Your home is where you’re supposed to feel safe. It keeps you warm and away from the elements. So, what happens when suddenly you find your roof is leaking and there’s water in your house.

Whether you’re a home DIYer or not, you might be thinking my roof is leaking, what do I do? The average person doesn’t have roofing skills. Many people might also be terrified of the potential big repair cost for their roof. 

Skills or not, a leaking roof is a big problem. Whether you know the answer to why is my roof leaking or not, if you have a leaking roof, you need to act quickly and get help.

Read on to learn more about what to do when you have a leaking roof. 

Address the Water Damage

It’s likely that if your roof is leaking, you’re seeing water coming in from somewhere. The first thing to do is to address the water and make every attempt to contain it so you can reduce the damage. 

If the spot on the roof is obvious, maybe that means covering it with a tarp. On the inside of the house, that might mean covering areas like furniture and flooring with plastic to prevent further damage. 

Contain Water Coming In

Next, you want to work to contain the water. The more water that goes where it’s not supposed to go means the more damage you’ll likely have. 

If you have water flowing into the house, put a bucket under the water coming in. You also want to throw down towels and contain any additional damage from occurring. If you don’t know where the leak is coming from, then this step is important for containment until you can get a professional in to look at the roof

Call Your Insurance Agent

It’s possible that you’ll have damage to your roof that is covered by your insurance company. After containing the water, your first call should be to your insurance company. Does that mean they will automatically pay for damages? Not likely.

There are times with roof damage that will be covered by the insurance company. This will depend on what is causing the roof to leak and the extent of the damage.

A significant roof leak will mean some major roof repairs and the possibility of installing a new roof. You want to start the claim process if you anticipate needing a repair that you want the insurance company to cover. 

Fixing the Roof

Finally, you want to call roof repair companies. 

  • Get estimates for the cost of repairs from several companies
  • Make sure you’re hiring a contractor the is insured and licensed
  • Ask if your contractor is able to acquire materials for the scope of the job

You also want to make sure the contractor will replace any wood damaged in the leak along with the roof repair or replacement. 

Help, My Roof Is Leaking

Wondering why my roof is leaking will not address the bigger problem. You definitely don’t want to ignore a leaky roof. It will only lead to bigger and more expensive outcomes.

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