Rain is usually a blissful event on the Central Coast, an area that is familiar with burn bans and droughts. While most of the state has received some welcomed rain over the past month, a leaky roof can certainly cause some major issues.

Rainy weather is when you usually find a leak. Unfortunately, that’s when it’s too late to do anything but repair it. But, what can you do to temporarily stop the leaks from causing additional damage to your home until the roofing contractor arrives on the scene?

First – deal with the leak inside the house to minimize any damage to the interior of the home. In most cases, a leak will slowly pool at the ceiling until it finds an escape route — usually a penetration point like a light fixture or skylight. After several hours, the leak will start to find multiple escape routes, making the leak look much worse than it actually is. Find the wettest spot or a bulge in the ceiling and poke a small hole in the middle and use a bucket to collect the draining water. This will help to reduce the damage to your ceiling.

Second – Locate the point of entry. Start with the inside, such as an attic. Be aware, it will be difficult to stop a leak while it’s raining. If you can locate the leak keep in mind that the leak in the ceiling and the leak in the roof may not make a straight line. If your roof system was installed over a layer of plywood, then you should keep in mind that water will generally travel from the leak in the roofing material to the nearest joint in the plywood, depending on how the roof slopes.

Third – Try and maintain the leak until help arrives. Once you locate where the leak is coming from, there are several options for temporary repair such as roofing

cement, roofing tape or even a tarp. Available for purchase at any home improvement store, roofing cement or tape can be applied to the inside of the roof decking inside your attic, as well as to the outside of the roof. If you feel confident enough, tarping is a quick and easy option to control any further leaking until your roofing contractor arrives and repairs the leak. You will need a tarp large enough to cover the top of the roof and down past where the leak is located. Secure the tarp with 2 x 4 boards with staples or nails, making sure they are not too long to go through the roof.

The suggestions above are only temporary solutions until your local roofing contractor can come to assess the situation. While these may help for a short period of time, they are not resolutions to the leak. Don’t procrastinate when the structural integrity of your roof and home are at stake. If you wait too long to fix that leak you will be putting your wallet and your family’s safety at risk.

Call Premo Roofing Company at 831-443-3605 for assistance or contact us for all your emergency roofing issues.