Storm Response Guide
Industrial Roof Storm Damage: What to Do in the First 48 Hours
After a storm damages an industrial roof, the first 48 hours decide how much more it costs you. Make the building safe, stop water reaching stock and equipment, record the damage with dated photographs, notify your insurer and get the roof made watertight before the next storm arrives. Permanent repairs come after the damage has been assessed, not before.
- Safety first. Nobody goes onto a storm-damaged roof without proper fall protection.
- Photograph everything, with the date, before anything is cleaned up or repaired.
- Notify your insurer quickly and keep damaged items until the assessor has seen them.
- Temporary repairs stop the damage spreading. Permanent repairs follow the assessment.
What Should You Do Immediately After a Storm Damages Your Roof?
Make people and the building safe, then stop water from causing further damage. Keep staff away from wet floors, sagging ceilings and electrical equipment near water, move stock and equipment out from under active leaks, and check the roof from the ground and from inside. Do not send anyone onto the roof until it has been assessed by a team equipped for work at height.
Make It Safe
Isolate electrical equipment near water, cordon off wet floors and the areas under broken roof lights or sagging ceilings, and move stock away from active leaks. Look for lifted sheets, loose flashings and debris that could fall or blow off in the next gust.
Record and Report
Photograph the damage inside and out, with the date, before anything is cleaned up or moved. Notify your insurer and, if you lease the building, your landlord, in writing. Keep damaged stock and materials until the assessor has seen them, unless they are a hazard.
Make It Watertight
Arrange emergency storm repairs: temporary cover over broken roof lights and holed sheets, re-fixing of lifted sheets and flashings, and clearing of gutters and outlets blocked by hail and debris. Photograph the temporary work too, so the insurer can see what was done and why.
Repair It Properly
Once the damage has been assessed and itemised, the permanent repairs can be scoped: replacing what the storm actually damaged, and upgrading the parts that failed first so the next storm does less.
Never climb onto a storm-damaged roof to have a look. Broken roof lights, lifted sheets and wet surfaces are a fall risk for anyone without the right equipment. Assess from the ground and from inside until a trained team arrives.
Where Does Storm Damage Show Up on an Industrial Roof?
Not evenly. Hail finds the flat pans between the ribs of a sheet, where the metal is least supported, and it breaks translucent roof lights long before it damages the steel around them. Gutters, ridge caps and flashings take it next. Wind works differently: it lifts a roof at its edges, where ridge caps, barge flashings and edge fixings carry the load first.
Check these areas from the ground and from inside the building:
- Roof lights: cracked, holed or missing panels, the most common hail damage, and a job for polycarbonate sheeting replacement
- Sheeting: dents in the pans, cracked or chipped coating, and holes
- Edges: lifted sheets, ridge caps and barge flashings, and loose or missing fixings
- Drainage: gutters and downpipes blocked by hail and debris, overflowing, bent or pulled away
- Inside: new leaks, wet insulation and water tracking along purlins
A roof that looks intact from the ground is often already damaged in these places, which is why a close-up inspection matters after any severe storm.
"A credible damage report separates what the storm actually damaged from ordinary wear, and says honestly when a dented sheet does not need replacing. That honesty is what keeps an insurance claim credible."
How Do You Make a Storm Damage Insurance Claim Easier?
With dated evidence and a professional damage report. Insurers need to see what the storm damaged, when it happened and what the repair will cost, and they routinely question whether damage was already there. Dated photographs, a written log of events and an itemised report from a roofing contractor give the assessor what they need to process the claim.
- Dated photographs of the damage, inside and out, taken before any clean-up
- A written log: when the storm hit, what you saw, and who you notified and when
- Records of the emergency work and what it cost
- An itemised, photographed damage report from your roofing contractor
- A dated record of the roof's condition from before the storm, if you have one
That last point is worth acting on now. Having the roof photographed and dated before storm season gives you proof of its condition when an insurer asks whether the damage was pre-existing. If you lease the building, our guide to who is responsible for industrial roof leaks explains how landlords and tenants usually split storm damage.
How Do You Prepare an Industrial Roof for the Next Storm Season?
Clear the drainage, check the parts that fail first and fix them before the weather arrives. Most storm damage starts at roof lights, edge fixings and blocked gutters, and all three can be dealt with at modest cost ahead of the season. Book the work early, because in the week after a big storm every roofing contractor is in demand at once.
- Gutter hail guards: mesh fitted over gutters and outlets, so hail and debris cannot block the drainage at the moment it is most needed
- Impact-rated roof lights: replacing brittle translucent panels, often the cheapest single improvement on a roof
- Upgraded fixings and flashings: renewing fasteners, ridge caps and barge details at the edges, where wind damage begins
- Elastomeric coatings: flexible waterproofing coatings that move with the sheet, applied where the substrate underneath is sound
- Seasonal maintenance: inspection and roof maintenance scheduled before the wet months, not after the first storm
Storm seasons differ by region. Summer thunderstorms and hail affect the interior and much of the east of the country, while the Western Cape takes its heaviest weather from winter cold fronts and strong winds. Schedule the work before the season that affects your site.
Sicon Group's hail and stormproof services cover emergency storm repairs, photographic damage reports and stormproofing upgrades, with branches from the Vaal Triangle to the Garden Route. Our flagship projects include the Mall of Africa, where the work included waterproofing, roof repairs and gutter hail guards.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I do if hail damages my factory roof?
Make the area safe, move stock away from leaks, photograph the damage with the date, notify your insurer and arrange emergency repairs to make the roof watertight. Do not go onto the roof yourself. Permanent repairs should follow a professional damage assessment.
Does insurance cover hail damage to an industrial roof?
Hail is usually an insured event under a building policy, but cover depends on the policy terms. Insurers may decline damage they consider wear and tear or pre-existing, which is why dated photographs and a professional damage report matter.
How quickly should storm damage to a roof be repaired?
Temporary repairs should be done as soon as it is safe, ideally within 48 hours, to stop water causing further damage. Permanent repairs follow once the damage has been assessed and, where relevant, the insurer has agreed the scope.
Which parts of a roof does hail damage first?
Translucent roof lights, the flat pans between the ribs of the sheeting, gutters, and ridge caps and flashings. A roof that looks intact from the ground is often already damaged in those places.
Storm Damage? Call Us First
We make storm-damaged roofs watertight, then prepare a dated, photographed damage report your insurer can work from. Or book a pre-season inspection now, before the next storm finds the weak points.