Wind vs hail damage documentation

Same roof, two documentation sets

Wind and hail damage claims are supported by different evidence even when they arrive on the same file. Wind documentation is largely about displacement: what moved, what is missing, and which direction it moved. Hail documentation is largely about impact: how many marks, how deep, and how consistent across a defined test area.

Keep the two sets separate in the file even when both are present on the same roof. Label photos and notes by damage type as you shoot, not after the fact. A reviewer working from the file should be able to open the wind folder and the hail folder independently and reach the same understanding of what was observed on each slope.

This page describes what to capture and how to organize it. It does not assign cause. Whether a given mark is wind-driven or hail-driven, or whether it meets a policy's damage threshold, is a determination made through the estimate, an engineering review, or the carrier's own process, not through the photo log itself.

Wind: what to photograph and note

• Overview photo of every slope, shot before any close-up work begins

  Establishes the roof's condition and layout before the file narrows to specific areas; this is the baseline every close-up references back to.

• Wide shot of each area with displaced, lifted, creased, or missing shingles

  Shows the location and extent of the finding relative to the ridge, rake, or eave so it can be located again without guessing.

• Close-up of exposed fastener heads or nail pull-through where tabs are missing

  Documents the mechanical condition at the point of loss, which supports the write-up line by line.

• Photo of any creased or torn shingle laid flat, unbent, next to a scale reference

  A crease that has relaxed can be hard to see in a wide shot; a flat, referenced close-up preserves the detail.

• Photo of debris on the ground, driveway, or gutter line, with the source slope noted

  Ties displaced material back to a specific roof area rather than leaving it as an unlocated pile.

• Note of wind direction indicators available on site (fence panels, signage, tree limbs) if visible, recorded as observed conditions, not as a cause determination

  Gives context for later review without the field note itself making a causation claim.

• Photo of ridge, hip, and rake edge trim and flashing at each corner

  These are common release points for wind-related displacement and are easy to skip in a hail-focused walk.

Hail: what to photograph and note

• A test square marked out on each slope, sized and located the same way every time

  Consistent test squares let a reviewer compare impact density across slopes and across separate claims on the same file.

• Count of impact marks inside each test square, recorded in the field note, not just visible in the photo

  Photos can be ambiguous at a distance; a written count next to the photo removes the guesswork.

• Close-up of an individual impact mark with granule loss visible, shot with a scale or chalk circle

  Shows depth and granule condition at a single point, which the wide test-square photo cannot capture clearly.

• Photo of soft metal test points: turtle vents, pipe boots, gutter, and downspout, on the same elevation as the test square

  Soft metals show impact evidence differently than shingle mat and are commonly reviewed alongside the shingle test squares.

• Photo of each slope's exposure: which slopes face the direction storm data indicates, without stating that exposure as the cause of any specific mark

  Records the roof's layout for the file; the causation conclusion is left to the estimate or engineering review.

• Note of shingle type, age indicators, and granule loss pattern across the full slope, not just inside the test square

  Gives the estimator context on overall roof condition that the test square alone does not show.

How the measurement report supports both documentation sets

A measurement report delivered as ESX, XML, or PDF gives you a named diagram of the roof: every slope identified, every facet's area and pitch stated, and a total square count. That structure is what turns a folder of photos into a file a reviewer can navigate. Instead of writing 'the back slope,' the note references the facet label the report already assigned, and the photo can be cross-checked against the report's diagram.

Pitch matters for both damage types because it changes area, and area is what a test-square count or a displaced-shingle count gets compared against. The report's stated pitch for each facet is the same figure the pitch multiplier table below is built from, so the area on the report and the area you are documenting in the field should match without re-measuring anything by hand.

The formula is straightforward: pitch multiplier equals the square root of rise squared plus run squared, divided by run. A flat run of 12 with a rise of 6 gives a multiplier of 1.118, meaning a 1,000 square foot footprint measures out to 1,118 square feet of actual roof surface on that slope. The report applies this per facet and states the result; the table below shows the multiplier at common pitches so a note referencing 'the 8/12 facet' can be checked against the report's own figure.

1 roofing square = 100 sq ft. Area = footprint x pitch multiplier; multiplier = sqrt(rise^2 + run^2) / run. A delivered report states the facet's pitch and area directly; this table is for checking a note against the report, not for re-deriving the report's own figures.

Getting the report into the file

Order the report before or alongside the field visit so the facet diagram is on hand when notes are written, not added afterward as a reconciliation step. Sketch My Roof roof measurement reports are ordered from the property address and delivered the same calendar day for orders placed before the 6 PM Eastern cutoff, as ESX for Xactimate®, XML for Symbility®, or PDF, with no subscription and no minimum order.

Once the estimate is built, the ESX imports into Xactimate® via the Sketch import option; menus vary by version, so verify the exact path in your build against the vendor's current documentation. Verisk™ desks working through XactAnalysis® can route the order the same way; ask about Xactimate® Integration ordering if the claim is already staged in that workflow.

Whichever format is used, the report's facet labels and areas become the reference points for both the wind photo set and the hail test-square set, which is what keeps a mixed-damage file readable months later.

File organization: keep the two sets separable

1. Shoot the roof overview first, every visit

   One set of overview photos per slope, taken before any close-up work, gives every subsequent photo a baseline to reference.

2. Tag every photo by damage type as it is taken

   Use a consistent naming convention (for example, a slope label plus 'wind' or 'hail') so the two sets never require re-sorting later.

3. Write the field note next to the photo, not after the visit

   A test-square count or a displacement description written from memory at the office is weaker than one written on site next to the corresponding image.

4. Cross-reference each note to the report's facet label

   Once the measurement report is in hand, go back through the notes and confirm each references the same facet name and pitch the report states.

5. File both sets under the same claim number but separate folders

   Keeps the wind and hail evidence independently reviewable while still tied to one claim record.

Common documentation gaps

• Photographing only the damaged area and skipping the overview, which leaves no baseline for the slope's overall condition.
• Recording a test-square impact count only in the photo caption instead of a separate written note, which gets lost if the photo is cropped or re-exported.
• Mixing wind and hail evidence into one undifferentiated folder, forcing a reviewer to guess which finding supports which damage type.
• Referencing a slope by a description ('the back slope') instead of the facet label the measurement report already assigned.
• Ordering the measurement report after the estimate is finished instead of before the field visit, which means field notes cannot reference the report's facet names.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

• Published residential menu: Standard ESX $19; Complex ESX $25; PDF-only $25; ESX + PDF $29; same-calendar-day delivery before the 6 PM Eastern cutoff; order by address; no subscription; no minimum: Sketch My Roof residential order page (as of August 2026)
• Xactimate® Integration ordering for Verisk™ desks: Sketch My Roof Verisk page (as of August 2026)
• ESX import into Xactimate® via the Sketch import option; menus vary by version: Xactimate® official documentation (as of August 2026)
• Symbility® / CoreLogic claims documentation for XML report import and claim file attachment procedures: Symbility® / CoreLogic claims documentation (as of August 2026)
• Pitch multiplier formula: sqrt(rise^2 + run^2) / run; 1 roofing square = 100 sq ft; area = footprint x multiplier: Roof measurement report facts (as of August 2026)