Severe weather has hit the Louisville area and hail may have damaged your windows and doors. What do you do?
Storm Damage to Your Home
While Louisville has a beautiful climate with four distinct seasons, our location also produces wild weather. We have our fair share of strong winds, rain, snow and ice and sometimes even hail and tornados. All of these things can damage your home. Everyone thinks about their roofs and gutters when it comes to storm damage. But if there has been severe weather, especially hail, you should look at windows and doors to assess damage. Hail and strong winds can cause damage to aluminum or vinyl cladding, glass and seals and really any part of your windows and doors.
What damage should I look for?
Go outside and take a close look at your house. Is there visible damage? Look for shattered glass, cracks, broken pieces or holes. Sometimes damage exists but it isn’t immediately visible, especially if the seal around glass is involved. You might notice drafts or leaks when it rains. Fogging may occur in double or triple pane windows. What appears to be minor damage can affect the windows’ or doors’ energy efficiency leading to higher utility costs. In some cases the damage can be repaired, in many cases your windows and doors will need to be replaced. It’s important to fix your hail damaged-windows and doors soon to prevent further damage from water and other intrusions.
What do I do if my windows or doors are damaged?
So, where do you start if you notice hail damage? Call Door Store and Windows, our experts are available to come to your home and assess your damage.
Assessing Storm Damage
We will do a complete inspection of your hail-damaged windows or doors. During that time we can establish if the windows or doors can be repaired or will need to be replaced. We look for the following:
- What type of damage has occurred: is it a broken glazing bead or seal? Is it cracked cladding?
- What materials are your windows and doors? Are they wood? Wood with aluminum clad? Wood with fiberglass clad?
- What type of windows? Double-hung, casement, awning?
- What size? Different size windows cost different amounts.
- Where are the windows located? Replacing windows on the first floor is easier and less expensive than replacing second or third floor windows. Multi-storied house window replacement involves more time and labor.
Once we know what your original windows and doors look like, how they are made, and where they are in your house, we can provide you with a written estimate a cost for replacement. We can also work with your insurance adjuster to answer questions.
Is it Worth Filing a Homeowners Insurance Claim?
Now that you have a comprehensive estimate including the product and installation costs, you can decide if it is worth filing an insurance claim. Obviously, you will want to consider the overall cost of the replacement and the amount of your deductible.
Insurance Claim Help
If you decide to file a claim with your insurance company, make sure you give them as much detail as possible about the storm and the resulting damage. Give them photos of the windows and doors. Provide them with the replacement estimate and contact information of Door Store and Windows. Many insurance companies will underestimate the amount it will cost to repair or replace your windows or doors. But they are obligated to make your house whole again. Don’t feel pressured to settle for a low value replacement window or door. Make sure your windows and doors are being replaced with the same high-quality wood or clad you have.
Hire Window and Door Professionals
Hiring a professional window and door company helps ensure the job is done correctly because we have installers who work for us and specialize in window and doors. Remember roofing contractors should not be replacing your windows and doors.
Damage to your home can be overwhelming. Door Store and Windows will work with you every step of the way until your storm damage is repaired. Email or call us today at 502-503-4718.
