Hail and storm damage is stressful for any homeowner; however, when you’re in an old home or a historically preserved neighborhood, this can be even more stressful as you’ll need to ensure repairs are handled properly, stay within historic preservation guidelines, and work with insurance companies to cover the true cost of restoration work. We know this, not only because we work with old homes, but we live in old homes too.
Hail damage to a historic home in Norman, OK in April 2021
Here’s what you need to know if your old home has hail or storm damage:
Document your entire home and property with pictures and videos
Hail covering the ground or any surface and its size
Take pictures of the damage from far away and up close
Take pictures of all parts or elevations of your home, even if you don’t see damages. A good contractor or your insurance may be able to find additional damage that you don’t notice.
Secure your home first
From leaking roofs to broken windows, the most important thing is to stop additional water from getting inside your home.
When boarding up windows, ensure that you or the company completing the work do not inflict further damage to the windows securing your home. This can happen by screwing OSB through the aluminum cladding of windows, compromising the window integrity.
Leaking roofs should have a quick fix completed until the roof can be assessed and repaired or replaced properly by a roofing contractor who understands old homes and their different roofing rules.
If there is no emergency at your home, contact a contractor who understands old homes to inspect the damage.
Find a contractor who understands old homes, old home construction, and historic preservation guidelines.
Not all contractors are the same. This is through no malice or fault of many contractors. New construction and old construction are not one and the same. The typical contractor understands new construction well; however, if those rules are applied to old homes, it can cause premature failure of roofing, siding, painting, and window products.
Following large storms, everyone becomes a roofer and many of these scammers will lie to you about their experience or promise things that are illegal.
Contact your insurance company to file a claim
With your pictures plus the contractor’s conditions report, you’ll have a much smoother process with your insurance claim process to put your home back together right.
After you’ve submitted your claim, an adjuster will likely be sent to your home to assess the financial damage. At this point, you can have your contractor on-site with the adjuster to talk about the damage.
Tips for Old Home Repairs after Hail or Wind Damage
Broken glass on single pane wood window
Glass can be easily repaired with the right products
Wavy glass is often scare but can be salvaged in small quantities
Reproduction wavy glass is not carried by most box stores or glass shops; however, Old Home Rescue works with suppliers to source replica glass
Replacement flat (not wavy) glass should be 1/8” double strength glass. Often box stores carry 3/32” single strength glass, which is fragile.
Use a quality glazing putty product.
Consider adding a storm window for future protection
Storm windows can come in wood or aluminum
Your double-hung wood window can cost $1500-$4000 for high-quality replica windows; however, they can be protected with quality storm window that ranges from $400-$1000
Not only will you have the protection of your primary wood sash window, but storm windows will create a more energy-efficient window as well as lengthen the maintenance cycle of your double-hung windows.
Consider upgrading your roof to an impact-resistant shingle
If you’re having your roof replaced, it may be a good time to upgrade to an impact-resistant shingle. If your home doesn’t have this type of shingle already, it may be an out-of-pocket expense for the upgrade; however, it could pay for itself by eliminating the need for a roof replacement by the next storm.
Consider Removing the damaged aluminum or vinyl siding
If your non-historic siding has been damaged, you may be able to work with your insurance company to follow historic preservation guidelines, which are considered code, to remove the non-historic cladding that could be causing rot and damage, if the damage is on more than 50% of a side to the home.
Before you replace, make sure it’s being replaced correctly
In the hundreds of homes we’ve worked on at Old Home Rescue, most of our work has centered around repairing bad repairs from the previous decade. Often the original construction and materials on the home are still in great condition, it is the repairs that have been completed incorrectly that have failed that we’re called out to fix.