Photograph Windows Before Hail Season — A Spring Photo Walk
Nothing is broken yet. That is the point. Twenty minutes with a phone in April makes the claim in July a lot simpler.
Reply within one business day. Or call / text 763-204-2099.
To photograph windows before hail season, walk the house once in spring and take a wide shot of each side, then a close shot of every window, door, screen and storm door, in the same order every time. Those dated photos show what was already there, so later damage is clearly new. JMB Builders can do the walk with you and note worn seals and rot worth fixing first. Twin Cities metro.
- One walk in spring, same order every year
- Wide shot per side, close shot per opening
- Dated files kept off the phone
The hardest question on a window claim is not whether something is damaged. It is whether it was damaged by this storm. A dented wrap, a cracked sash corner, a fogged pane: an adjuster has to decide whether it is new or was there before, and without a before photo it is your word against wear and age. A set of dated photos from spring answers that question before it is asked.
The walk is simple. Start at the front door and go around the house the same direction every time. At each side, take one wide shot that shows the whole wall, then a close shot of every window, door, screen and storm door on that wall, close enough to see the corners and the glass. Open and close each window and door once and note any that stick or will not lock. Do the garage and the shed. Save the photos somewhere other than your phone, in a folder named with the date.
While you are at it, look for things that are not storm damage but will be blamed on the next storm: failed seals that already fog, rotted sills, peeling caulk, a door that drags. Those are maintenance, not a claim, and they are better fixed in May than argued about in August. We can do the walk with you, photograph it the way we would for a claim, and tell you which items are worth fixing now.
Get a written quote for this job
Three photos and a sentence is enough: a reply within one business day, or ask for a free in-home estimate. Or text the photos to 763-204-2099.
What you supply
- A phone or camera and twenty minutes on a dry spring day
- Access around every side of the house, the garage and any shed
- A place to keep the photos off the phone: a cloud folder, an email to yourself or a printed set
- A list of anything you already know is wrong, so it is dated too
What JMB supplies
- A walk of every window, door, screen and storm door with you, photographed in order
- Notes on existing wear: fogged seals, soft sills, failed caulk, doors that drag
- A short list of repairs worth doing before storm season, priced per window or door
- The photos in your job folder, so there is a dated copy outside your house
- The same photo order used later if a storm does hit, so before and after line up
How it is priced: per project
Quoted in writing from your photos, with a reply within one business day. What moves the number:
- Size of the house and number of windows and doors
- Detached garage, shed and porch openings added to the walk
- Second-floor openings that need a ladder for a close shot
- Any repairs you choose to do, priced per window or per door
Take the walk yourself and send us the photos of anything that looks worn. We reply within one business day with what is wear and what is worth fixing.
How long it takes
On your own: about twenty minutes for an average house. With us, about an hour, including notes on anything worth fixing.
How your project works
- 1
Wide shot of each side
Stand far enough back to get the whole wall, roof edge to ground. Go around the house in the same direction every year, starting at the front door.
- 2
Close shot of every opening
Each window, door, screen and storm door, close enough to see the sash corners, the glass and the wrap. Same order as the wide shots.
- 3
Open, close, lock
Work each window and door once. Note any that stick, will not lock or show fog between the panes, and photograph those up close.
- 4
Save it off the phone
Put the photos in a folder named with the date, somewhere a lost or broken phone will not take with it. Keep last year's set too.
Photograph Windows Before Hail Season — A Spring Photo Walk: questions, answered
Why should I photograph my windows before hail season?
Because the hardest question on a claim is whether damage is new. Dated photos from spring show what every window, door and screen looked like before the storm, so new dents and cracks are clearly new, and old wear is not mistaken for storm damage either way. It takes about twenty minutes.
What should pre-loss photos of a house include?
A wide shot of each side of the house, then a close shot of every window, door, screen and storm door on that side, close enough to see corners, glass and trim. Include the garage, shed and porch. Note anything that already sticks, fogs or is rotted. Save it with the date somewhere other than your phone.
How often should I take before photos of my house?
Once a year in spring, before hail season starts, and again after any repair or replacement so the new work is on file. Keep each year's set in its own dated folder. Same route and same order every time make it easy to compare.
Do insurance companies accept photos I took myself?
Your own photos are evidence of what the house looked like on a date; how your insurer weighs them is up to them. Clear, dated photos that show the same window before and after are hard to argue with. Keep the original files, because they carry the date the photo was taken.
What wear should I fix before storm season?
Fogged insulated glass, soft or rotted sills, cracked caulk at the trim and doors that drag or will not latch. None of those are storm damage, and after a storm they muddy the claim. Fixing them in spring means the next adjuster sees sound windows and new damage, nothing in between.
Can a contractor do the before-storm walk with me?
Yes. JMB Builders walks the house with you across the Twin Cities metro, photographs every opening the way we would for a claim, puts the set in your job folder and tells you what is worth fixing now. Or take the photos yourself and send us anything that looks worn.
Recent JMB work, from our job log
59 installs recorded across 30 Twin Cities communities since Dec 2025. Window and door installs for homeowners and the builders we work with. Counts come straight from our job log; no customer names.
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Read morePage reviewed October 9, 2026 · JMB Builders LLC, MN license BC809005 · All insurance repairs pages
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