Although hurricane season is drawing to a close, severe weather can still hit any part of the country with blizzards, Nor’easters, and high winds and hail. Not every roof repair can be performed by the homeowner, but in an emergency there are some important tips you do to minimize the damage and protect your home and its contents. The age of the roof may not affect the level of damage to the roof, high winds can rip shingle off of a new roof almost as easily as an older roof. The damage may be greater and may occur over a larger area, but just because your roof is less than 10 years old, don’t assume you’re completed immune to roof damage.
There are several ways that your roof can be damaged; high winds pulling up shingles, branches falling down and punching holes in the roofing and sheathing, and hail cracking asphalt, slate, or terra cotta roofing tiles. Temporary repairs done quickly can be made permanent later by a professional roofer.
Emergency Roof Repair Kit
Some useful items to have on hand if you live in an area where severe weather is prevalent.
• A roll of 4 mil plastic – the thicker the better, but it’s only a temporary fix. Thicker plastic is also easier to handle in windy weather. A tarp can also be useful, but don’t cut it, use it for large areas, 5’ x 9’ or larger is a good size. (A sheet of plywood is 4’ x 8’)
• A box of plastic capped roofing nails – these nails will minimize the tearing of the plastic due to the larger surface area provided by the cap.
• Hammer
• Utility Knife
• Flashlight or battery powered work light – it may be dark when you are performing the repair.
• Flat bar – to pry up shingles
• Rope – you may need to work around the perimeter and you can tie the end of a plastic sheet or tarp and drag it across a large area of the roof.
• Safety Goggles – optional
• Extension Ladder
If you have any extra shingles from your last roof replacement, have them on hand. If not, see if you can borrow a few from a friend or by some from a lumber yard or home center; in an emergency it won’t matter if they don’t match. Keep the tools together in a tool box in a convenient location, basement, garage, or closet along with the roll of plastic.
If your roof is made of cedar shakes, slate, or concrete or clay tiles, you should not attempt the repair it for safety concerns. Special ladders, called “chicken ladders”, and techniques are required to do useful repairs. The roof will be too slippery to work on without appropriate safety precautions and equipment.
Source: http://home-building-supplies.com/html/cap_nails.php
Emergency Response
• First, if you are not physically capable of performing any work on a roof, don’t attempt to during a storm. You should not be on your roof in heavy, driving rains, high winds, or when there is lightning in the area. Just try to minimize the damage from the inside by diverting and collecting water.
• Control the spread of the water entering the house. Water will damage the internal structure and can be a source for further damage to the roof so check the attic or room where the water is concentrated and contain it with a bucket or trash can.
• Determine if there is any structural damage to the roof, such as broken rafters and damaged plywood sheathing. If the roof is severely damaged, you should not attempt to walk on the roof. If you do try to stop water from coming in, work from the edges and don’t walk near the damaged sections.
• Locate the exact source of the leak. The source of the leak may be coming from another location from where most of the water is. This is due to the construction of the home, such as water running along beams and drywall.
• Material used for doing emergency roof repairs include patches, rubber sheets, sealants, tarps and duct tape. They act as stopgap arrangements on which a more permanent repair can be undertaken at a later time and date by an experienced roofer. Certain steps which are common while using any of these emergency methods for roof repair are as follows:
• Clean the area around the leak and then apply the patch. The debris, water and dirt around the leak will un-stick the emergency patch and reduce its effectiveness.
• Use caution when working with tools on a roof. They can slide off and cause further damage to your home or injure people on the ground.
• To repair a damaged shingle, pry up the shingles over the damaged ones and completely remove them. Try to remove the roofing nails as well, but you can also drive them in all the way. Slide the new shingles up under the undamaged tabs and nail in place. Lift the tabs of the undamaged shingles to ensure that the nails are covered. Don’t nail through the undamaged shingles.
• If the area is too large, or there is a hole in the roof due to a fallen limb, cut a piece of plastic long enough to cover the area. You should fold it in half so that it’s double thickness and keep place the seam under the undamaged shingles with the open end facing down the roof slope. The area will probably be irregular, so pick the highest shingle course that is intact and place the plastic in a straight line. Use the plastic capped roofing nails to attach the plastic. You will need to nail the plastic down on the lower edge through the top of the shingles. These nail holes will need to be sealed when the permanent repairs are made.
Hopefully this will give you some guidance on conducting emergency repairs to your roof.
