If you live between Orlando and Lake Mary, you already know the summer pattern: clear skies until early afternoon, then a fast-building thunderstorm cell that dumps heavy rain, throws sideways wind gusts, and sometimes drops hail the size of dimes or nickels before moving on twenty minutes later. Most of these storms don't make the news. But they add up — granule loss on a roof here, a cracked window screen there, a soffit panel worked loose by wind uplift — until a home has real, compounding damage that homeowners insurance will only cover if it's documented properly. Alpine Exteriors handles storm damage repair for roofing, siding, and windows across Central Florida, from single-shingle fixes to full facade replacement after a bad hail event.
Storm damage repair isn't one job, it's a category. On roofs, we deal with wind-lifted or torn shingles, exposed nail heads, hail bruising and granule loss, damaged ridge caps, and flashing that's pulled away from chimneys or roof-to-wall transitions. On siding, the common issues are cracked or dented panels (vinyl gets brittle in intense UV and can shatter on hail impact more easily than fiber cement), soffit and fascia damage from wind, and water intrusion behind panels that have separated at the seams. On windows, we see cracked or pitted glass from hail, damaged screens, and seal failure where wind-driven rain has pushed water past the frame. We also do the less glamorous but important work: gutter and downspout repair, attic ventilation checks after roof damage, and moisture inspections to catch problems before they become mold or rot inside the wall or roof deck.
Not every storm mark needs a full repair. Cosmetic hail bruising on architectural shingles, for example, doesn't always compromise the roof's function, and we'll tell you that directly rather than pushing a replacement you don't need. Where it gets more urgent is any breach that lets water into the structure — a torn shingle over a valley, a cracked window seal, a soffit gap feeding into the attic — because Central Florida's humidity turns a small leak into a mold problem fast.
For roofing, we install architectural (dimensional) asphalt shingles as the standard option for most homes, with impact-resistant (Class 4) shingle lines available for homeowners who want better hail resistance and, in many cases, a homeowners insurance premium discount to offset the higher material cost. Metal roofing is also an option for wind and hail performance, though it costs more upfront and isn't always the right fit stylistically for every neighborhood. For siding, we work primarily with fiber cement (James Hardie and comparable products) because it holds up to Florida's UV exposure and heat cycling better than standard vinyl over the long run, plus traditional vinyl siding for budget-conscious repairs where a color/style match to existing panels matters more than upgrading material class. For windows, we install impact-rated and standard dual-pane vinyl and fiber-composite windows, matched to the home's existing sightlines when we're doing a partial replacement rather than a full house.
There's a real trade-off here worth being upfront about: impact-resistant shingles and windows cost more than standard options, sometimes 20-30% more depending on the product line, and the insurance discount doesn't always fully offset that difference in year one. For homes that get hit by hail every few years, it usually pencils out over time. For a home that's had one bad storm in a decade, standard materials with a solid repair may be the more practical call. We'll walk through both with real numbers for your specific roof or siding scope rather than defaulting to the upsell.
We start with a physical inspection — roof, siding, windows, gutters, attic if accessible — and photograph everything, including damage that isn't visible from the ground. If the repair is likely to be covered by your homeowners policy, this documentation is what your adjuster will need, and we can walk the roof with them if you'd like a second set of eyes present during that inspection. From there we put together a written scope: what's damaged, what's cosmetic versus functional, and material options with a cost range for each.
Once you approve a direction, we pull the necessary permit through Orange County (or the applicable county/city building department for your address — Seminole, Osceola, and the others each have their own permitting office and timeline, and we handle that submission rather than leaving it to you). Permit turnaround varies by season and by how backed up the local office is; we'll give you a realistic estimate rather than a guess. Material lead time depends on what's being installed — standard shingles are usually quick, impact-rated products and certain fiber cement profiles can take longer if they're not in regional stock.
Installation itself is scheduled around weather. Given how reliably Central Florida gets afternoon storms roughly half the year, we work mornings when possible on roofing to reduce the odds of getting caught mid-tear-off by a fast-moving cell, and we don't leave a roof deck exposed overnight. After the work is done, we do a final walkthrough and provide photo documentation and any manufacturer warranty paperwork, plus a completion certificate if that's required for your insurance claim closeout.
Inland Central Florida's storm exposure is a different animal than the coast's. We're not dealing with salt air corrosion here — the issues are wind, hail, heat, and UV. Daily convective thunderstorms through the summer months mean roofs and siding take repeated small hits rather than one catastrophic event, so damage often accumulates gradually and gets discovered later than it should. Hail from these cells is usually small to moderate, but on an aging roof it's often the thing that finally causes leaks that a newer roof would have shrugged off.
Attic heat is the other factor people underestimate. Orlando-area attics regularly reach well above 130°F on summer afternoons, and that heat cycling stresses shingles, siding, and window seals from the inside as much as storms stress them from the outside. Poor attic ventilation accelerates shingle aging and can turn a minor storm-caused leak into a much bigger moisture problem because there's nowhere for humid air to escape. When we're repairing storm damage on a roof, we check ridge and soffit ventilation as a matter of course — it's a cheap add if it's missing and it meaningfully extends the life of whatever we install.
On the code side, work inside Orange County requires a permit for most roofing and siding repairs beyond minor patching, and current Florida Building Code wind-uplift and product-approval requirements apply to materials used in reroofing and re-siding, even for storm repair rather than new construction. Requirements differ slightly across Seminole, Osceola, and Lake counties, so we confirm the specific jurisdiction for your address before pulling permits — Windermere and parts of Winter Garden, for instance, sometimes fall under different plan review than unincorporated Orange County.
Alpine Exteriors handles storm damage repair throughout Orlando, Winter Park, Kissimmee, Apopka, Oviedo, Lake Mary, and Windermere, along with the surrounding unincorporated areas of Orange, Seminole, and Osceola counties. If you're just outside these areas, ask — we take on nearby jobs depending on scope and scheduling.
It depends on your policy, your deductible, and whether the damage is classified as storm-caused versus wear and tear. Wind and hail are typically covered perils in Florida homeowner policies, but adjusters can and do dispute causation, especially on older roofs. Photo documentation from a timely inspection is the single biggest factor in a smooth claim, which is why we document thoroughly at the first visit.
Sooner is better, mainly because any breach — a torn shingle, a separated siding panel, a failed window seal — keeps letting water in with every subsequent rain, and Central Florida gets a lot of rain. We recommend a tarp or temporary seal on anything actively leaking and a full inspection within a few days if possible, before the next storm cell rolls through.
No, and this is a common surprise. Hail bruising on shingles often only shows up on close inspection or from up on the roof itself; from the ground a roof can look fine while still having granule loss or mat damage that shortens its remaining life. That's part of why we do a physical inspection rather than relying on drone photos or a drive-by.
Often a targeted repair is enough, especially for isolated wind or hail damage on a roof or siding system that's otherwise in good shape. Full replacement makes more sense when damage is widespread, when the existing material is near the end of its service life anyway, or when patch repairs would leave a visible mismatch in color or wear. We'll give you a straight answer on which situation you're in rather than defaulting to the larger job.
If a recent storm left dented siding, missing shingles, or a window that's not sealing right, it's worth getting eyes on it before the next round of afternoon thunderstorms finds the weak spot. Alpine Exteriors offers inspections for homes throughout Orlando, Winter Park, Kissimmee, Apopka, Oviedo, Lake Mary, and Windermere — reach out to schedule a look and get a written scope of what's actually damaged versus what can wait.