Ice storm, wind or tree damage to a Clay, NY roof: find out what happened before you buy a roof

NOAA records seven ice storms for the Onondaga zone between 1999 and 2007 and none from 2008 on, and the April 2003 storm carries about $7 million of property damage countywide. The Clay section of the hazard plan describes ice-loaded trees falling on houses, vehicles and power lines. Those are records for the county and a plan. They do not say what happened on your roof.

What they do say is that Clay has a reason to expect ice and tree damage. If a storm has coated the trees over your house, think about what could come down onto the roof before you worry about the shingles.

After the ice is gone, walk the property and look up. Note broken limbs still hanging over the house, and tell the roofer.

Ice leaves its own marks. Look for shingle pieces along the fence line, for bent or hanging metal trim, and for a sag along a ridge that was straight last month. None of these proves a failed roof, and none should be ignored. Photograph them, note the date and mention them when you book.

Gusts that lift shingles are not rare here: NOAA counts 343 thunderstorm wind events in the county record, 1996 through 2025. That is a county count, not a finding about your roof.

The check after wind is simple. Look at the ridge, the edges and the corners, where wind gets under shingles first. Look for creased tabs and for pieces on the ground. Count what you find and tell the roofer, who can then start at the likely slope.

A few lifted shingles are a repair. A slope with creased tabs across it is a different matter, and the roofer should say which one you have and show you in a photograph.

If you plan to claim, read your policy before you phone anyone. New York's financial services department uses a roof in its worked example to show how depreciation shrinks a payout, and how a home covered at 80 percent of replacement cost or more is treated. We do not handle claims and cannot say what any policy pays, so ask your insurer.

What a roofer can do is describe the damage in plain words, by slope, and put it in the estimate. Keep that description with your dated photographs. If your insurer is sending an adjuster, have both ready to hand over, and ask the adjuster what else they need.

Ask the roofer for the workers' compensation coverage and check it in the state's public search, and make sure the contract is written. If someone offers a quick deal at the door, take the paper and say you will call back.

Think about the order of work. Keep people clear of the damage first, then document, then call. A tarp over an open section is a sensible stop-gap, and it should go on after your photographs are taken, not before. Ask the roofer whether the cover is part of the visit or a separate line, and keep what you were told in writing.

Clay's median home dates to 1978, and a roof from that era may already be on its second covering. If the storm damage sits on a roof with two layers, the replacement question changes, because state code does not let a new covering go over two. Tell the roofer what you know of earlier roofs so the estimate starts from the right place.