Okemos storm restoration, and an honest read on whether to file.
Straight-line wind, hail, and limbs off those big oaks. We inspect at close range, document what the storm actually did, and tell you plainly whether a claim is worth filing.
Wind, hail, and the oaks over Okemos.
Storms here arrive in a few forms. Summer straight-line wind and hail lines cut across Ingham County and catch Okemos on the way through, lifting shingles and breaking the seal underneath without tearing one off where you would notice. Then there are the oaks. Okemos sits under a mature canopy the newer tract streets around here never grew, and a heavy limb landing on a 1970s split-level or a custom roof full of valleys and dormers does damage plain wind never manages. Add a winter of ice damming at the eaves and you have a house that looks fine from the driveway while the deck underneath takes on water.
We never subcontract. The people who climb your Okemos roof after a storm are the same people who photograph it, write the scope, and do the repair, and they are still working in this county the following winter. Chasers turn up the day after hail, knock every door on the street, and push a contract before the adjuster has even been out. We are not that, and we will say so plainly on your porch.
The other thing we do differently is tell you when the storm is not the problem. Plenty of roofs we get called to after a storm are simply old. Granule loss, curled tabs, nail pops, and worn pipe boots are age, and an adjuster will read them as age too. If we let you file on that, you take the denial and we take nothing off our conscience. So we say it up front: this is wear, here is what it takes to fix it, and here is a fair price in writing.
The order of operations is simple. If water is coming in, we cover it first so a bad night does not become ruined ceilings and framing. Then a free inspection at close range, every slope, the siding on the exposed elevation, the gutters, and the interior stains that tell us where it got in. You get the photographs, a written scope your adjuster can read line by line, and our honest read on whether filing makes sense.
Storm work is one of several things we do around Okemos. Read more about storm restoration, see everything we do in Okemos, or book a free inspection.
What to photograph before anyone climbs up.
Before a ladder touches the house, take pictures. Note the date the storm came through, because your insurer will ask and we get more than one event a season. Shoot each elevation wide from the yard so the whole wall and roof plane are in frame, then move closer on anything obvious: creased or missing shingles, dented gutters and downspouts, cracked or punched siding on the wall that took the wind, and any limb still lying where it landed. That last one matters in Okemos more than most places. If an oak limb came down, photograph it before somebody drags it to the curb, because it is the clearest evidence you will ever have of what hit the roof and where. Inside, photograph ceiling stains and damp insulation, then again if they spread. Hold onto receipts for tarping or board-up, since most policies treat reasonable temporary protection as part of the loss. Then leave the roof itself to somebody wearing fall protection. We do the close-range documentation, and if the roof needs covering while the claim is processed, we cover it that day.
How we work a claim, and what we won’t do.
Three rules hold on every storm job we take in Okemos. They are why our storm work arrives through neighbors passing our name along instead of a door knock.
Our own crew
The person who inspects your roof is the person who documents it, meets the adjuster on the roof if you want us there, and does the repair. Nothing gets handed off to a traveling crew we have never met. We live and work here year round, and our name stays on the job.
No deductible games
You will never hear us offer to cover your deductible or quietly work it into the price. It is against the law in Michigan, and a fair sign the rest of the number is inflated too. We also will not press you into filing a claim we do not believe will pay, because a denial costs you and gains you nothing.
Age called age
Wear is not storm damage, and we say so before you call your insurer rather than after. If the roof is simply old, you get the straight read and a fair price in writing on the repair. If the storm did real harm, our photographs and written scope carry the argument without anyone stretching it.
Storm work across Okemos and the county.
We cover Ingham County in full out of our shop in St. Johns, so the crew handling a storm call off Jolly or Hamilton works the rest of mid-Michigan that week. The homes below are real Anchor jobs.
Okemos roofs are harder to read than most. Wooded lots on the older streets mean limb strikes and deep shade, and shade means moss and slower drying. The custom homes and split-levels built through the sixties, seventies, and eighties carry complicated geometry, and every valley and dormer is somewhere wind can lift a course and water can work under. The newer subdivisions sit more exposed and take the wind and hail straight on, losing siding and gutters along with shingles. We inspect all of it the same way: up on the roof, up close, with a camera.
More about storm restoration · hail damage repair · shingle roof repair · siding installation · gutter replacement · all of Ingham County · call (989) 900-0018.
Okemos storm damage, straight answers.
What homeowners here ask us after a storm, and you can see finished work in our gallery.
A storm just went through Okemos. How do I know if the roof took damage?
Usually you cannot tell from the ground, which is the whole problem. Wind breaks the seal under a shingle without moving it enough to see, and hail bruises the mat in a way that shows up as a leak a season later. A close-range look settles it with photographs instead of guesswork, and the look is free.
An oak limb came down on my roof. What do I do first?
Keep everyone out from under that room, photograph the limb where it landed before anyone moves it, and call us. If it broke through, we cover the opening the same day so the next rain does not finish what the limb started. Then we document the whole roof, because a limb strike almost always comes with wind damage elsewhere.
Should I file a claim at all?
We will tell you before you call your insurer. If the storm clearly did enough to carry past your deductible, filing makes sense and we document it properly. If the damage is minor, or the roof is simply worn out from age, filing is often the wrong move, and we would rather do the repair at a fair price in writing.
Will you handle the insurance claim?
We do the part a contractor should do. We inspect, photograph every slope, write a scope your adjuster can check line by line, meet them on the roof if you want us there, and restore exactly what gets approved with our own crew. What we will not do is pad that scope to make the number bigger.
How do I spot a storm chaser in my neighborhood?
Out-of-town plates, a clipboard, a contract they want signed today, and an offer to take care of your deductible. Ask where their last three Ingham County jobs were and who will be on the roof. We are in St. Johns, we do not subcontract, and our storm work carries the same name as every other roof we do here.
Are you licensed and insured?
Yes, fully licensed and insured with general liability coverage, and certified by CertainTeed, LP SmartSide, James Hardie, and Lomanco. The crew on your Okemos roof is our own, and the repair is done to manufacturer spec so the warranty stays intact.
How soon after the storm should I call?
Soon. Policies give you a window, and the longer damage sits undocumented the harder it is to tie to a particular storm, and the more a small leak turns into soaked decking. We move quickly on the inspection so you are not up against a deadline, and we are honest from the first visit about whether the storm did enough to be worth filing on.
Okemos, we’ll tell you what the storm actually did.
Call the crew for a free inspection after the storm, and a straight answer on whether a claim is worth filing.
(989) 900-0018