How to Protect Your Home in a Roof-Related Emergency

If you’re like most homeowners, you’re likely going to discover serious damage to your roof when it starts to rain, or worse, a major storm sweeps through and soaks the area. However, storms can also cause this major damage due to their high winds often lifting roof tiles or shingles and even tossing debris into your roof. Of course, getting a roof repair during a storm is highly impractical, so that means you’re likely going to face a difficult decision as a homeowner: how do you temporarily repair your roof to protect your home until you can get it properly repaired once the storm is over? Waiting it out could have disastrous results for your home, so simply doing nothing isn’t really an option, especially if something serious has happened, such as a tree branch falling into your roof, dealing major damage or causing a partial collapse.

Here are a few emergency procedures you can follow if your roof sustains major damage and you aren’t going to be able to get it repaired immediately due to severe weather.

Tarp it Up

When your roof has been compromised (penetrated, allowing water to damage the structure), quick action is mandatory, and for most people the quickest and most effective action is to place a tarp over the damaged area. You can buy an emergency tarp at most home improvement stores, and it’s strongly advised you keep one handy for your home at all times.

If it’s safe to go on your roof, bring the tarp up to the top and run it over the other side by a few feet so water can’t run beneath it. Attach the bottom of your roof to the eaves in order to keep it secure. If you have a shingle roof, simply run a screw through an 11/2 washer and then through the eyelet holes on the side of the tarp to keep it secure. You’ll probably need to replace these tiles when the storm subsides, but you’re already in need of serious repairs anyway so this should be minimal concern. Do not try to simply weigh the tarp down with things like bricks or stones, as a strong gust of wind could catch an exposed lip on the tarp, whipping it upward, and sending these weights flying off your roof and crashing into the ground below (as well as anything on it).

This action is not for everyone. Call Lyons Roofing for assistance.

Don’t Panic

If serious damage has already been done to your roof, do what you can to minimize the impact, but don’t try to fix everything while the weather is still bad. The damage has already been done, and there isn’t much you can do about it right now. Rather, simply try to do what you can to protect what hasn’t been damaged in order to minimize your losses. When the weather improves, then you can seek out a Phoenix roofer for emergency repairs and contact your home insurance company to file any claims. Panicking and trying to save things that are already lost may result in injury or further damage.

Don’t Risk It

One more bit of advice and this is arguably the most important: do not try to get on your roof when it isn’t safe to do so. If the surface of your roof is slippery from rain water, you’ll only wind up getting hurt if you lose your footing. Furthermore, if there are high winds or lightning striking in the area, do not get on your roof: you could be seriously hurt or worse if you fall off your roof or are struck during a storm.

Minimize interior Damage

If the damage is done- the best you can hope for is to minimize the amount of internal damage. That means you should do everything you can to control the water flow instead of allowing it to simply build up and damage a larger area of your home. While it might seem counter-intuitive, poke a hole in the ceiling material to allow water to drain into a pan or pot. It’s better to let water flow freely in a controlled location than to try and keep it out and have it ruin an even larger are in your roof.