Hail damage - siding

[TrevorK]

We had a hailstorm here the other day and I haven't had a chance to check my house for hail damage yet but I am a little worried there might be some. We had a floodlight shattered by the hail and because I have aluminum siding I am thinking it will be all dented.

I have never made a home insurance claim before and have no idea on the process or whether I should. What I am wondering is how they determine what to pay for and what not to (its an older house)? Do your rates rise significantly? When do claims come off your record?

Would they reside the whole house if there are parts not damaged since they can't match the colour (I assume they can't)? I am also assuming this is expensive (to reside a house, especially in aluminum), are we talking $10,000 and up?

I would love to hear some experience and I know I can't be the only one potentially facing this. I hate going into a conversation with the insurance company uninformed.

[eblend]

I know when my old friends house got damaged by hail in high river, they couldn't match the siding color, so they replaced all siding on the house + on his detached garage, even though the damage was just on one side of the house. He changed his house color completely.

[ExtraSlow]

Originally posted by eblend
I know when my old friends house got damaged by hail in high river, they couldn't match the siding color, so they replaced all siding on the house + on his detached garage, even though the damage was just on one side of the house. He changed his house color completely.

Same thing happened to my buddy too.

[speedog]

Our home was hit in Calgary's big hail storm last year - 1980's aluminum siding.

Whole house and garage is being redone because product is no longer available - will be redone in Hardie board in the next few weeks all covered by insurance.

[sputnik]

Originally posted by speedog
Our home was hit in Calgary's big hail storm last year - 1980's aluminum siding.

Whole house and garage is being redone because product is no longer available - will be redone in Hardie board in the next few weeks all covered by insurance.

I would do this.

Take the money from the insurance company and upgrade the house to Hardie.

The last thing you want is to get new vinyl siding and have it wrecked again in a hail storm next year, only to be dropped by your insurance company after a second or third claim.

[guessboi]

^ +1 upgrade to stucco or hardie if you have a choice.

[Maxt]

Stucco is probably the toughest. My neighbours house was hardie board and got damaged.

[speedog]

Originally posted by sputnik


I would do this.

Take the money from the insurance company and upgrade the house to Hardie.

The last thing you want is to get new vinyl siding and have it wrecked again in a hail storm next year, only to be dropped by your insurance company after a second or third claim.

The check we received for our contractor/us will more than cover the cost of changing from aluminum to Hardie board plus the old aluminum siding does have some cash value.

[TrevorK]

Thanks for all the feedback. It seems like it will end up being worthwhile to make a claim if I have damage.

Does anyone have experience with what kind of rate hikes to expect?
Am I on my own for finding a contractor or is it like fixing a car where I get "preferred" contractors to use?

The hardie board website makes it look nice. I have quite a bit of brickwork though so I have to make sure whatever I go with matches with the old red/brown brick. I am really not sure what all would go with it...

[sputnik]

Originally posted by TrevorK
Thanks for all the feedback. It seems like it will end up being worthwhile to make a claim if I have damage.

Does anyone have experience with what kind of rate hikes to expect?
Am I on my own for finding a contractor or is it like fixing a car where I get "preferred" contractors to use?

The hardie board website makes it look nice. I have quite a bit of brickwork though so I have to make sure whatever I go with matches with the old red/brown brick. I am really not sure what all would go with it...

If its your first claim you should be fine. Its the second and third claims that start to make rates go up.

As for Hardie, there are a ton of different colors available and you can also paint it a specific color if you want.

[TrevorK]

Is hardie board used a lot in alberta? I did some quick google searches and there definitely seem to be some negative responses on it. Some saying they have to paint it all in 8 years again.

[DENZILDON]

^^^^There are more builders using them from my stroll looking at new houses a few weeks ago. Not sure how long they last.

[KappaSigma]

Take the buyout and upgrade to stucco.

My opinion vinhl or hardie bopard look are ugly.

[bignerd]

Originally posted by KappaSigma
Take the buyout and upgrade to stucco.

My opinion vinhl or hardie bopard look are ugly.

IMO stucco is disgusting... you get all that staining under windows and in corners. To each their own.


Why do we not have more houses here built in brick? It is very popular in the US and even Ontario... seems to be more durable, and I would assume more fire retardant?

[ExtraSlow]

Not sure why you think stucco stains, I've never had that problem. Current house is stucco, no staining in the four years I've lived here.

[bignerd]

I think that because I see houses all over the Hamptons that are stucco with staining where water drips down the sides, edges of windows etc... as well FIL's house is also stucco and has the same issue. More noticeable on light colored stucco...

If your house is only four years old maybe it is not old enough?

[GTS4tw]

Originally posted by TrevorK
Is hardie board used a lot in alberta? I did some quick google searches and there definitely seem to be some negative responses on it. Some saying they have to paint it all in 8 years again.

The paint on Hardie plank is pretty bad quality, but it has improved. The older stuff had a lot of warranty claims right out of the box, I would imagine that a lot of the complaints you see are from the old stock, although I still wouldn't vouch for the current paint because they care more about looks than actual lasting quality. I think in a hail storm it would chip a lot. For the price it is tough to beat though, since it comes finished.

I say go stucco if you can, that's where its at if you want it to be durable, and it can always be painted down the road, and will look better than hardie plank at that point.

[jonnycat]

My old house was stucco, it definitely stained / discolored over time. The back of the house was not even close to same color as the front after years baking the front in the sun.

I don't mind the lighter colored stucco, but the bright and dark colors just ugly up a house IMO.

I also want to know why nobody uses brick here like out east

[revelations]

Originally posted by bignerd


IMO stucco is disgusting... you get all that staining under windows and in corners. To each their own.


Why do we not have more houses here built in brick? It is very popular in the US and even Ontario... seems to be more durable, and I would assume more fire retardant?

Brick is the material of choice for many countries. I dont understand why people want (given a choice) to build with lightweight materials in an area that can get extreme weather all year.

[blitz]

Seems to me the acrylic stucco doesn't stain/discolor, I think a lot of that happens in the older porous cement coverings.

Our Aluminum siding was damaged a few years ago by hail, took the check and it covered replacing it with stucco.