On the Farha Roofing blog, our residential and commercial roofing specialists talk a lot about the importance of routine roofing inspections and maintenance to help preserve your roofing system. But sometimes, no matter what you do and how hard you work, life happens. Or more specifically, roofing emergencies happen.
The residential and commercial roofing specialists at Farha Roofing have seen our fair share of roofing emergencies over the years. Sometimes, they are caused by negligence, but most times they are due to weather and other circumstances beyond anyone’s control. Regardless, our residential and commercial roofing specialists have noticed that when an emergency strikes, our clients are often ill-prepared on how to handle it.
To better prepare the communities we serve, the residential and commercial roofing specialists at Farha Roofing have created this step-by-step guide for you. Learn more below and be sure to save this somewhere you’ll be able to quickly find should emergency strike.
Farha Roofing’s Step-by-Step Emergency Roof Repair Guide
1. First and foremost, stay calm.
It is human nature to panic when disaster strikes, but panic most often leads to poor decisions and chaotic outcomes. The situation you are in is very scary, but the only way to get to the other side is to stay calm. Having a guide like this one and a personal plan for emergencies will help aid you in attempts to remain focused.
2. Evacuate people and pets if necessary.
There are different types and levels of an emergency. If your roof completely collapsed or if a tree fell on your building and nearby power lines, you may need to evacuate.
If, on the other hand, the damage is concentrated to one portion of the building and there are no downed power lines or any other fire hazards involved, you might be OK staying put as long as you avoid the damaged area.
Either way, have a plan in place and somewhere you know you can go, should you need to leave.
3. Protect the inside of your property the best you can.
After you protect your people and pets, you can protect your property. If there is a major leak in your ceiling, try to move any important items away from the source of the leak. Our residential and commercial roofing specialists usually recommend starting with important documents (business documents, insurance paperwork, birth certificates, etc.), followed by money, electronics, and sentimental items. The exact order is up to you and what would matter most to you in this scenario.
4. Determine if you need to call emergency services.
You may need to call emergency services for a variety of reasons and if you do need emergency assistance, contact them before your residential and commercial roofing specialists. Emergency services should be contacted if there are concerns about a fire hazard, bodily injury, toxic fumes, or hazardous materials.
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5. Contact your residential and commercial roofing specialists.
After you have taken care of the first four steps, you can now call your residential and commercial roofing specialists. When you call, we know you will likely want immediate assistance, but there are a number of reasons that might not be possible. If the damage was caused by a storm and the storm is ongoing, roofers will need to wait until the storm passes to come out. If a storm caused extensive damage to an entire city, local roofers may need to rank emergencies in order of importance.
It might be frustrating to wait, but you absolutely must hang tight until your residential and commercial roofing specialists can get there. Taking matters into your own hands could lead to even more damage or worse, cause you to injure yourself.
6. Contact your insurance company.
When a roofing emergency occurs, you need to contact your homeowners insurance company to file a claim. They will be able to explain your coverage and ensure that you are armed with the financial information you need to take action on repairs. If the insurance process is daunting, many residential and commercial roofing specialists have teams that can work with your insurance on your behalf.
7. Take action on necessary repairs.
We talk about the importance of taking action on roofing repairs quickly a lot, but in an emergency situation, it becomes even more important. Take action as quickly as possible to avoid further damage, insurance trouble, and other issues.
Emergencies are unfortunately part of human existence and while no one ever likes them, you can learn to navigate them calmly. If and when you find yourself with a roofing emergency, use this as a guide and once you reach step 5, call the Farha Roofing team to get your emergency under control!