Did the last major or minor storm in your area cause your roof to leak? If it did, you’ll need to stop the water from infiltrating your home, or you could find yourself with a repair bill that’s much higher than you can afford.
Signs of a Roof Leak
Roof leaks aren’t always obvious, but if you have missing shingles and a torn underlayment or if your roof is past its expected useful life, your roof will start to leak. Signs of a roof leak include stains or set drywall on your ceiling, musty or moldy odors throughout your home and puddles on your floor during rainstorms.
Stopping Your Roof Leak
Once you realize your roof is leaking, you’ll have to take steps to stop the water from infiltrating your home. If water continuously drips onto your roof’s decks and trusses for an extended period of time, you may need to replace those components along with the damage that caused the leak.
Call a Contractor
The safest way to temporarily stop a roof leak is to call a contractor. This is especially true if your roof’s damage was caused by a severe storm and not the age of your roof. Most roofing contractors will place a tarp over the area of your roof that is leaking and work with your homeowners insurance company in order to get your roof repaired.
File a Homeonwners Insurance Claim
Next, call your insurance company and file a claim for storm damage. If you called a contractor first, they can write up a report of the damage caused to your roof from the storm and take pictures. This information will need to be provided to your insurance company in order to process your claim quickly. If your claim is approved, the contractor will come back and repair your roof’s leak, and you’ll only have to pay your insurance deductible.
If Your Claim Isn’t Approved or You’re Comfortable Getting on Your Roof
If your insurance claim is denied or you are comfortable getting on your roof and have the proper safety equipment, you can place a thick tarp over the area of your roof that is leaking and nail it down. However, you can’t nail the tarp directly to the roof, you’ll have to place boards along the edges of the tarp and nail through the boards. It’s important to understand that a tarp is only a temporary fix that will stop water damage for a short period of time. Eventually, you’ll have to have your roof repaired by a roofing contractor.
