Columbia South Carolina Hail Damage

Aug. 12, 2014 - PRLog -- A major hailstorm that tore across Northeast Richland during Memorial Day weekend damaged potentially tens of thousands of homes and businesses, experts say.

Many property owners still may not know they have damage, however.

Roofing contractors throughout the area report huge increases in calls for inspections, estimates, repairs and full roof replacements since the storm struck May 23, attracting small armies of storm-chasing roof repairers from as far away as Texas, Arkansas and Indiana.

“Right now we’ve received a ton calls,” said Ebben Aley, General  Manager of Mastercraft Exteriors, considered to be the largest residential roofer in the Midlands.

In a typical year, Ebben said Mastercraft replaces about 1000 roofs and estimates it will replace 500 roofs as a result of the hailstorm alone. “We keep busy year round,” said Ebben, who says Mastercraft has been in business since 1996 and employs over 150 people.

Much like during the historic ice storm that crippled parts of the state in February, roadsides in northeast Richland County are saturated by yard signs advertising mainly out-of-state contractors seeking roof repair work.

The isolated but intense hailstorm – which featured large, dense hail – did significant damage to cars, roofs, siding and windows in an area concentrated roughly from Elgin and Lake Carolina back to Wildewood in the northeast part of town.

Insurance adjusters estimate 20,000 structures in that area were damaged by the hail, according to Mastercraft and other contractors.

“Normally when you have hail damage to a roof, it’s going to constitute full replacement because the hail is going to shorten the life of the shingle.

The S.C. Department of Insurance issued a bulletin immediately after the storm allowing emergency adjusters into the state to assist damage claims. That order originally was set to expire June 13, but it now has been extended until Aug. 1 because of the extent of the damage.

No firm totals are available yet on the damage done by the storm, spokeswoman Ann Roberson said.

State Farm, the state’s largest insurer, reported 7,450 claims resulting from the Memorial Day weekend storm in the state one week after the storm hit, which the company expected to rise. Total in-state wind and hailstorm claims for the insurer in 2013 tallied 5,360.

For a free roof inspection contact Ebben

803-920-0497

103 Vera Rd Lexington, SC 29072

www.mastercraftexteriors.com

877-Roof-02