When water enters your property through a leaking roof, fast action can save you from further damage!
Discovering a leaking roof can dramatically change the course of your day. The home is supposed to keep the elements out, but even the best seals wear thin over time.
Rain and snow entering your home have the potential to cause more extensive problems if left unaddressed. In addition to direct water damage to your property, there’s also the possibility of mold.
This article will outline seven steps you can take whenever you find a leaking roof, saving you from further damage down the road.
Where’s the water coming from?
Whenever water comes in from the ceiling or down from the tops of the walls, it’s a safe bet the source is a leaking roof.
It’s a headache that won’t go away with time. Regardless of what you had planned for the day, the water entering your home takes priority. You want the inside of your home safe and dry, and if you don’t take care of the issue right away, you run the risk of allowing more water than necessary inside your space.
There are several ways you can combat the water entering your home. If you’re lucky, the rain or snow that caused the leak in the first place has died down. If not, you’re under even more significant time pressure to take quick action to preserve your belongings.
6 action steps for a leaking roof
1. Move your belongings
The first thing you should do is clear the area beneath the leak. If the leak runs down your walls, pull all furniture far enough away, so the pool below doesn’t approach your stuff.
Pay special attention to anything absorbent: beds, blankets, clothing, curtains, couches. These will all require extensive drying, and it’s better to be proactive in keeping them dry.
Remember, anything absorbent has the potential for mold growth. Keep as much of your belongings as dry as possible!
2. Contain the water
Pails, buckets, garbage cans are all your best friends when it comes to containing the water. The goal is minimizing how much water strikes the floor.
Like absorbent furniture, carpet takes a long time to dry and has a high potential for mold growth or the development of a mildew smell. Hardwood floors can warp, and any water that falls on tile or linoleum will spread into a wide area.
Pay attention to the containers and empty them or swap them out when they approach being full.
3. Address bulges
Water from leaking roofs can become trapped inside paint or layers of your wall/ceiling. When this happens, a bulge can form.
Carefully pop these bulges with a bucket underneath.
Leaving the water collecting in the bulge can cause more damage to the ceiling or wall behind. If left unaddressed, it could pop on its own and miss the container you place beneath.
4. Call a roofing company
At this point, any water entering your home from a leaking roof is more or less under control. There’s still an issue of the leak letting more water inside, but the emergency stage has become manageable.
Your chosen roofing company can provide you with information about when you can expect their arrival, what steps they can take to mitigate the damage and answer any pressing questions you have.
Revere Construction and Roofing (RCR) provides roofing estimates for everyone in the greater Atlanta, Georgia area. We’re here to help!
5. Tarp the roof
This suggestion assumes you have a tarp and can pinpoint the leak’s origin.
Often, the source of a leaking roof is hard to discover. An investigation can narrow it down to a general area, but the tarp needs to be large enough to cover that space.
If you have a large tarp, AND you can determine the source of the leak, be careful climbing onto the roof and covering the space.
6. Take pictures
Insurance companies require extensive documentation. Take plenty of pictures of the results of your leaking roof: the ceiling, walls, floors, and damaged belongings.
Most insurance policies will cover water damage from a leaking roof, including damage to the house and the damaged belongings.
RCR has years of experience with insurance companies, and our estimating expertise can help you during the claims process.
Atlanta leaking roof repair
A leaking roof is a significant disruption on any day, but this list ensures you can get back to normal as quickly as possible.
Whenever you find a leaking roof, take quick action; you’ll avoid further water damage. Prevent the water from contacting absorbent surfaces and minimize your risk of mold.
If you have a leaking roof in Atlanta, Georgia, or the surrounding suburbs, give us a call or reach out via our contact page. Our roofing experts will be onsite ASAP to assess, estimate, and begin the process of getting your life back to the way it was.
