(214) 807-0414Request an assessmentTemporary protection
Something is open and the weather is not finished. A temporary cover is the right answer to that, and it is a piece of work with a method rather than a sheet thrown over a problem. This page describes what a correctly installed cover looks like, what it is not, and what happens between the cover going on and the repair being built.
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What this covers
It runs over the ridge where the geometry allows it, so water cannot drive under the top edge. It is fastened into sound material outside the damaged area, along battens rather than through the sheet alone, and every edge is closed against wind.
A tarp held down with bricks and tyres is not a repair and frequently is not even protection. The weight sits on the covering, the wind gets under the edge, and the next gust takes the tarp and a course of shingles with it.
A cover reduces exposure while weather, materials or a decision are outstanding. It does not restore the assembly, it does not stop wind-driven rain at every edge, and it should never be treated as the point at which the problem is handled.
What to know
Lightning, wind, standing water on the surface, darkness, steep pitch and a deck that may have been compromised are all reasons roof access is not made. Where a cover cannot be installed safely, containing water inside the building is the work that gets done instead.
Once a cover is fastened, everything it protects is also hidden. The opening, the surrounding covering and the deck condition are photographed and dated before anything is laid over them, because that is the only opportunity to record what was actually there.
Fasteners, battens and the sheet itself all have to be removed, and the area beneath re-examined with the light on it. Removal, the condition of the fastening points, and any material replaced because of them belong in the written repair scope rather than turning up as a surprise.
Choose a starting point
A short, non-diagnostic guide for working out what kind of assessment conversation to prepare for.
Decision support
Four situations, and the sensible next move for each. It does not diagnose a roof, decide insurance coverage, or stand in for somebody looking at the property.
Questions
Active weather is exactly when roof access is least safe. Lightning, wind and a wet surface are not conditions anyone should be working on a slope in. The answer depends on what the weather is doing, and the honest one is often to protect the interior and wait.
It puts fasteners somewhere, yes. Done correctly they land in sound material outside the damaged area, and they are addressed when the permanent work is built. A cover held by weight instead avoids those holes by trading them for a lost tarp and lifted shingles.
No, and anyone saying otherwise is selling something. Wind-driven rain can still travel, and water already inside the assembly keeps moving for a while. Keep watching the ceilings underneath and say what you see.
Larger than the opening, by enough to reach sound material on every side and, where the geometry allows, over the ridge. A sheet cut to the size of the damage has to be fastened into the damaged area, which is the one part of the roof least able to hold a fastener. That is most of the difference between a cover that survives a night of wind and a cover that ends up in the garden along with a course of shingles.
Assessment request
Short, routing-only questions. Nothing here asks you to diagnose the roof yourself.