The greatest aspiration for most people is to become a homeowner. Often times, owning a house signifies the coming of age and becoming an adult. Being able to claim a place as your own, decorate and style it to your unique sensibility brings a large proportion of American significant joy. Most people are looking for a place to establish themselves, so finding your forever home serves as an important pilgrimage for most adults.
Yet, after purchasing their first house, new homeowners fail to consider the maintenance of the building – not just inside, but out. The biggest aspect that homeowners fail to consider happens to be the most important, the roof. The roof is often undervalued, mostly because access to the roof is limited, however, the roof is essentially what makes your home a home.
Roofs are expected to last a long time yet, are culpable to failure all the time. Shingles can fall off and weather can cause damage to the structure. Sometimes, the issues can be dangerous and directly impact the safety of those inside resulting in the need for an emergency roof leak repair. Below, we will explain the things you need to know especially in the event of an emergency repair.
What Constitutes An Emergency Repair?
Any event that causes a leak that could be detrimental to the safety and livelihood of the inhabitant inside constitutes an emergency roof leak repair.
In most cases, natural disasters such as hurricanes, high winds, fire, torrential rain all constitute emergency repair and have the ability to compromise a roof. Tree limbs can cause significant damage to a housing structure, while rodents like raccoons and squirrels can bore holes in the rotting wood creating further damage.
If any of these situations directly impact your roof and allow water infiltration, you are in need of an emergency repair.
Nevertheless, there are instances where a leak can occur from broken pipes and poor drainage. It is the responsibility of a roofing professional to find the cause of your leak and prescribe the best plan of action to resolve the issue.
What Should I Do In The Event of An Emergency Repair?
First of all, it is important that you stay calm. Once the roof has been compromised, the action has already taken place. Getting it resolved is the next issue and should be your focus. Spending time complaining about the damages does not resolve the issue. Contact your insurance provider about the leak and then contact a professional roofing contractor.
Take pictures of the damages and items you have lost as a result of the leak. You can present these images to your insurance provider in order to get these items replaced. Images provide the best illustration of the damages. Furthermore, they can be helpful for the insurance provider to make a claim and help your contractor to understand the damages to best initiate the roof leak repair.
How Can I Best Assist The Roofing Contractors
Once a leak appears, it needs to be resolved quickly. Preventing further damage to your interior is the most important aspect to consider. Continuous exposure to the elements increase the likelihood of roof failure and eventually, collapse.
Attempting to assist in repairs might be helpful. Offering a quick patch can help significantly by reducing further damage until the issue can be looked at by a professional, however, proceed with caution. Never repair a leak alone, especially if the situation you are experiencing could be life-threatening. Wait until the event subsides, don’t endanger your life and the lives of your loved ones over a repair if you can wait.
Additionally, it is imperative that you request the services of a professional. While you might feel you are being helpful, you can cause further damage, especially as a novice – extending the amount and price of repair to resolve the leak. Leave these repairs to a professional.
How Long Will These Repair Take?
Depending on the severity of the situation, sometimes repairs cannot take place. In the event of an emergency or a life-threatening situation, roofing experts will wait until the event subsides before investigating. On the other hand, if the emergency situation can be resolved quickly, for example in the event of a fire, roofing specialists can mobilize quickly and attempt to repair the leak.
Repair times differ greatly and depend on the size and damage sustained. Furthermore, an assessment needs to be made in order to attain where the leak is coming from and what kind of leak exists. These assessments can take some time as each possibility needs to be accounted for.
What Will These Roofing Contractors Do?
As the issue at hand happens to be an emergency, the initial resolution will not be incredibly effective. In order to reduce impact to your daily life, professional roofing contractors will administer a superficial repair through the installation of a plastic tarp.
The tarp will be applied to the damaged area, drawn as taut as possible and nailed down to the roof. The plastic material causes the rainwater to run off instead of making its way inside the house. This method effectively limits further exposure and lasts long enough for the leak to be properly inspected.
After a concise and accurate assessment, roofing contractors will attempt to repair damages. At this point, you can expect efficient and effective repair.
Emergencies happen all the time. Our first instinct might be to panic, however, it is important to remain smart and aware. Do not ignore a leak. While the leak might seem small, the effects could be long-lasting and larger than expected. Furthermore, these leaks need to be inspected. Your safety is hugely important. Requesting the aid of professional roofing experts will always serve you better than attempting to administer your own repair. The issue may not be as simple as you might think it is and professional roofing contractors are trained to look for signs of damage. Your professional roofing contractor will then express a plan of action to resolve your leak. Similarly, expressing your concerns to your insurance provider can help prevent paying out of your own pocket. Most insurance providers provide coverage for damages to your home, particularly in the event of natural disasters, and they might even employ the services of a professional roofing contractor on your behalf.
