A roof that starts leaking during a major storm can be a major challenge to deal with. Depending on the extent of the leak, your home could be flooded in no time at all. How do you stop a roof leak while you’re waiting for the roof repair expert to arrive? In a case like this, you want to do all you can to prevent any potential damage from taking place. Here are some handy tips and fixes to effectively stop the leak temporarily until help arrives.
Locate the Roof Leak
If you happen to have a roof leak during a storm, make sure you don’t panic. Remain level-headed and work quickly towards finding the leak. You want to minimize any interior damage to your home that the roof leak could cause. Once you’ve located the leak, get some buckets to help catch the water safely. It’s important to check if your ceiling boards are wet. If you can see that your ceiling boards are accumulating moisture, you may need to help relieve some of the water above the boards to prevent a possible ceiling collapse.
In the case of a small dripping area of water with surround ceiling boards that are wet, it’s best to make a small hole where the leak is located to help the accumulating water drain out properly. This will buy you some time to find the source of the leak. Remember that the source of the leak is most often in a different place to where you can see the dripping in the ceiling board. The source of a roof leak is often located in the attic and so you will need to get into your attic to see if there’s a hole in your roof.
Use Roofing Tape
Another quick fix is to get some roofing tape and stick it to the leak. Roofing tape is readily available and should always be stuck onto the inside of your roofing material. All you have to do is tear off some pieces of tape and then patch them over and around the leak. You may find the need to stick more tape on after a while as the tape can sometimes lose its “stick” over time.
Tar The Hole Up
If it’s a missing tile or shingle that’s causing your roof leak, then a fast solution during a storm is to get a can of roofing tar which you can apply over the gap. When applying the tar, make sure you push it into any holes or cracks that are present. This will ensure that the tar seals the gap effectively. It’s recommended to also spread the tar around the gap for a couple of inches to help prevent and more potential leaks.
Roof Repair In Coral Springs & Boca Raton
Remember that although these fixes may be effective in the moment, they are only temporary fixes. The best thing to do once you suspect a leak it to call a reputable roofing professional who can repair the roof effectively. At ABC Roofing Corp, we come with a solid reputation that backed up by many satisfied customers in the greater South Florida area. We offer an expert service which is marked by a high level of quality workmanship. Don’t let the next storm get the better of you, call us at 954-344-4622 to handle your next roof leak.
