Understand your own roof.
A plain-English guide for Colorado homeowners. How roofs are built, how they age in our sun and hail, what to watch for, and how to handle storms, insurance and contractors without getting rushed.
Free Roof Report: reported hail of 1 inch or larger within 5 miles since 2010, with your roof's age and what to check.
Hail sizes at about actual size on most screens. One inch is where the National Weather Service calls hail severe. Stones 2¾ inches across were reported in parts of Denver and Aurora on May 30, 2024.
Four questions every roof owner gets to
Most people only think about the roof when something goes wrong. These four steps, in order, are the whole guide in miniature.
- 1
What do you have?
Material, age, and what's under the shingles. It changes everything else.
Roofing materials - 2
How does it age?
Colorado sun, freeze-thaw and hail wear roofs differently than the national averages suggest.
Colorado climate - 3
What should you watch for?
The signs you can spot from the ground, after storms and through the seasons.
Spotting damage - 4
When is it time for help?
Repair or replace, filing a claim, and choosing a contractor you can trust.
When to get help
What's actually up there
A roof is a system of layers, and most leaks start where layers meet, not in the middle of the shingles.
- Shingles or roof coveringThe weather surface. Sheds water and takes the sun and hail.
- UnderlaymentA water-resistant sheet under the covering. The backup if water gets past.
- Ice and water barrierA self-sealing membrane at eaves and valleys, where ice dams and runoff concentrate.
- FlashingMetal that seals joints at walls, chimneys, skylights and valleys.
- DeckingPlywood or OSB nailed to the rafters. What everything else is fastened to.
- VentilationIntake at the eaves, exhaust at the ridge. Keeps the attic dry and cool.
Your Roof Report, in about a minute
Enter your ZIP and a few things you know about your roof. You'll get a count of every day with hail an inch or larger reported within 5 miles since 2010, the most recent storms drawn at about actual size, plus your roof's age against its expected life and a list of what to check.
The hail record comes from the federal Storm Events Database. No account, and nothing is sent anywhere unless you ask for help.
Good to know before the next storm
- Many Colorado policies have a separate wind and hail deductible that's a percentage of your home's insured value rather than a flat amount. Insurance in plain English
- A roofer can't legally waive or pay your deductible in Colorado. Hiring a roofer
- You can look for hail damage from the ground: dented gutters, vents and AC fins tell the story. Spotting damage
The guide
- How your roof works
Shingles, underlayment, flashing, ventilation and decking, explained simply.
- Roofing materials
Asphalt, Class 4, metal, tile, slate and synthetic, with lifespan and hail performance.
- Spotting roof damage
Granule loss, curling, hail bruising and leaks, and what each one means.
- Colorado climate and your roof
Hail, high-altitude sun, freeze-thaw, snow load, wind and HOA rules.
- Maintenance and seasonal checklist
What to do each season, what to leave to a pro, and the post-storm walk-around.
- Insurance in plain English
Deductibles, depreciation, and how a hail claim actually works.
- How roof inspections work
Roofer, home inspector, adjuster and engineer inspections compared.
- How a re-roof works
Every step from permit and tear-off to ridge cap and final inspection.
- What a roof costs in Colorado
What drives the price, and how to read a quote line by line.
- Hiring a roofer
Colorado's roofing contract law, licensing, and storm-chaser red flags.
- Glossary
The words roofers and adjusters use, so you can follow the conversation.
- All guides
Everything in one list, including tools of the trade and the companies behind the materials.