After a Dane County hail or wind storm, the smartest first move is a documented damage assessment, not a signature on a storm-chaser’s contract. We inspect, photograph everything, and give you a straight answer about whether you’re looking at a small repair, a legitimate insurance claim, or nothing worth acting on at all.
What Wisconsin storms actually do to roofs
Our storms come in three flavors. Hail bruises shingles, knocking granules loose and crushing the mat underneath, which shows up as dark soft spots that age the shingle years in a single afternoon. Straight-line wind creases and tears shingles, usually starting at edges and ridges, and can peel whole sections when it gets under a lifted tab. Falling limbs do the obvious. Sun Prairie and the towns east of Madison sit in the path of storm cells that ride in from the southwest all summer, so we see all three every year.
The tricky part: real hail damage is easy to miss from the ground, and fake hail damage is easy to sell door-to-door. Both problems have the same answer: photos, up close, of your specific shingles.
Assessment first, honesty always
Every storm call starts the same way: we get on the roof (drone first if it’s steep or wet), photograph every slope, and sort what we find into three buckets: cosmetic, repairable, or claim-worthy. You get the photos either way.
If it’s minor, we’ll tell you it’s minor. Filing a marginal claim can cost you more in premiums than the repair itself, and our insurance vs. out-of-pocket guide lays out that math. If it’s major, we document it the way an adjuster needs to see it: every slope, every elevation, dents in soft metals like gutters and vents that corroborate the hail size. Curious what size hail actually hurts a roof? We wrote that up too.
The repairs themselves
Wind repairs are usually straightforward: replace the torn and creased shingles, re-secure what lifted, check the flashing it stressed. Done as a proper shingle repair, color- matched as close as the sun allows, it’s a same-week fix. Hail repairs usually mean replacing the bruised slopes. When damage is genuinely widespread, the answer becomes a full replacement, often insurance-funded. If the roof is open to the sky, emergency tarping comes first, the same day whenever we can manage it.
Local, licensed, and here after the storm season
We live here. When we repair storm damage in Madison, Marshall, or Cottage Grove, we’re signing work our neighbors will see for the next twenty years. Storm hit your street? Request an assessment or call. If a door-knocker beat us to your porch with an offer to “cover your deductible,” know that Wisconsin law prohibits exactly that, and read our FAQ below before you sign anything.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if my roof has storm damage?
From the ground, look for shingles in the yard, tabs flipped up or creased, exposed black patches where granules used to be, and dented gutters or downspouts. Hail damage is subtler than most people expect (dents and bruises rather than holes), which is why we put a drone and a trained eye on it before anyone talks about a claim.
Should I file an insurance claim for roof storm damage?
Only if the damage is real and substantial. A claim makes sense for widespread hail or wind damage; it does not make sense for a handful of shingles whose repair would quote below your deductible. We assess first, show you photos, and tell you which side of that line your roof is on, including when the honest answer is "don't file."
Does hail damage always mean a new roof?
No. Light hail on a healthy roof often causes cosmetic granule loss that does not shorten its life. Significant bruising across multiple slopes is different. That can genuinely total a roof. The difference is visible up close, and we photograph it so you are not taking anyone's word for it, ours included.
Do you work with insurance adjusters?
Yes. We document damage before the adjuster visit, can be on the roof with them when they inspect, and make sure the scope of the claim matches what is actually up there. We work for you, not the insurer, and certainly not for a storm-chasing sales quota.
What about the storm-chasing roofers who knock after every hail storm?
Out-of-state crews follow hail maps, sign fast contracts, and are gone before the first winter tests their work. Never sign anything on your doorstep. Get the damage documented by a local company that will still be here in five years, then decide. Our license is verifiable at dsps.wi.gov, and we will still be 20 minutes away next year.