2 Things You Should Do Immediately After Your Roof Is Damaged During A Severe Storm

While a storm passes through your area, you may have discovered water leaks in your home indicating that the roof has been damaged. Because the roof takes the brunt of the abuse to your home by the high winds, hail, and heavy rainfall from severe weather, when it gets damaged, it robs your home of its first line of defense against water leaks.

As soon as the storm passes, you may be wondering what you need to do next if your roof was damaged. If so, as soon as it is safe to go outside and assess the damage, take the following actions immediately as well as contact a roofing repair professional to go ahead and set up an appointment.

1. Do Damage Control Around Your Home to Prevent Excessive Water Damage from Leaks

Before you do anything else, you need to do damage control around your house to prevent excessive water damage caused by the leaking roof. Inside your home, look around for any drops of water on the ceiling or running down the walls so you can set up buckets and towels. 

Outside your house, look for any bare patches on your roof where shingles were either broken or torn off. If you feel safe doing so, lay a tarp down and secure it over these bare areas to protect the decking until a roofing contractor can assess the damage.

2. Document the Roof's Damage as Much as Possible and Contact Your Insurance Adjuster

Once you have completed damage control, the next thing you should do is start documenting the damage as much as possible. Write down the damage you have seen both inside and outside of your home, and take pictures of the damaged areas on the roof.

When you have completed the documentation, contact your homeowner's insurance adjuster to start filing a claim. Since they will also want an estimate for repairing your roof, you should make an appointment for a damage assessment with a roofer and let the adjuster know the estimate is forthcoming. 

As soon as the weather clears up and you discover that your roof was damaged, you should first take action to help reduce the amount of water damage in your home from leaks. This action could be setting up buckets inside and putting a tarp over the damaged area of the roof if you feel safe doing so. You should also document as much as possible, including taking pictures and videos of where the storm damaged your roof so you can show the insurance adjuster. You should also contact a storm roofing repair contractor who offers storm damage roof repairs to have them inspect your home's roof so you can get an estimate and have them get started.


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