes, if the hail was significant. Hail damage to commercial flat roofs rarely produces immediate leaks - the damage pattern is membrane thinning and bruising that shortens service life by three to seven years per significant event. The right time to document and claim is immediately after the storm, before repairs are made. Most commercial property policies have a one-year window from the date of the storm to file a hail damage claim. Waiting until you see leaks means the damage has already progressed and the documentation window may have closed.
How do I know if the damage from the Stone Oak or Boerne hail events in 2023 applies to my building?
Check the NWS San Antonio storm data for the event date and the mapped hail path. The 2023 events that tracked through Stone Oak on US-281 North and the Boerne / Fair Oaks Ranch area on IH-10 West are well-documented in NWS records. We can pull that data and map your building location against the storm path. If your building falls in the storm path, we recommend a post-storm inspection regardless of visible symptoms.
Will you work with my insurance company directly?
Yes. We attend the adjuster walk, provide our field documentation directly to the adjuster in writing, and prepare written supplements when the adjuster's initial estimate is below what the damage documentation supports. We do not work as a public adjuster - that is a licensed profession we do not hold. Our role is to provide accurate technical documentation of the roof damage so your claim is based on a complete record of what the storm actually did.
Had a hail event in San Antonio? Document the damage before it progresses.
We respond to post-storm inspection requests within 24 to 48 hours, produce insurance-grade documentation, and coordinate with your adjuster through the claim process.
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