Can I check for hail damage myself from the ground?

You can check the supporting evidence: dents in gutters, downspouts, metal caps, and window screens, plus granules collecting at downspout outlets after a storm. The shingle bruising itself needs hands on the roof to feel for a fractured mat, so leave the slope inspection to a professional with safety equipment.

How big does hail need to be to damage shingles?

As a working threshold, hail at or above 1 inch is claim-relevant for asphalt shingles because it can fracture the fiberglass mat. Smaller stones more often mark soft metals only. The September 12, 2023 Due West hail measured 1.00 inch, right at that threshold.

What does a hail deductible actually cost?

Many Georgia policies carry a wind and hail deductible of 1 to 2 percent of Coverage A, not of the repair bill. At 2 percent on a home insured for $400,000, that is $8,000 out of pocket before the policy pays. Read your declarations page before assuming a standard flat deductible applies.

Is blistering covered as storm damage?

No. Blistering is a heat and aging condition, not a storm event. It matters for roof health and may affect remaining life, but it should not be presented as hail damage. An inspection can separate blistering and wear from genuine, dated hail hits.

Clark Brothers Roofing Blog

How to Tell If Your Roof Has Hail Damage

Hail damage is easy to miss from the ground and easy to misread up close. Real hail hits bruise the shingle and fracture the fiberglass mat underneath, while a lot of what gets sold as hail damage is actually blistering, wear, or old mechanical marks. Knowing the difference before you call your insurer protects both your roof and your claim history.

By Clark Brothers RoofingPublished October 22, 2026Updated October 22, 2026

Cobb County has a real hail history, including golf-ball hail and an EF-1 tornado on March 2, 2012, and 1.00-inch hail in the Due West area on September 12, 2023. This guide walks through what to look and feel for, what the look-alikes are, and why the inspection should come before the claim. Clark Brothers Roofing documents with photos and measurements; call +1 470-613-9333 for an inspection.

What Real Hail Damage Looks and Feels Like

Key points

A genuine hail hit is random in pattern, not in neat rows or lines. Run a palm lightly over a suspect spot: a hail bruise feels soft or spongy compared with the firm shingle around it because the mat below has fractured and granules have been driven in or knocked loose. Hits concentrate where hail actually fell, so soft metals tell the story first. Check gutter edges, downspout elbows, metal caps, and vent covers for dents that match the date of the storm.

Blistering is the most common false alarm. Heat-driven blisters pop and leave small craters that can look like hits, but they follow sun and ventilation patterns rather than a storm path and lack the bruised mat of a hail strike. Normal wear, granule shedding on an aging roof, scuffs from foot traffic or ladders, and manufacturing defects also get mislabeled. An honest inspection names these for what they are, because filing a wear-and-tear condition as storm damage wastes a claim and can complicate future coverage.

The Look-Alikes That Are Not Hail

Hail size is the threshold that matters most in Cobb County. Stones at or above 1 inch are generally claim-relevant on asphalt shingles because they carry enough energy to fracture the mat. Smaller hail can dent metal and knock granules loose without functionally damaging the shingle. That is why the September 12, 2023 Due West event, with 1.00-inch hail, deserved inspections, and why the golf-ball hail of March 2, 2012 was so destructive. Match any suspected damage to a dated, local storm, not a storm three counties away.

Real hail bruises the shingle and fractures the fiberglass mat — it feels soft, not just marked
Hail at or above 1 inch is the claim-relevant threshold for asphalt shingles in Cobb County
Blistering and wear are not hail: inspect and document first, then decide about a claim
Random pattern across a slope, not straight lines or repeated spacing
Soft, bruised feel under the granules at the hit
Granule loss focused at the impact point
Matching dents on soft metals: gutters, caps, vents

Get the inspection before you open a claim. A roofer can document, photograph, and measure damage and meet the adjuster on site, but a roofer cannot negotiate your claim for you; in Georgia only a licensed public adjuster or an attorney can do that. Also know that waiving your deductible is illegal in Georgia, so any offer built on that promise is a red flag. If the inspection finds no functional damage, you have lost nothing and you have a dated photo record for the next storm.

Why Size Matters: The One-Inch Threshold

The facts in this guide are drawn from the official and primary sources below, checked October 2026.

Still wondering? Call +1 470-613-9333 — we are open 24 hours.

Call +1 470-613-9333 any time — we are open 24 hours. You can also visit us at 1122 Powers Ferry Rd, Marietta, GA 30067, or find us on Google Maps.

Inspect First, Then Decide About a Claim

Roofing for Marietta homes and businesses — honest pricing, photographed inspections, and a crew based right here on Powers Ferry Road. Open 24 hours.

Services

Service areas

Sources & Official Resources

Contact

Clark Brothers Roofing

Blistering: small popped craters, worst on hot, poorly vented slopes
Wear: broad, even granule loss rather than discrete hits
Mechanical marks: ladder, tool, and foot-traffic scuffs

Privacy · Terms · Sitemap · RSS

Helpful next steps

Open 24 hours — 1122 Powers Ferry Rd, Marietta, GA 30067

Our site was rebuilt in October 2026 and some pages were merged. Try the services hub, the service areas hub, or the blog — or call +1 470-613-9333 and we will point you the right way.

If it is wear or blistering, repair or plan replacement, do not claim it as hail
At or above 1 inch: inspect promptly, damage is plausible
Below 1 inch: check soft metals, functional shingle damage is less likely
Always tie findings to a specific local storm date
Photograph soft-metal dents as supporting evidence

A Marietta Roofer, Up Front About Everything

Contact Clark Brothers Roofing

Clark Brothers Roofing is based at 1122 Powers Ferry Rd in Marietta, GA 30067, and this page is about how we work rather than a polished origin story. We inspect roofs carefully, photograph problems instead of describing them from the driveway, explain repair-versus-replace honestly, and put pricing in writing. If a roof has good years left, we will say so — even when a replacement would pay us more.

We are also up front about the trade itself. Georgia does not license roofers, prices in this market vary wildly, and storm season brings out-of-town crews who disappear. Our answer is simple: local address, published phone number +1 470-613-9333, open 24 hours, and business licence and insurance certificates available on request for every customer who asks. That approach shapes everything on this page: how we inspect, how we price, and how we handle the paperwork Georgia homeowners actually need.

That page has moved

About Clark Brothers Roofing

Every job starts with a real inspection: shingles, flashing, valleys, vents, decking where accessible, and the attic side when a leak is involved. You get photos and a plain-language explanation of what is failing, what is cosmetic, and what can wait. Then you get options — repair, maintenance or replacement — each priced separately, so you can choose the scope instead of being sold the largest one by default.

How We Work, Step by Step

Many roofing websites imply a state licence that does not exist. Georgia does not license roofers; roofing is a traditional specialty trade under O.C.G.A. 43-41-17. We will not dress that up. What we can show you is our business licence and current insurance certificates, on request, before you sign anything. Ask any roofer you interview for the same documents — a legitimate local company will hand them over without hesitation.

Honest About Licensing in Georgia

As of October 2026, our published ranges are architectural shingle at $4.50–$7.00 per square foot installed, typical replacements at $12,000–$22,000, and most repairs at $300–$1,500. Quotes are calculated from measured roof area, not living area, and include tear-off, underlayment, drip edge and ventilation checks. If a permit applies to your parcel in the City of Marietta or unincorporated Cobb, we confirm that before quoting rather than adding it later.

Honest About Pricing, Too

Our base at 1122 Powers Ferry Rd puts us minutes from East Cobb, the Marietta Square, Franklin Gateway and the I-75 and I-285 corridors. We work on the housing stock we know: Marietta homes with a median year built around 1984, Cobb homes around 1989, layered shingle roofs, aging flashing and heavy tree cover. Local means accountable — you know where to find us after the job, not just during it.

Rooted on Powers Ferry Road

Clark Brothers Roofing is a roofing contractor based in Marietta, Georgia. We work from 1122 Powers Ferry Rd — our mailing address, our base, and where our crews roll out from. Mailing address: Clark Brothers Roofing, 1122 Powers Ferry Rd, Marietta, GA 30067. Call us at +1 470-613-9333 — we are open 24 hours, including for emergency roof work.

Who We Are

We inspect, repair, and replace roofs across Marietta and Cobb County: roof replacement, roof repair, roof inspections, emergency and storm damage work, leak detection, metal and shingle roofing, flat and commercial systems, gutters, and maintenance. Every job starts with photographs and a written scope.

Georgia does not issue a state roofing licence — roofing is a traditional specialty trade under Georgia law, so treat any roofer who implies a state roofing licence with suspicion. What you can verify about us: our local business licence and current insurance certificates, available on request before you sign; a written, photographed scope before any work; and published pricing that carries the date it was set. Verify any Georgia contractor the same way, using the official sources below.