What to do if your roof is leaking

11/27/2017 (Permalink)

What to do if your roof is leaking

With winter coming upon us and snow sitting our roofs, there’s a chance for some possible roof leaks. A leaky roof can certainly cause a rain on any homeowner’s parade. Rainy weather or snow is often when roof leaks get discovered. That's when it's too late for anything but a repair. No time to contemplate, no time to plan with the rain causing interior damage right now, just get to the phone and get a roofer there as soon as possible. But what can you do to temporarily stop the leaks from causing more damage until help arrives?

First Things First - Deal with inside the house to minimize interior damage

In most cases, a leak will slowly pool at the ceiling until it finds an escape route -- usually a penetration point like at a light fixture or heat register. After several hours, the leak will start to find multiple escape routes, making the leak look much worse than it actually is. To minimize your ceiling damage, find the wettest spot or a bulge in the ceiling and poke a small hole in the middle. Use a bucket to collect the draining water. 

Second Step – Locate the point of entry Start with the inside, such as an attic. It will prove to be quite difficult to stop a leaky roof in the rain. Try to locate the leak but keep in mind that the leak in the ceiling and the leak in the roof may not align. If your roof covering is over a layer of plywood, then you should keep in mind that water will generally travel from the leak in the roofing material to the nearest joint in the plywood, depending on how the roof slopes.

Third Step – Maintain the situation until help arrives Once you locate the point of entry from the inside, there are a couple of options for temporary repair such as roofing cement, roofing tape or a tarp. Available for purchase at any home improvement store, roofing cement or tape can be applied to the inside of the roof decking inside your attic, as well as to the outside of the roof. If you feel confident enough scale your rooftop, tarping is a quick and easy option to control any further leaking until your roofing contractor arrives. When using a tarp to cover your roof, a good rule of thumb is to cut the tarp so that it adequately covers the damaged area. Leave at least an extra four feet of tarp on each end to cover the roof damage. Secure the tarp with 2 x 4 boards. You can staple or nail the tarp to the boards, but be sure to use nails that are not so long that they will go through your roof.

These steps will help you prevent further damage to your home until a professional can arrive. Keep in mind when hiring a roofing contractor you want to have a reputable company, someone who is going to stand behind their work. Your roof will last a long time so you don’t want someone working on it who is not a local, reliable company.

Article source: http://blog.redriverroofing.com/what-to-do-with-your-leaky-roof-until-help-arrives