For Texas homeowners, there are few problems quite as frustrating as your roof leaking. It’s really hard to identify the source of a leak in many cases, let alone what caused it to spring up in the first place.
There are so many possible causes of roof leaks:
- Roof Age
- Roofing Materials
- Climate
- Foliage and tree branch overhangs
- Storms
- Pests
Here in Pittsburgh, PA, we experience wildly changing weather, even from day to day. If your roof has sprung a leak, you need to get to it fast and get the flow of water stopped as soon as possible. This means you should start by fixing the roof leak from inside your home before you ever get up onto the roof to secure it further. Call your Pennsylvania roofer to schedule an emergency repair, then get to work!
Finding the Leak
Finding exactly where the leak is coming from can be the most challenging part of fighting the leak. One common cause of leaks in the home is that water has entered through the roof, and settled into a pool inside the ceiling. When this happens, your ceiling will become waterlogged and will start to bulge; you want to get this water out right away. Get a large container and place it under the ceiling, then puncture the middle of the bulge to let the water flow freely. You’re already going to need to repair the ceiling, so this will allow the water to drip down instead of pooling more and damaging a wider area.
Once you’ve addressed any damage coming into the house, get up into the attic around the location of the affected ceiling. Be careful not to step anywhere that doesn’t have supports! You don’t want to do any more damage to your ceiling than has already been done. Using a bright flashlight, locate the affected area, and find the trail of water back to where it’s entering your roof.
Fixing the Leak from the Attic
Once you’ve spotted the leak, and found a way to get to it, you can patch it up temporarily with any durable material. Even a wooden plank or some spare shingling with roofing tar will do the trick; if you don’t have any on hand, sprint to the hardware store and get some so that you can fix the problem quickly.
Spread the adhesive material over the leak from the attic and hold your patch in place until it’s secure. Then, apply some more tar where the patch meets the roof to lock it in. Take good note of where the leak is from the inside so that you can find it more easily once you can safely get up onto the roof outside.
Can’t Get to the Leak?
If you don’t have an attic or if you can’t locate the leak yourself, then you’ll need to get some kind of tarp covering over the roof as soon as possible. Manage the leak indoors until the precipitation stops; this may mean manually bucketing out water from your leaky ceiling for a while. Once it’s dry outside, it’s safe to get up on your roof to cover it up.
Until your local roofers arrive, you’re going to throw a plastic tarp over the roof to help keep water off of it altogether. This might take a quick trip to the hardware store, where you can purchase rolls of sheet plastic tarping in large quantities. Make sure you get enough 4-foot rolls to go all the way around the eaves of your roof where the leak is entering, or the whole house if you can’t locate the leak at all. You’ll also need wooden planks (2x4s are good) to help hold the covering in place.
You’ll need to know how big your roof is, or else, you’ll have to get up and measure the distance between the eaves and ridges, and the width of each face of the roof. Roll out a section of covering that’ll stretch from the eaves to the ridge, then go about five feet longer, and slice off the sheet. Now, you can fold out the covering to make an 8ft section.
So, to match, cut a pair of 8ft lengths of wooden planks. Using a staple gun, attach the edge of your roof covering to one plank. Then, put the other pank on top of the plastic, and nail the boards together. Make enough of these sections to cover as much of the roof as you need to cover up.
Getting On The Roof
Finally, it’s time to get up onto the roof (or contact GCC). You’ll definitely need to wait until it’s dry and clear outside; it’s dangerous to go on the roof when it’s still raining, even for a roofing professional. Get up on your ladder with a spotter to help you, and always be careful to move slowly ad step carefully on your roof.
Once you’re up there, check thoroughly over the roof to see if you can identify any spots where the leak might be coming in. Additionally, this is a good opportunity to clear any debris that may have found its way up onto your roof, and to find any roofing materials that might be weathered or deteriorated. Plus, you’ll want to make sure there’s no water pooled anywhere on the roof; if there is, remove it immediately, and make sure to let your roofer know about it when they arrive. There’s no point in covering up the roof if there’s still moisture trapped under the cover.
Hang the boarded end of your roof cover of the ridges of your roof, and drape the plastic down over the eaves below. Your roof will now have ample protection, albeit temporary protection, until you can get a roofer to come and repair the leak permanently.
After you’ve stopped the immediate hazard of water leaking into your home through your ceiling, the very best thing to do is call your local roofing experts at Gotcha Covered Contracting. We’ll stop roof leaks in their tracks, helping you to prevent thousands of dollars in damages to your home, and giving you the peace of mind to know that you and your family are protected.
