Essential Steps to Take If Your Roof Is Leaking

As you lay in bed, you listen to the rain gently hitting the window outside, only to then notice another sound. A dripping. Oh, dear.

There is no doubt about it; when there is a leak in the roof, it is no fun for homeowners. The job of a roof is to keep you dry and warm, but when there are issues relating to the maintenance or age of a roof, you need to act quickly and decisively to prevent the inside of your home from becoming damaged.

In the interim, between you noticing the drip and it being fixed, there are some essential steps to take, which this article will highlight below.

Call for Help

The first thing that you need to do is call a roof repair company.

Many of these businesses can offer an emergency call-out, so even if it’s 3 am, they will likely be able to come to your home to assess the cause of the leak. Also, if you have concerns about financing the repairs, do not worry. There are roofing companies that finance, so you will be able to break down the cost of the repairs if needed.

Move Things

Your roof is leaking, and the cause of the leak is usually unknown too, which is bad enough as you don’t know how much the repair will cost. However, you don’t want or need this to ruin your books or other belongings as well.

Water damage can destroy important documents too, so if the drip is located over a bookshelf or the bed, move as much of your furniture as you can out of the way. If there are fabrics under the drip or leak, these will need to be moved and replaced with a bucket, if possible, to prevent mold and mildew from forming on them.

Contain the Water

As mentioned before, if you have a bucket to hand, use it to contain the leak as much as you can. This can be more difficult if the leak is heavier, but you should still aim to keep as much water off the floor and furnishings as you can.

This will help to prevent damage to the floorboards, and if you have a heavy leak, it can also damage the walls if there is carpet on the floor. So, try to keep things dry, and place a towel around any containers that are trapping the water if possible.

Try to Relieve the Pressure

Okat, so you have a bulge in your ceiling, which is scary to look at and is also scary to imagine it busting open.

While it may seem counterintuitive in such circumstances, you should try to poke a small hole into this bulge to release the pressure. The chances are that if the leak is so extreme that it is bulging, it’s going to give anyway, and you may as well be prepared for it with buckets and towels. This will also prevent further water damage to the ceiling.

Take Photos

However, before you puncture the ceiling with a pin or screwdriver, you should aim to take as many photos as you can for your home insurance provider. Also, be sure to document when you noticed the dripping, what you did (such as calling a roofing team), and how long it took them to arrive.