Let’s set the stage…It’s Thursday evening and your friends are coming up for the weekend. You’re in and out of the house all day rushing around and buying things, cleaning, and setting the guest room up for your friends and then BANG a lightning strike over night while you’re resting. When you wake up the next morning your walk into your living room only to see a shower coming straight from the ceiling!! No, no, no, this isn’t how things are supposed be starting…
Even though there’s never a good time for your roof to actually leak, you can do some things that will actually stop some of the damage, save money, and prevent worse things from happening before help arrives. We talk about them below!
Stop The Water Damage
As soon as you discover the leak in your roof, the most important thing to do is stop the spread of the water around your house as quick as possible. This could be something simple like placing a tub under the leak, or even going around and placing objects in bags to protect them from the water.
Contain The Water
To contain the water you should place as big of a bucket or tub as you can underneath the leak to catch the water. If it is coming down so hard that it is splashing out of the container, you can grab some towels or t-shirts to help soak up any water that escapes. If you notice that the ceiling is bubbling, or paint is bubbling elsewhere, it is containing water. Most people would think to just let it sit and build up…but that’s the worst thing you could do! You should quickly pop the bubbling water and relieve the rest of the ceiling from that stress. Understandably that might be annoying since you now have to use a whole extra bucket…but trust us, you do not want your whole ceiling to cave! If you ever reach the point in which you can no longer personally contain the water yourself, you should reach out to an emergency roofing professional. At Roof Troop in Colorado Springs we are always on standby 24/7!
Remove The Water
If you are able to fight hard enough to get the leak under control, the next step would be to remove the water. First start by drying all the carpet and then move on to things like furniture and wood. Unfortunately, water will likely leave a stain, but that’s not why we’re trying to remove the water. If extra water sticks around too long, it can allow mold to start growing in the home which is never a good thing! If the carpet of your home is soaked beyond your capabilities of drying it, rip it up and expose the pads to the air. After doing this you will need to reach out and call a professional water extraction company to help prevent any mold from getting a foothold in your home!
Call Your Insurance Agent
Yeah this is probably the most annoying part of the situation…calling your insurance agent. Hey, we get it, that’s never fun…but it’s a necessary step and it’s their job to help you! You have insurance for a reason after all right? Most policies will cover flooding to some extent, go ahead and give your insurance agent a call right away and find out how they help you!
Fix That Leaky Roof
After you have contained the leak, dried up all the water you can, called a professional for help, and reached out to your insurance agent…it’s now time to get your roof fixed and fixed right. We all know that patch fixes work sometimes, but this isn’t an area that you should gamble in! Call a licensed roofing contractor in Colorado Springs for help right away!
Picking a contractor can be difficult at times, here are a few tips that you might find helpful when making your decision on who to go with!
- Get several quotes from different companies, at least 3, this will give you a good idea on pricing and identify anyone who may be trying to price gouge you.
- Make certain your contractor is licensed, insured and will pull all required permits, some contractors are shady about this…check their google reviews!
- Be sure your contractor agrees to locate and repair all wood damage before re-roofing your home, some might charge you full price and only do half the work!!
- Ask your contractor to outline specific maintenance instructions for your new roof, this will help you rest assured knowing all the specifics about what needs fixing and what will be fixed.
- Ask about the guarantee and the expected life of the roof, if it a roof replacement it should be at least 20 years…a certification will be in the neighborhood of 3 – 5 years.
- Be sure your contractor agrees the roof must pass municipal inspection before the work is considered complete, some contractors will try to skip town before their work is tested…don’t let this happen to you!!
Until all these requirements are met and you feel comfortable, don’t let anyone work on your roof! Please also be ware of “fly-by” companies that’ll hop in town right after a natural disaster
Prevent Future Roof Leaks
Once your roof is repaired or replace, you want to start taking steps that can prevent future leaks. Here are just a few little maintenance things you can do to put your best foot forward.
TRIM THOSE TREES – Tree branches that sway over roofs can cause quite the trouble sometimes because they will break off, fall, and puncture the roof. Keep your roof clear from branches!
KEEP GUTTERS AND DOWNSPOUTS CLEAN – Cleaning the gutters and the downspouts are always a good thing to keep up on because you’ll be able to prevent ice dams from forming and check on the granules of your shingles!
Give your local Colorado Springs roofing company a call today!
