Tornado Season and Your Roof

Tornado season is the time of year when you must prepare for one of the most destructive wind forces in the country. These proper preparations will often mitigate damage to your home and prevent personal injury when a tornado lands in your neighborhood.

DB3 Roofing is well acquainted with the results of tornados, being a preferred roofing contractor with many years of experience repairing damaged roofs and dealing with insurance companies on behalf of our clients.

Roof Preparations for Tornado Season

It is highly unlikely that any residential roof will withstand a full F5 tornado unscathed, but you can do several things to lessen the damage caused by lower classed tornados. The most important task is regular and qualified yearly roof maintenance, which will prevent unnecessary damage from moderately strong winds.

So, with a well-maintained roof, what else can you do?

Make sure your roof is designed and made from materials specifically rated for use in tornado regions. A qualified roofing contractor will quickly assess whether your roof conforms to local building standards.
Crashing objects are often a primary cause of roof damage during a storm. It is essential that external AC units are securely mounted against the wall and that all loose playground components are secured.
Windows, doors, and garage doors must close adequately and be rated for heavy storms.
Check your insurance contract.

Most of these preparations seem obvious, but a successful insurance claim for a damaged roof often hinges on the minutia.

What is the Safest Area of the Home?

A tornado warning has been issued, so where do you and your family go, especially if your home doesn’t have a dedicated storm shelter or repurposed fallout bunker? The safest places in any house during a tornado, in order of preference, are:

The basement, particularly underneath the stairs.
An inside room (without windows) on the ground floor.

Never choose an upstairs room or a room with large windows to sit out a severe storm. It is also prudent to ensure that there are no heavy objects or furniture on the floor above your shelter, including pianos, fridges and even cast-iron bathtubs. All these objects can come crashing down if the storm compromises the structural integrity of the house.

Does Insurance cover Tornado Damage?

Most homeowners’ policies include coverage of devastating tornado effects under the windstorm heading, but tornados might be explicitly excluded in high-risk areas, requiring additional coverage. Therefore, it’s prudent to thoroughly read your policy and consult with your broker about the inclusion of tornados in your insurance coverage and any specific roof requirements for homeowners’ insurance.

We have extensive experience helping homeowners with successful insurance claims to repair their damaged roofs and suggest the following procedure after a severe storm:

Visually check the roof’s integrity by looking for loose shingles, bent sheets, missing fascia boards and other damaged roofing materials.
Photograph and document all damage as soon as possible, and contact your insurer. An assessor will evaluate the extent of the damage and determine any contributing factors that may affect your claim.
Choose a reputable roofing contractor to restore your roof to its pre-storm state. We are always very busy right after a severe storm. So we have proven procedures to temporarily protect your house and the interior from further damage until we can affect a proper repair.

About DB3 Roofing

We are fully licensed and bonded roofing contractors based in Northern Texas. We assist you with all the roof requirements for homeowner’s insurance, submitting a claim and repairing your roof to a solid state. We have been doing this work for more than 30 years and have extensive experience with all types of roofing materials and roof designs for residential and commercial properties.