How to stop a roof from leaking in the rain:

Your roof can start leaking in any weather but if there is a heavy rainstorm and your roof starts leaking then this calls for emergency repairing of the roof because if you don’t repair it instantly then your whole roof can be affected. Normally when you see water seeping into your house your drywall is already full of water and is saturated (maybe). This situation calls for emergency action and you need to do something quickly about it.

When the water hits the roof and after a while, you see water dripping from your roof than chances are that the crack in your roof was there for some time now and water has seeped through it into your ceiling. But, because it is raining outside you will have a very hard time in finding the crack on your roof, however, you still need to think swiftly to save your roof from completely collapsing down.

So, there are two ways in which you can save your roof in this urgent situation, both these two solutions are discussed in detail below. But before we discuss them….

…These are the things that you might need for repairing your roof:

•       Hammer

•       Putty knife

•       Sponge

•       Tape measure

•       Rain gears

•       Plywood or shingles

•       Bucket

•       Staple gun with staples pins

•       Nails

•       Roofing Tar

•       Safety gears

•       Polythene plastic sheets

·         Ladder

·         Trowel

·         Nails (in case of no staple gun or staple pins)

 

1.      Covering your roof in an emergency situation:  if you are facing difficulty in repairing your roof through attic because you can't find the leak then go to the roof with a 5-foot roll of 7 mil plastic (polyethylene).  Unroll your plastic roll but don’t unfold it yet and measure the roll to cover your roof from eave till the ridge. After covering this area, unroll the plastic 5 feet more and then cut it with your utility knife; now unfold the plastic enough that it makes a single strip 9 feet wide. Unroll the plastic and staple each corner on the shingles of your roof, staple all the way around your roof with a little gap in between (especially cover the area that you think may have a crack).

2.      Patching your roof in an emergency situation: if you have access to your attic than visit it at once and clean off the insulation from the ceiling’s drywall. Soak any remaining water with a sponge. Now temporarily fix a piece of plywood on the joists across the ceiling and put a bucket on it to collect the water until you repair the roof (do not put the bucket directly on the drywall because it can fall down when full). Follow the water to find the crack (sometimes water takes a detour and is not dripping directly under from where it is coming from) but you can still trace it; it might take some time but it is not impossible to find and locate a crack.

As soon as you find the crack from which water is leaking you should make a temporary patch (until the rain stops it will hold back the water) with the help of roofing in Monroe, a piece of plywood or a piece of shingle. Apply the roofing tar on the underside of the roof deck with a trowel and then pushing a piece of either shingle or plywood on that tar and then cover the piece of shingle or plywood along with its side with tar to make sure that the patch stays on its place.

After you are done with your patch; measure the distance between the area from where the water is dripping and the area with actual crack. Wait for the rain to stop and then go up to your roof and find the affected spot with the help of measurements that you took earlier. Now apply roofing tar on that area and put a piece of shingle or plywood on it and cover it with more roofing tar.

Make sure you take precautions before attempting any of these activities because if not done with proper care, these things can end up causing you great injuries. If you are going to your roof in the rain than don’t forget to wear your rubber boots because you can slip with normal boots. Also use a secured ladder, safety gloves, goggles, and other necessary precautionary gears.