Wind, limb or snow-load damage on a Baldwinsville, NY roof: learn what the storm did

The derecho of September 7, 1998 entered Onondaga County near Baldwinsville just after one in the morning. It toppled tens of thousands of trees across the north of the county and caused about $90 million in property damage. Few storms are like it, and it does not tell you what any roof did. It does explain why trees and wind are the first thing to check here.

The county hazard plan's village chapter records another round: June 1, 2018 storms with damaging winds that downed trees and power lines. Look up at the trees over your house. If a limb came down, ask the roofer to check the deck under it, because a crack there will not show in the shingles.

The wind check is simple. Walk the ridge line and the edges from the ground, then the yard and the driveway for pieces. Count them, write down where they landed and tell the roofer, who can start on the likely slope.

If a limb is still on the roof, keep off the roof and leave it for whoever will cut it. Stay away from any downed wire and call the utility.

Think about the inside as well. Wind that takes shingles can drive rain in along the edges and the ridge. Look at the ceilings along the outside walls over the next few days, and mention any stain, with its date, when you book.

If your roof sagged, a ceiling cracked or a door started sticking after a heavy snow, say so when you book. Those are signs a roofer should look at, and they belong in the description you give the roofer.

The village plan records a January 12, 2018 storm that dropped six to ten inches of snow, and the county plan notes that properties in poor structural condition can suffer significant roof damage when ice and snow accumulate.

A roofer can also tell you whether the roof edge took the weight badly. Ask them to describe the lowest rows and the boards under them. The write-up is worth keeping with your photographs.

If you plan to make a claim, read your policy before you phone anyone. New York's financial services department uses a roof in its example to show how depreciation reduces what a policy pays and how a home covered at 80 percent of replacement cost or more is handled. Claims are not our business, and what a policy pays is for your insurer to say.

After storms, people knock on doors offering roof work, and some are honest. Take the paper and say you will call back. Ask for the written contract with its cancel notice, and look the roofer up in the state's public workers' compensation search.

A tarp over an open hole is a sensible stop-gap. Take photographs before it goes on, and ask whether it is part of the visit or a separate line.

Keep a short log with dates: the storm, the first stain, the photographs, the day you called. It is free, and it makes each later conversation easier, with a roofer, a landlord or an adjuster. Tell us what came down when you book.