What to do if your roof is leaking in Riverside

12/20/2018 (Permalink)

This Riverside home experienced a roof leak due to rain.

What to do if your roof is leaking?

With winter coming upon us and approaching rainy season, there’s a chance for some possible roof leaks. A leaky roof can certainly cause a rain on any homeowner’s parade. Rainy weather 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.

Contact  if you have water damage from a leak in your roof. 

If you are in Riverside and find yourself in this vulnerable position, make a call to SERVPRO of West Riverside City and let the professionals take over. After you have done all that you as a homeowner are capable of doing to lessen the damage, let the experts use both their knowledge, experience, and resources such as vacuums and fans to dry out the water and the damage that has already taken its toll.

Next in the damage restoration process is to deodorize the building where it needs to treated. Depending on the assessed level of damage and the kind of water that did the dirty work--disinfecting may also be a necessary step to take. The goal is to get the residence or building structurally back to the standards it was at before the water accident. In some cases, further action may need to be taken such as structural repairs.

Unfortunately, homeowners may learn that they are not covered like they thought--or hoped--that they were. When that happens, the cost of repairing water damage might default to the homeowner. If you are not sure if you are covered for flooding and other water damage, call your insurance company to find out what is what. If you choose to, add coverage and discuss your location, possible natural disasters in your region, and other related matters. Insurance is there to ease your worries for a price. Put those worries to rest and get the coverage you think you need so that you can continue to live your life with as few financial surprises as possible.

So what happens when you need water damage restoration services for your Riverside residence? SERVPRO of West Riverside City Professionals concentrate on safely drying, deodorizing and disinfecting any areas flooded or damaged by water. Water damage in Riverside residences or businesses is not desirable, but there is hope and help to get you out of the mess you are in.