Storm

Hail Damage Roof Checklist for Littleton Homeowners

By Littleton Roof Repair · September 11, 2026 · 8 min read

The cell came over the hogback around 4 p.m., the gutters roared for ten minutes, and now the deck is covered in leaves and the car has dimples. Here's what to do in the next 48 hours, and what to leave alone. Print this or save it; you'll use it again. Some part of the South Metro gets roof-bruising hail almost every summer.

First hour: safety and photos

Stay off the roof. Wet shingles covered in leaf pulp on a two-story are how people get hurt after storms. Nothing on the roof needs you today.
Photograph the hail itself if any is still on the ground, next to a coin or a tape measure. Size matters to a claim. One-inch stones bruise a standard shingle; 1.5-inch stones bruise almost anything but Class 4; 2-inch stones crack shingles and dent metal.
Note the time. The storm date and approximate time go on the claim, and adjusters cross-check them against weather radar.
Check inside. Ceilings under the attic, especially around bathroom vents and skylights. A hail storm rarely causes a leak the same day, but the wind that came with it can.

First day: the walk-around

Hail damage is easiest to prove from the ground, because adjusters look at the "collateral" first — the things that can't be faked or aged. Walk the house with your phone and photograph:

Gutters and downspouts. Dents on the top edges and the outside faces. Count them per ten feet.
Window screens. Torn or pushed-in screens on the side the storm came from (usually the west or northwest in Littleton).
The AC condenser. Flattened fins on the side that faced the storm.
Painted wood. Chipped paint on deck rails, fence caps, the garage door.
Metal vent caps and the mailbox. Small dings.
Siding. Cracks or chips in vinyl, dents in aluminum.
The car, if it was outside.
Shingle granules at the downspout outlets — a pile that looks like coarse black sand.
Shingle pieces or tabs in the yard. That's wind, and it's urgent.
The neighbors' roofs. Not for the claim, but if a tarp goes up two doors down, the storm was worse than it looked.

None of this proves your roof is damaged. All of it proves a storm hit your house, and that's the first thing an adjuster establishes.

First week: get the roof looked at

Call a local roofer for an inspection. A real hail inspection means someone walks every slope, chalks a 10-foot by 10-foot test square on each, counts the hits inside it, and photographs them. Adjusters use a similar test-square method, and each carrier has its own threshold for what counts as replacement-level damage on a slope — check with your insurer what theirs is. Many local contractors do storm inspections at no charge because they're scoping the repair; ask before anyone climbs up.

What the inspector is looking for:

Bruises — soft spots where the mat under the granules has fractured. The shingle looks fine and feels like a bruised apple.
Granule loss in splash patterns, not the even wear of age.
Hits on soft metals — vent caps, flashing, ridge vent — which show hail size clearly.
Wind creases on the slopes that faced the storm.

If the damage is scattered on one slope, it's a $400–$1,200 repair and probably not a claim. If it's on every slope, it's likely a claim, and the contractor's written scope goes to your insurer alongside the adjuster's. Our hail damage and claims page covers the sequence from here.

Before you sign anything

The week after a real hail storm, the streets off Bowles, University and County Line Road fill with trucks and clipboards. Here's the short version of what Colorado's Residential Roofing Bill of Rights says, and what to do with it:

Every roofing contract must be in writing, with scope, price, dates, and the roofer's contact information.
A roofer cannot pay, waive, or rebate your deductible. A "free roof" offer is illegal. Walk away.
You can cancel within 72 hours if your insurer denies the claim, and the deposit comes back within 10 days.
A roofer cannot negotiate with your insurer on your behalf. Anyone offering to "handle the claim for you" is offering to break the law.

Those are summaries, not legal advice: check the current wording with the Colorado Division of Insurance, which publishes a hail claim guide worth reading. Beyond the law: ask where the company is licensed (it should be the city or county your house sits in), get the certificate of insurance, and check for a local address. Our post on questions to ask Littleton roofing contractors has the full list.

Filing the claim

If the inspection shows replacement-level damage, call your insurer with the storm date, the collateral photos, and the roofer's report. Ask for the claim number and the adjuster's name. When the adjuster comes, have the roofer there if you can. The adjuster's scope and the roofer's scope get compared line by line, and gaps — missed slopes, no ice-and-water membrane, no drip edge — get resolved with a supplement.

Know your deductible before you call. Many Colorado policies now carry a 1–2% wind-and-hail deductible; on a $600,000 house that's $6,000–$12,000, and a $900 repair isn't worth a claim on your record.

What to keep in your storm file

Make one folder, paper or on your phone, and add to it as you go:

The storm date and time, and photos of the hail next to a coin
Ground photos of gutters, screens, the AC unit and anything else that was hit
The inspector's report and test-square photos
Your claim number, the adjuster's name and contact details, and notes from every call
Written estimates for the roof and any other repairs
Receipts for tarps or emergency work

A complete file makes the adjuster's visit faster and makes a supplement easier to support if something was missed.

Common mistakes after a hail storm

Climbing up to look. The roof will still be there in a week.
Assuming no leak means no damage. Bruises take years to open.
Calling the insurer before knowing the damage. Get an inspection first; if the fix is under your deductible, a claim only adds to your record.
Throwing out the evidence. Keep dented downspout pieces and shingle fragments until the claim closes.
Signing with the first knock. Get two written estimates from companies with a local address.
Missing your deadline. Policies set a time limit from the date of loss. Find yours on the policy or ask your agent.

If water is coming in

Hail plus wind can open a roof the same day. Move valuables and electronics away from the drip and put a bucket under it. If the ceiling is bulging, a small hole at the low point lets the water drain into the bucket instead of spreading across the drywall. If water is near a light fixture, turn off that breaker. Then ask for a tarp, and keep the receipt; emergency mitigation is often covered when a claim follows. Photograph the wet ceiling and anything damaged inside before you clean up.

Later

Hail bruises don't leak for three to five years. If you skip the inspection this summer and the roof looks fine, the leak shows up in 2029, the storm is out of the claim window, and the roof is on you. Get it looked at. A storm inspection is often free, and the answer is usually clear.

Common questions

How big does hail have to be to damage a roof?

Around one inch is where a standard architectural shingle starts to bruise. Smaller stones mostly knock off granules. Class 4 shingles usually shrug off one-inch hail, and larger stones can mark almost anything.

Will filing a hail claim raise my premium?

It can, and a claim stays on your record for years, which is why it pays to know the size of the damage first. Ask your agent how your carrier treats weather claims before you file.

Should I replace my gutters on the same claim?

If hail dented them, they're part of the same loss and belong on the same claim. Make sure the inspector photographs them and the scope lists them.

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