What did the April 2021 hail do to homes in and around Newcastle?
On the evening of April 28, 2021, baseball-sized hail broke windows on the west sides of homes, and a regional television report said that hundreds of homes and businesses were damaged across Norman and Newcastle. What matters for a house is the opening the hail made.
A broken window or a dented roof covering lets rain and wind-driven moisture into the house. The water runs down the inside of the wall behind the window, into the top of the framing and onto the ceiling below, and it can appear in a room away from the opening. The crew checks the path from the opening inward, and does not assume the stain on the ceiling is the whole problem.
How does storm water reach a Newcastle house after a hailstorm?
A hail opening usually lets in rain in the next storm, not only in the one that made it. The water comes through the opening, down the wall or along the roof deck, and into the attic or the cavity. That is why a house can look dry after the first night and then show a stain after the next rain. The technician reads the attic and the wall cavity as well as the room.
Once the opening is closed, the drying continues until the readings in the framing and the insulation reach their targets. The roofer or the glazier closes the opening, and the crew keeps the readings and the photographs so the insurer can see the damage and the work done to it. See roof leak water damage for how roof openings are handled.
What should a Newcastle resident check after a storm?
Look at the windows and the roof from the ground, and check for broken glass, lifted shingles and bent flashing. Do not climb onto the roof to look. Inside, check the ceilings and the walls under the windows for stains, soft spots and damp smells, and note the time you saw any of them. Photograph anything you find before you move it.
If you find water, switch off the power to the wet room at the breaker from a dry place, and keep children and pets out. Put containers under drips and cover the floor. Call the line with the details, and say whether the damage came with a storm, because the insurer will ask for that.
What paperwork does a Newcastle claim need?
Keep the photographs of the damage, the readings from each visit, the removal list and the receipts for any pump or temporary repair. Ask the insurer what it needs and in what form, and keep a copy of everything you send. The policy decides what is covered, including storm and hail damage, and this site does not say what any policy pays.
Ask the company which licences, registrations and permits apply to the work, and check the written contract before you sign it. This site does not name a state licence for the trade. For a dispute with the insurer that cannot be settled, the Oklahoma Insurance Department is the state regulator for insurance claims.
