Needing an emergency roof repair can put you in a very stressful situation. When dealing with a leaky or missing shingle or damaged flashing, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the various ways your home could be affected. Fortunately, there are things you can do ahead of time that will help minimize the damage and make it easier to get back up and running.
You may save a ton of money, stress, and heartache if you know how to handle a roof issue or at least have the resources to hire someone who can help.
A roof emergency is no laughing matter, especially when it comes to your health and safety. The fact of the matter is that without proper maintenance, a leaky roof can become something much worse—and potentially cause damage to your home.
In a nutshell, if you’re experiencing water damage or mold growth due to a faulty or damaged roof, chances are you’re going to have some serious financial problems on your hands if left unaddressed. What’s more, the longer you wait to get help with these issues (or worse still: try fixing them yourself), the bigger those problems become.
So how do you know what kind of roof issue needs immediate attention? Well first off: any time there’s visible damage on your shingles or flashing around vents or chimneys (like holes), there could be loose nails in need of replacing; this type of thing happens more often than most people think! But don’t just assume everything will fall into place. It never hurts for an expert opinion either way before making any decisions about repairing repairs themselves so make sure someone has looked at things first before jumping in feet-first.
When your roof is damaged, the first thing you should do is phone your insurance provider and let them know that you have an open claim.
If you don’t have a homeowner’s insurance policy, or if your policy doesn’t cover roof repairs, now is the time to start looking for one.
The next call should be to your home warranty if you have one. They should send out a contractor who can determine whether or not the damage can be repaired at home by themselves or if it needs professionals from their network of contractors.
Also, if there are any homeowners associations in your area whose rules govern how properties must be maintained and repaired, then contact them as well so that they know about what happened and take appropriate action if necessary.
While waiting for the insurance adjuster don’t let more water into your house
Cover up any exposed areas with plastic sheeting and use pots, pans, and garbage bins to collect any dripping water.
Don’t let more water into your house while you wait for the adjuster from your insurance company. They may not be able to come out right away.
Call your mortgage company too because they’ll want to know what’s going on with the property
Remember, you bought the house with a mortgage loan and you still owe them money. They want to be aware of what’s going on with the investment.
Tell them about the damage in a concise email or phone call and ask them for their advice on how best to proceed. Do I need to make payments while this is being repaired? If so, how much should I send each month?
Put old sheets or towels on the floor
This way it’s easier to clean up later.
Place old sheets or towels on the floor in front of doorways and in traffic areas to capture any debris that might fall from the ceiling or walls; this way it’s easier to clean up later.
Make sure that you protect your floors from damage. Any loose pieces of drywall can easily scratch the surface, so keep an eye out for them when sweeping up.
To reduce the chance of water entering your house, stack as many boxes as you can above the ground
Once you’ve taken care of all the essentials, it’s time to get the boxes up off of your floor. If water gets into your home, there’s a much smaller chance that it will destroy all of your material goods if they’re high up off of the ground. There are two ways to go about this.
With enough room in a closet or bathroom, place as many boxes as possible in there and then close them up with towels or rags. This will keep any water out so long as you don’t have a flood-like situation going on in your house.
If you don’t have enough room in either location, take down some shelves and stack them on top of each other. Just be careful not to make too tall a stack because if one box falls over onto another one below it, both can fall over and cause damage throughout your home!
How to find a reputable company for your emergency roof repair
When you need emergency roof repair, it’s tempting to just call the first company you find. But this is not a decision to be made without careful consideration. You want someone who can help with your roofing issue quickly and at a fair price—and also one that’s trustworthy, reliable, and experienced. Here are my tips for finding such a company.
Talk to family and friends
If you have a good relationship with people in your life, they can be a great source of information on how to find an emergency roof repair company. Ask them if they’ve had any work done on their home recently. If so, ask them how they found the company they used and what kind of work it was. You might also want to ask about the quality of that company’s service and whether or not they would recommend the company again in future emergencies like yours.
Check if they have a website
Once you’ve narrowed down the list of emergency roof repair companies to a few, it’s time to do some more research. First, check their website. Is the site easy to navigate? Does it look professional? Does this company invest in its own marketing, or are they using an off-the-shelf template that other firms use as well?
A reputable company will have a dedicated web address that’s easy for customers to find (and remember).
Look for emergency roof repair companies
Start typing “emergency roof repair company near me” into a search engine.
Scroll through the results and look for companies that offer emergency roof repair services. The first few pages should be local, but you can also go further down if you want to check out their online reviews. This will give you a good idea of how they’re doing business locally and whether or not they’re reputable enough to hire them. And if not, there’s always Google Maps!
Search by zip code—this is a bit more specific than just searching based on location because it’ll show only companies within your area (or close to it).
Type in the address where you need emergency roof repair service done.
Again, this will filter out results from places far away from where you live or work so only relevant businesses appear on your screen.
Check reviews
When it comes to finding a reputable emergency roof repair company, there are many different ways you can check reviews. From the company’s website to Facebook and Twitter, reviews are often available for you to view at your convenience.
One place you should definitely look for reviews is on the company’s own website. While not every business is going to have an active social media page or an official blog post on their site where they discuss customer satisfaction, it may be worth taking a look at their Contact Us page and seeing if they have any current customers’ feedback listed there. You’ll find that most larger companies do have testimonials from past clients posted on their websites somewhere!
Another great place to check out would be Google reviews. While these aren’t always 100% accurate by any means (just like Yelp), they’re still very useful when deciding which companies deserve your business.
Price should not be the only factor in choosing a roofing company
Price is important, but it shouldn’t be the only reason you choose a roofing company. You should take into account quality, reputation, and experience when choosing a reputable emergency roof repair company. If you find a roofer that’s significantly cheaper than the others, it may be because they are not as good or they don’t have as much experience in emergency repair work.
They should have insurance and licensing
Insurance
Finding a company that has insurance is important because it protects both you and the contractor. If there is an accident or mishap while working on your roof, then they are held accountable for any damages caused by their negligence. It also helps protect consumers in case of theft or fraud by making sure that the company has enough money to pay any judgments against them if sued by customers in the future (or even just to cover losses).
Licensing
This is another important aspect of finding a roofing contractor. Licensing for roofing contractors is regulated by the state and local governments, so you should always look at their licenses before hiring them. This can be done online or by calling your city’s building department.
They should have a physical address
If you can, try to check the address of the company. While this isn’t always possible and can be a bit of work by itself, it’s still worth doing because it’s safer to deal with a company that has a physical address rather than one that doesn’t.
Most reputable companies will have an address available on their website or on their promotional materials, so be sure to check those out if you’re unsure about where they’re located.
GreenLight Roofing and Remodeling
If you’ve experienced a roof emergency, then we hope that this article has been helpful. We know how stressful it can be when your home is damaged and you don’t know what to do, but by following these steps and calling in professional assistance if needed, you’ll soon be back on track.
There are a number of factors that you should consider when choosing the right roofing company, but we’ve covered the most important ones here.
Contact us today for emergency roof repairs in Weatherford, TX custom roofing designs, and expert consultation on any other roofing services. We promise to respond immediately, take care of all your needs, and provide you with the highest quality products.
