The way to Stop a Leaking Roof Through Heavy Rains

A roof that flows is a difficulty in any weather, however, a roof which suddenly starts to escape through a heavy rainstorm can rapidly turn to an emergency. With heavy runoff, water may begin seeping through a pit that’s been there for a little while and drip on the ceiling. By the time you detect water dripping from the house, the drywall has probably been soaked. If you don’t do something straight away, it may procrastinate. Locating a leak may take some time. You need to staunch the dripping and make an emergency repair as rapidly as possible.

Emergency Roof Patching

Go in the attic, when you have access, and very clear insulation away from the moist ceiling drywall. Sponge off any water. Lay a piece of plywood across the joists and place a bucket on the plywood to catch the water. Do not put the bucket directly on the drywall — it may fall through when it fills with water.

Follow the leak back to the point where it passes the roof. This might be nowhere near the point where it is dripping on the ceiling. You can normally trace the the path along a rafter, but water sometimes follows the underside of the roof deck.

Make a temporary patch with roofing tar and a piece of plywood or shingle. Trowel the roofing tar to the leak over the underside of the roof deck, using a putty knife. Push the shingle or plywood to the tar and trowel more roofing wrap across the edges of the patch.

Measure the distance from the leak in the gable and in the ridge, while you’re at the attic, using a tape measure. Wait for the rain to let up before you try to go on the roof. Put on rubber-soled shoes, then go on the roof and then measure the same measurements on your roof. Fortify that the undersides of their shingles at the vicinity of the leak using more roofing tar. Do not try to access the roof without taking adequate safety precautions.

Speedy Roof Covering

Prepare a vinyl roof cover in case you can not get from the attic and don’t have any means of determining the exact location of the leak. Use a 4-foot roll of 6-mil polyethylene plastic.

Unroll the plastic but don’t unfold it. Measure enough to pay for a part of the roof in the eave to the ridge, add an additional 4 feet, and trim it in the roll with a utility knife. Unfold the plastic just one fold to make a strip 8 feet wide.

Roll one end of the plastic around the 8-foot two-by-four and staple the vinyl into the wood. Cut another 8-foot two-by-four and nail it to the first, with the plastic sandwiched between both pieces of wood.

Go to the roof and set the wood along the eaves. Stretch the plastic above the ridge, covering the approximate area of the leak. Staple the other end to another two-by-four and nail a fourth two-by-four to that one. Allow that pair of two-by-fours to hang down on the opposite side of the ridge.