Something looks off on your roof and you're not sure what you're looking at. Maybe you noticed it after a storm, or during a routine glance from the yard, or because water showed up somewhere inside the house. Before you can decide what to do, you need to know what you're dealing with.
This guide covers every major type of roof damage — what it looks like from the ground, what it looks like up close, and what you're likely to see inside the attic if it's present. For each type, we've noted what it typically means for urgency and next steps, with links to the articles that go deeper on each topic.
We've organized it the way an inspection actually unfolds: start from the ground, check the gutters, look at the roof surface itself, then go to the attic. You don't need to climb your roof to do a useful initial assessment — binoculars and a flashlight will get you most of the way there.
What to look for from the ground
A slow walk around the perimeter with binoculars, looking at each elevation of the roof, surfaces, gutters, and the roofline itself:
Missing or displaced shingles
You'll see bare patches — dark grey or black underlayment exposed where shingles should be. If the missing shingles are concentrated on one face of the roof, wind from a specific direction is the likely cause. If they're scattered, or appear along the ridge, that may indicate broader sealant failure.
→ More detail: Shingle blow-offs after a storm covers what blow-off patterns reveal about cause and severity.
Lifted or curling shingles
Shingles that are still in place but have tabs curling upward at the edges, or tabs that appear raised off the course below them. From the ground this looks like an uneven surface or irregular shadows along a slope. This is sealant failure — the shingle is still held by nails but no longer bonded. It will blow off in the next significant wind event.
Ridge cap damage
The row of cap shingles running along the peak of the roof. Missing caps appear as a gap or notch in the roofline. Lifted or displaced caps look like raised bumps along the ridge. This is often the first place wind damage appears and one of the most important to address before storm season.
For a full explanation of how wind events damage roofs in Central Texas and what the directional damage patterns look like, see our article on wind damage.
Sagging or uneven roofline
A healthy roof ridge should be straight. Visible dips, curves, or a waviness to the roofline indicates structural issues underneath — typically water-damaged decking, rafter damage, or in severe cases structural failure. This is one situation where a professional assessment is not optional.
Flashing problems
The metal strips around chimneys, skylights, vents, and where a roof meets a vertical wall. Look for: metal that's visibly separated from the surface it seals, rust staining on the surface below it, bent or crumpled sections, or gaps where caulk has cracked and pulled away. Flashing failures are the most common source of leaks on an otherwise intact roof.
Moss, algae, or lichen growth
Black or dark green streaking down a slope is algae — primarily cosmetic but worth addressing as it can degrade shingles over time. Green or thick fuzzy growth is moss, which retains moisture against the shingle surface and accelerates deterioration. Lichen — flat, irregular patches that look almost painted on — is the most damaging of the three; it attaches to the granule surface and causes physical damage when removed.
Check the gutters and downspouts
Gutters catch physical evidence of what's happening on the roof surface above them. Before any storm season and after any significant storm, check both:
- Granule accumulation: Asphalt-colored grit collecting in gutters or at downspout outlets. Some granule shedding is normal on older shingles. Heavy accumulation after a storm — especially if you can see bare patches developing on nearby shingles — indicates hail or significant impact damage.
- Denting: Dents or dimples in aluminum gutters or downspouts confirm that hail large enough to damage shingles was present. This is some of the clearest ground-level evidence of a hail event and is specifically useful for insurance documentation.
- Gutters pulling from fascia: Sections of gutter separating from the roofline suggest the fascia board behind them is deteriorating, or that the gutter hardware has failed. Left unaddressed, this causes water to run behind the gutter and damage the soffit and siding.
- Shingle debris: Broken tab corners or full shingle pieces in gutters after a storm indicate wind or hail severe enough to fracture or dislodge material.
→ Hail damage: For a full explanation of what hail does to shingles and how to identify the different impact patterns, see our hail and storm damage guide.
On the roof surface (professional inspection)
These signs require getting on the roof or hiring someone who will. If you've seen concerning signs from the ground, this is what a professional inspection is looking for:
Hail impact marks
Circular soft spots or depressions in the shingle surface, typically with granule displacement at the center of the impact. The key characteristic is random distribution — impact marks scattered across the slope in no particular pattern. Gentle pressure with a fingertip on a suspected bruise will reveal a soft or spongy texture compared to surrounding material. These are easy to miss from the ground and are a primary focus of post-storm professional inspections.
Cracked, split, or blistered shingles
Cracks running across the tab are typically impact damage (hail or debris) or freeze-thaw in a cold-weather event. Splits along the length of the shingle are usually age-related brittleness accelerated by UV exposure. Blisters — raised bubbles in the shingle surface — are a manufacturing or ventilation issue; they don't always cause immediate leaks but they signal degraded material that will fail earlier than expected.
For a full explanation of how ventilation affects roof performance and what the code requirements are, see our article on roof ventilation.
Exposed nail heads or fastener lines
Nails that have worked up through the shingle surface, or the nail line of one course visible because the overlapping shingle above it has lifted or shifted. Both are water entry points. Properly installed shingles should not have visible fasteners from the surface.
Pipe boot and vent damage
The rubber boots around plumbing pipes that penetrate the roof crack with UV exposure and age — often well before the rest of the roof shows significant wear. A cracked pipe boot is one of the most common sources of slow, intermittent leaks that are difficult to trace. On a roof that's 10 years or older, inspecting pipe boots is a standard part of any assessment.
In the attic
A ten-minute attic inspection catches many problems before they show up as ceiling stains. Bring a proper flashlight and look for:
- Daylight through the roof deck — any pinpoint of light is a potential water entry point, even if it's not currently raining
- Water staining or rust on rafters or trusses — brown streaks or rings on the wood indicate where water has traveled; the entry point is usually somewhere uphill from where the stain appears
- Staining or discoloration on the underside of the deck — dark patches that feel soft or spongy indicate active or recent moisture penetration
- Wet or compressed insulation near the eaves or under any penetration point
- Evidence of pests — daylight gaps that let water in also let animals in, and rodent or insect activity in an attic often co-occurs with structural entry points
→ If you find water signs: Our article on roof leaks and water damage covers what to do when moisture has already reached the inside of the home.
Quick reference: damage type, appearance, and urgency
Use this as a field reference during an inspection:
Damage type | What it looks like | Next step | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hail bruising | Random circular soft spots with granule loss, all slopes | Professional inspection — don't wait if storm season continues | |||||
Missing shingles | Bare underlayment visible, often directional | Urgent if rain coming — tarp or expedited repair | |||||
Lifted/curling tabs | Irregular shadows, raised tab edges on windward faces | Schedule repair before next wind event | |||||
Ridge cap damage | Gaps or raised sections along roof peak | Repair before storm season; water entry point | |||||
Flashing gaps | Separated or lifted metal at chimneys, vents, skylights | High leak risk — repair promptly | |||||
Cracked pipe boots | Split rubber collar around pipe penetrations | Common slow-leak source — replace proactively | |||||
Granules in gutters | Heavy grit accumulation, especially post-storm | Inspect for impact damage on slopes above | |||||
Sagging roofline | Visible dips or curves in ridge or slope | Professional assessment required — do not delay | |||||
Moss/lichen growth | Green growth or encrusted patches on shingles | Address before it causes shingle deterioration | |||||
Attic water stains | Brown rings or streaks on rafters or deck | Locate entry point — may be slow active leak | |||||
Not sure what you're looking at?
If you've done a walk-around and found something you're unsure about, we're happy to take a look. We've been doing this in Central Texas since 1986 — we've seen every damage type on this list and know the difference between something that needs immediate attention and something that can wait.
Free inspections, no down payment, estimates within 24 to 48 hours.
Frequently asked questions
Most of the serious damage types have some ground-level signal — missing shingles, ridge cap problems, gutter denting, and sagging are all visible without climbing anything. What you can't reliably see from the ground is hail bruising, pipe boot condition, cracked shingles that haven't yet displaced, and the early stages of flashing failure. That's why a professional inspection matters after any significant storm, even when your roof looks intact from the yard.
The pattern matters more than the severity. Storm damage tends to be concentrated — on windward faces, near the ridge, or in the areas of highest exposure — and is often accompanied by corroborating evidence on gutters, soft metals, and neighboring properties. Age-related deterioration tends to be more evenly distributed across the whole roof and concentrated on the south-facing slope (the most UV-exposed in the northern hemisphere). This distinction matters for your insurance claim, which is one reason having a contractor document damage before the adjuster visit is valuable.
Water almost never enters directly below where you see the stain. It enters the roof at a penetration point — a flashing gap, a cracked pipe boot, a lifted shingle — then travels along rafters or the underside of the deck before dripping. The stain you see inside the house can be several feet from the actual entry point. This is why attic inspection is so useful — following the water trail from the stain back toward the roof usually reveals the source. A professional can trace it accurately; guessing from the stain alone rarely does.
Moss retains moisture against the shingle surface, which accelerates granule loss and shingle degradation over time. In Central Texas, where summer heat alternates with wet spring weather, moss can shorten shingle lifespan meaningfully on north-facing slopes that stay damp longer. Lichen is more serious — its root-like structures physically bond to the granule layer and cause damage when removed. Neither is an emergency, but both are worth addressing before they've had years to work on the shingle surface.