There are many problems that can happen to your roof that will cause the need for a repair. At some point, you may experience hail damage or blistering on the roof's surface. While they may look similar, they are actually two different types of roof damage that you can have. Here are the differences between the two. 

Hail Damage

What is going to make hail damage unique is how the damage looks and feels. Hail tends to leave a dark mark on a shingle that is circular in shape, where you can actually feel a small dimple in the center of that dark mark. It's the kind of damage that cannot be identified by simply looking at the dark mark from a distance. You need to get up close to identify the dimple and the indentation. 

Hail damage is also related to the size of the hail that you may notice around your home. The two are going to be about the same size. If you had hail that was about the size of a quarter, then the dimple that is left on your roof will be the same size. While hail comes in all sizes during a hail storm, it can give you a general idea of what to look for.

Blister Damage

Blistering is going to be harder to identify than hail damage. The mark left on your roofing material is much smaller, and really requires getting up close to the shingles to see it. The damage area can be an odd shape instead of a circular shape, with there being irregular points where the shingle ripped open. When you look at that opened up part of the shingle, you can usually see the fiberglass backing material underneath the granules. 

These blisters tend to happen due to heat buildup. The shingle material is going to get really hot, which causes the asphalt to bubble up in places. This will cause the granules to loosen, so when the bubble goes away that part of the roofing material is exposed. This can happen because of a lack of attic ventilation taking the heat away from the bottom of the shingles. 

It's important to know the difference between these two types of damage for insurance and warranty purposes. Insurance companies should cover hail damage because it is an act of nature that cannot be prevented, while blistering is due to neglect with improper attic ventilation. Your warranty will also be voided on the roofing material because of neglect as well. 

Contact a local roof hail damage repair service to learn more.