Ask a roofer: 17 straight answers

A single weather claim is not the same as an at-fault auto accident. South Carolina carriers rate storm losses against the whole book, so a legitimate hail or wind claim rarely moves your premium on its own. What does hurt is a pattern of small claims, or filing a claim with no real damage and having it closed without payment. That is why we inspect first and tell you honestly whether there is a claim worth filing.

Most South Carolina homeowner policies require “prompt” notice and set a filing window of roughly one year from the date of loss, and a three-year statute of limitations applies to suit on the policy. Practically: file within weeks of a storm you can date. If you know the storm date — the April and May Midlands hail lines are well documented — say so in the claim.

Functional damage, not cosmetic marks. On each slope they chalk a 10' x 10' test square and count bruises or granule-loss impacts; many carriers need 8–10 hits in that square to call the slope damaged. They also check soft metals — gutters, downspouts, vents, window wraps, AC condenser fins — because dented soft metal is hard-to-argue evidence that hail of that size fell on the property.

No. Denials are frequently based on an incomplete inspection: one slope looked at, no test squares, no collateral damage documented, or “wear and tear” applied to obvious wind creasing. We re-inspect, document slope by slope in Xactimate, and submit a written reinspection request with photos and code references. A large share of the claims we rebuild get reopened.

No, and neither can anyone else legally. Absorbing or rebating a homeowner's deductible on an insurance job is fraud in South Carolina and puts your claim at risk. Any contractor offering it is telling you exactly how they handle paperwork. We will, however, help you finance the deductible.

Actual cash value is the replacement cost minus depreciation — that is the first check. Once the work is complete and we submit the final invoice and certificate of completion, the carrier releases the recoverable depreciation (the RCV holdback) plus any approved supplement. On a $16,000 roof it is common to see $9,500 first and the rest after completion.

Hail bruises are random, soft to the touch, and expose black asphalt with no directional pattern. Wear shows as uniform granule loss in water paths, curling at the edges, and shiny exposed asphalt on south and west slopes. Wind damage shows creased tabs and lifted nail lines along the rake edges. Photos of soft-metal dents nearby are the tiebreaker.

Most Midlands homes are torn off and finished in one day; larger or steeper homes take two. Add a day for decking replacement or complex flashing. Materials are usually delivered the morning of, and we do not leave a roof open overnight unless weather forces it — in which case it gets dried in.

Yes. Re-roofs require a building permit in Lexington County, Richland County and the municipalities we work in, including West Columbia, Cayce and Columbia. We pull it in our name as the licensed contractor, and the permit fee belongs on your estimate as a line item. Refusing to permit is how uninsured crews stay cheap.

Metal makes sense if you plan to stay 15+ years, dislike ladders, or own a lake or farmhouse-style home where standing seam looks intentional. It costs roughly two to three times shingles up front and lasts two to three times as long. See the full metal vs shingle comparison.

An architectural (laminated) shingle with a high-reflectance granule blend and a strong algae-resistance warranty. Our humidity plus shade grows Gloeocapsa magma — the black streaking you see all over the Midlands — so copper-infused AR granules matter here. Where hail is a repeat problem, a Class 4 impact-rated shingle can also earn a policy discount.

Yes, if your intake can support it. Attics in West Columbia routinely hit 140°F in July. Continuous ridge vent with adequate soffit intake lowers deck temperature, extends shingle life and reduces load on the AC. Ridge vent without intake is decoration — we check net free area during the inspection.

Both are common here. Leaks stain in a ring that grows after rain and usually trace to a penetration — pipe boot, flashing, valley or nail pop. Condensation shows as broad dampness on the underside of the decking, frost lines along nails in winter, and mold in the same bays as bathroom fans venting into the attic. The fix for the second one is ventilation and duct work, not shingles.

Two things: the manufacturer's limited lifetime warranty on the shingles themselves, and our written workmanship warranty on the installation. Manufacturer coverage protects against product defects; ours covers how we installed it. Details on the warranty page.

Micro-mesh guards work on loblolly pine straw; screens and foam inserts do not — pine needles weave straight through them. On heavily wooded lots we usually recommend 6-inch seamless gutters with a stainless micro-mesh guard, and we still suggest a look every couple of years. Read our pine straw reality check.

Not that day. Anyone who needs your signature before they leave the porch is protecting their commission, not your roof. Ask for a South Carolina license, a certificate of general liability and workers' compensation, a local physical address, and their Google review history. Our vetting checklist covers the rest.

Yes — we run 24/7 emergency tarping across the Midlands and any home within 90 minutes of West Columbia, and we do not raise the price because a storm just came through. Call (803) 991-7663 and we will get water out of your house first and sort the claim in daylight.