If your roof is damaged by a hurricane, tornado, hail roof damage, falling tree limbs, or severe storms, report the damage to your insurance company immediately and take plenty of photos.
While waiting for long-term repairs, you can prevent water damage by securing a tarp over the affected area. Here’s how to do it:
- Locate the leak – Identify where water is entering your home.
- Lay the tarp flat – Spread a heavy-duty tarp over the damaged section.
- Extend over the ridge – Ensure the tarp covers the peak of the roof to prevent water from seeping underneath.
- Secure with 1×2 boards – Place several boards vertically along the tarp’s slope to help anchor it.
- Nail the boards down – Use eight-penny nails every 16 inches, driving them through the boards, tarp, and roof decking.
- Use roofing nails with washers – This helps secure the tarp and prevents tearing in strong winds.
This method provides temporary protection, but you need to schedule a professional repair as soon as possible to prevent further damage.
Watch the video above to find out more.
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
Danny Lipford: In the aftermath of a hurricane, it’s important to report any and all damage that you may have to your home to your insurance company right away, and take plenty of pictures. It’s also very important to take the necessary steps to minimize additional damage to your home.
Now, after a storm, a lot of homeowners are looking for an immediate solution for a leaky roof. And in most of those cases, a plastic tarp really can help to minimize any additional damage that can occur with other rains after the storm.
Now, to hold it in place, a one-by-two like this is just perfect. You can stretch your tarp out, overlapping it over the ridge — make it nice and flat. Then use the one-by-twos with some eight-penny nails, like these, to hold it down in place. And you’ll want to nail it about every sixteen inches.
Also, occasionally, you’ll want to put maybe a few of these. These are nails with plastic washers on them that will kind of spread out the support that they provide and really hold your tarp nice and tight.
Now, it’s important to remember to keep it nice and tight so that water will not dam up anyway. And run these strips down the slope instead of turning them sideways that can create some ponding or damming that’s not a good idea at all.
Further Information
- How to Find Roof Leaks (video)
- How to Replace a Damaged Asphalt Roof Shingle (video)
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