Emergency Roof Repair

​What to Do When You Need Emergency Roof Repair

How do you protect your belongings and family when you need an emergency roof leak repair? What are the next steps when you’ve discovered the emergency?

Here are our recommendations for handling emergency roof repairs. 

Stay Calm – The most important thing you can do during a roofing emergency is to remain calm. First of all, damage often looks worse to the homeowner than it does to a trained inspector. Secondly, while the need to take action immediately is urgent, if you panic or freak out, it will be harder for you to do what needs to be done to actually handle the problem. 

Preserve & Protect What You Can – If the emergency is due to a storm, you need to minimize damage to the inside of your home as much as possible. If there are holes over the living area, cover them with plastic tarps, or visqueen. You may need to place buckets, pots or other containers under the hole until it stops raining. 

Call a Professional Roofer – Your next step is to place a call to a roofing professional. As with most roofing companies, Elements has a 24 hour phone number: 970-522-7636. Due to safety concerns related to wind, lightning, and wet surfaces, we will typically not send a roofer during a storm. Nor should you or anyone in your family try to get onto the roof to repair the damage. 

What Will the Roofer Do? Once we get to your home, we’ll inspect your shingles, decking and rafters for any damage beyond what is visible. We’ll place and secure heavy duty tarps to seal your home against the elements until we can actually make the repair. If you have structural damage to the rafters we will make a recommendation as to whether it’s safe to remain in the house until roof repairs are underway or complete.

Call Your Insurance Agent – As soon as possible after the damage has been done, contact your insurance company. Emergency roof repair can be pricey, and can include unforeseen expenses like hotel stays or alternate living arrangements during repairs. An adjuster will be sent to review the damage and assess your claim. During this part of the process you may want to contact an experienced roofing contractor to get additional estimates, which you may submit as part of your claim.

I have roofing damage. Is it an emergency?.

There are a lot of situations that can lead to roof damage, and many different types of damage that can result. High winds can rip shingles off the roof, allowing the decking to get wet. Tree limbs can be blown into your roof. Lightning strikes can blow a hole in your roof. Squirrels and raccoons can chew through wooden decking and even damage rafters or take up residence in your attic. Fire can lead to structural damage as well as damage to the shingles and deck. 

The best way to determine if you have a true emergency is to contact a licensed contractor like Elements Roofing. In addition to our roofing experience, we can help you file your insurance claim, easing your mind during one of the most stressful parts of the process. 

We are not storm chasers, but a local roofing company with deep roots in Colorado, and convenient offices in Aurora, Sterling and Ft. Morgan. Please ask us about our references. 

If the storm has also damaged your gutters, flashing, or siding we can assist with these repairs as well.