Florence, SC Roofing
After a Pee Dee storm or hail event, damage is often less visible than you expect. The crew inspects carefully, documents what they find, and walks you through what it means for a South Carolina insurance claim.
Call (854) 204-4005Storm and hail damage work is what you need after wind, hail, or a tropical system has broken something on your roof and you have to decide whether to repair it, replace it, or file a claim. Florence sits inland in the Pee Dee, so most of what they see here comes from two sources: the summer thunderstorm complexes that roll through from April into September carrying straight-line wind and hail, and the weakening tropical systems that push up from the coast in late summer and fall, dumping wind-driven rain for hours.
The damage rarely leaks the same day. A shingle can crease at the seal line, or hail can bruise the mat without knocking a piece off, and the roof still sheds a light rain. You find out during the next long soaker, usually as a stain on a ceiling or a bedroom wall.
Signs worth a call: shingle granules collecting at your downspout splash blocks, dented gutter aprons or vent caps, lifted or missing tabs along a ridge or the windward slope, or torn ridge-cap shingles. If a named storm or a hard hail event just went through and your roof is more than ten years old, have it looked at before the next storm season rather than after the drip starts.
The crew walks every slope, not just the side facing the street, and checks the shingle field, ridge caps, valleys, and every flashing point around chimneys, pipes, and the roof-to-wall junctions where wind-driven rain gets in here. Then they go into the attic and look at the underside of the decking and the rafters for staining, because that tells them how long water has been coming in and whether the deck is still sound.
Every finding is photographed and tagged by location, with close-ups of hail bruising, creased shingles, and lifted seals alongside wide shots that show the pattern across the slope. You get a written summary you can hand to your adjuster. A claim built on clear, located photos moves faster and gets argued over less. The roofer documents what is actually there and does not pad a report to inflate a claim.
If the storm opened the roof and it is actively leaking, the first job is stopping more water before the next rain does damage the storm did not. The crew installs properly fastened tarps over the failure, anchored into sound decking, not sandbags and weights that slide off in the next gust. This buys time to inspect, document, and plan the real repair without the interior getting worse.
Small, isolated wind damage often gets repaired: replace the lifted and creased shingles, reseal, and swap failed flashing. When a whole slope is bruised or the deck is saturated, a repair just hides the problem, and we will say so. Replacement means tearing off to the deck, replacing rotten sheathing, and installing new underlayment, ice-and-water at the vulnerable points, drip edge, and shingles to current code.
Wind and hail do not only hit shingles. The crew checks that ridge vents are still seated, that pipe boots have not split, and that chimney and step flashing did not lift. They look at gutters and downspouts for dents and for the granule buildup that signals shingle wear. These small components are where most post-storm leaks actually start, and they are easy to miss from the ground.
You call, describe what happened and what you have noticed, and we set a time for the roofer to come out. If water is coming in right now, they prioritize getting a tarp on it before anything else. There is no charge to look at storm damage and tell you honestly whether you have a claim worth filing or a repair you would be better off paying for out of pocket.
The crew inspects the full roof and attic, photographs and tags every finding, and gives you a straight read: whether the damage is storm-related or ordinary wear, whether it warrants a claim, and what a repair versus a replacement would involve. You get the written summary and photos whether or not you decide to use them for the work.
If you file, the contractor meets your adjuster on the roof and walks the damage with them so the scope reflects what is actually up there. We explain what typically reads as storm-related versus wear, and we do not promise a particular outcome, because that decision is the insurer's. A shared, documented inspection keeps everyone looking at the same evidence.
Once the scope is settled, the contractor pulls the required permit through the City of Florence or Florence County, schedules the work, and completes the repair or replacement. The job passes a final building inspection. The crew cleans up, runs a magnet for stray nails, and walks the finished roof with you before they consider it done.
Florence's climate is hard on asphalt in a specific way. It is the heat and UV that age a roof here, not freeze-thaw. Long, humid summers cook the shingles and dry out the sealant, so by the time a wind event hits, the tabs are already brittle and lift more easily than they would on a fresh roof. Architectural shingles that are rated for decades often give you closer to 18 to 22 years in this sun before they are living on borrowed time. You will also see black algae streaking on north-facing slopes, which is cosmetic but a sign the roof has some age on it.
The housing stock ranges from mid-century homes in the older parts of the city to newer subdivisions built out over the last twenty-plus years. The newer ones almost all carry architectural asphalt on plywood or OSB decking. Reroofs require a permit and a final inspection from the City of Florence or Florence County, depending on where you sit, and a legitimate roofer will pull it rather than skip it.
A targeted wind repair, swapping a section of lifted shingles and resealing, often runs a few hundred to a couple thousand dollars. A full asphalt replacement on a typical Florence single-family home commonly lands in the low-to-mid five figures, driven by square footage, roof pitch, how many layers have to come off, and whether the decking under it is rotten. Steep or complex roofs cost more because they are slower and take more material for waste. Deck replacement is the biggest surprise line item after a storm.
Emergency tarping happens the day they get there when water is active. The inspection and written documentation take an hour or two on site. If you are filing a claim, the timeline is mostly your insurer's, from a few days to a few weeks to get an adjuster out and a scope approved. Once they have the go-ahead and the permit, most single-family asphalt roofs are torn off and replaced in one to two days, weather permitting.
Sudden storm damage is generally covered; gradual wear and old age are not, and that line is where claims get argued. Many South Carolina policies carry a separate wind or hail deductible, often set as a percentage of your dwelling coverage rather than a flat dollar amount, so read that before you file. Know too whether your policy pays actual cash value, which subtracts depreciation, or replacement cost value. The contractor documents the damage; they do not decide the claim, and we will not promise an outcome.
Most Florence homes go back on with architectural asphalt shingles, which balance cost and a reasonable lifespan in this heat. If you are on the roof more than once every couple of decades, standing-seam metal lasts far longer and handles wind well, but it costs considerably more up front. Whatever you choose, the underlayment, drip edge, and flashing matter as much as the shingle. A good shingle over a botched flashing detail still leaks.
There are two separate warranties, and people confuse them. The manufacturer warranty covers defects in the shingle itself and is only as good as the installation. The contractor's workmanship warranty covers the labor: if the roof leaks because of how they installed it, they come back and fix it. Neither one covers the next hailstorm, foot traffic damage, or a component they flagged as failing that you chose not to replace. Get both in writing and read what voids them.
Wind is the more frequent problem here, especially the straight-line gusts riding the edge of summer squall lines and the sustained wind from tropical remnants. Hail does happen in the stronger spring and summer storms, and it is easy to underestimate because the damage is invisible from the driveway; it bruises and cracks the shingle mat without tearing anything off. If you heard hail hit the house, get up there, because it can shorten a roof's life by years without ever leaking at first.
Free, no-pressure inspection and a written estimate.
Call (854) 204-4005