3 Step Guide for Dealing With a Roofing Emergency

By Cass Jacoby.  

Here is what to do should you be faced with a roofing emergency.  

It is easy to take the roof over your head for granted. As your first line of defense from the sun and storms, your roof is a vital part of your protection from the elements. Still, it is easy to forget the value of your roof until damage threatens it.  

Unfortunately, the humbling experience of a roof emergency is inevitable. You can never truly know when the unexpected will strike causing severe damage to your roof that requires urgent repair. In these situations, it is best to act fast to prevent further damage to your home. 

By properly preparing for what you will do in a roofing emergency, you make an emergency repair a much more manageable situation. Read on for a detailed outline of how to handle a roof repair emergency so you can know what to do should a repair emergency arise. 

Step one: Assess the damage 

How you respond to a roofing emergency is going to depend on what kind of damage your home has sustained. Before you do anything, find out whether or not the damage is a potential threat to you and your family. Should your roof structure have been weakend and is threatening to collapse it is important that you vacate your family to a safer place. 

Additionally look for ways to prevent further damage from happening. For example, if water is pouring into your house quickly turn off the main electricity switch to avoid electrical damage.  

Step two: Call in a professional 

After assessing the safety of the situation and mitigating any further damage to your electrical system, you should call a professional roofing contractor immediately.  

Regardless of the status of the situation as an emergency or not, a roofing expert will understand how roof damage can contribute to structural damage, mold growth, electrical damage and water damage inside the house. Thus, most roofing professionals will answer your call immediately even at odd hours.  

South Florida Reporter writes that you should expect your roofing contractor to first apply a covering on the affected area to help prevent further damage. In some cases, when permanent repairs may be delayed, a contractor may opt for a solution such as Stormseal, which shrink wraps to your home to provide longer-lasting protection. Then your contractor will inspect the site and determine the extent of the damage. They will also diagnose the problem and look for any underlying or apparent issues that may have contributed to the emergency. 

The emergency roofing expert will write a report on the extent of the damage that will contain documents with the estimated cost of damages incurred, this is critical information for filling a claim with your insurance company. 

As always, a permanent solution to a roofing problem lies in hiring a professional. A roofing contractor will have the right skills and tools to correctly fix your roof. 

Step three: Deciding to repair or replace your roof 

Depending on how severe the damage is, your roof will either need to be replaced or repaired. To help you make this decision, ask yourself: 

• Do you have time to wait for a roof replacement? If the emergency is severe, you might not have the time needed to replace the roof. 

• Is your roof over 20 years old? If so, it is time to replace it. 

• How much of the roof is damaged? If the affected area is very large it might be easier to replace the roof. However, if the areas damaged is smaller, a repair might make more sense. 

• How much will a repair cost? Evaluate the cost comparisons of repair verse replacement. If you calculate it will cost about the same for both, then go for a new installation. 

• Did your deck and attic get damaged? If the roof’s interior structure shows moisture damage, then only repairing the exterior roofing will not solve the problem. In this instance it may be best to replace your roof.  

Hopefully you will never be faced with a roofing emergency, but should you find yourself in such a situation, you now know what you need to do to manage the damage.  

Have a question? AskARoofer.

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About Cass

Cass works as a reporter/writer for RoofersCoffeeShop and AskARoofer. When she isn’t writing about roofs, she is writing about movies for her master's degree and dancing with her plants.