The roof acts as your home’s first line of defense against the elements, but it’s vulnerable to sudden and unexpected damage when severe weather moves through the Naples area. Knowing what to do and who to call if you’re faced with an emergency roofing situation can help minimize your stress and any damage to your home and its contents.
Know What Qualifies as a Roofing Emergency
Issues like deterioration due to age and exposure to the elements, clogged gutters, damaged flashing, broken tiles or shingles, or loose fasteners can cause minor leaks during a storm. However, these are fairly easy to control over the short-term by locating where the rain is entering and putting a container underneath to catch dripping water. There are other more serious types of damage that can occur during a storm too, such as:
- A metal panel or section of shingles gets torn off by high winds and the underlying substrate gets damaged.
- A tree limb gets torn off, crashes down onto your roof, and punctures the material and the decking beneath.
- Your home takes a direct lightning hit that burns a hole down through the roof.
In these instances, you have an emergency situation where the roof structure itself is compromised and a significant amount of water can infiltrate your home.
Know Who to Call for Help
Instead of waiting until an emergency happens, start your search now for an experienced roofer who offers emergency service. Look for a well-established, licensed, and fully-insured local roofing contractor with a good reputation. When you call for an emergency roofing repair, your contractor should arrive promptly and tarp the damaged area to secure the roof until the storm passes. They can then properly assess the extent of the damage and recommend repairs.
Know What to do Until Help Arrives
First and foremost, don’t attempt to get up on your roof to check for damage during severe weather. If rain is flooding in through a sizable hole in the roof, shut off your main electrical supply switch, set out buckets or larger plastic containers to catch as much water as possible, move furniture and personal items to a dry area, and cover anything that can’t be moved with plastic tarps. Finally, contact your insurance provider to make them aware of the incident.
Contact us at Kelly Roofing for service if your Naples home needs an emergency roofing repair! We’ve seen dozens of hurricanes since we opened for business in 1972.
