Emergencies are never fun, no matter which way you slice them. However, any knowledge that you can prepare yourself with ahead of time can help to lower the stress level during an actual emergency situation.

When it comes to roofing, your response time and  level of preparation that you are equipped with will make the difference between saving the day, and risking permanent damage to your property and personal items. Before finding yourself in a panicked situation, make sure you’re educated on a few (temporary) emergency roof repairs that can be used to protect you and your property in a time of need.

Emergency conditions that can cause damage to your roof include heavy rain, storms, hail, lightning, etc.  These conditions will not likely cause damage and then cease.  Therefore, if it is safe to do so, you should be prepared to act quickly once the damage has occurred and then safely return to the inside of your property.  Or better yet, wait out the environmental conditions and then temporarily repair your roof to keep it from being damaged further.  If there are pools of water on your roof then they need to be eliminated.  Pooling water can quickly lead to leaks and even permanent damage on the surface and structure of your property.  If there are any leaks penetrating to the interior of your home, it is important to find where the leak is coming from and patch up the problem immediately.  Many of the major home improvement stores carry roof patch.  This thick tar like material can be applied using a caulking gun and sticks even in wet conditions.

There are a number of ways the tackle the emergency roofing repair dilemma; however, one of the most important concepts to understand is that this is only temporary. A professional must be contacted at your earliest convenience to come and fix the problem the right way.  These measures are strictly to prevent furthering the damage of your property.  Some of the materials that you should be equipped with include duct tape, rubber sheets, patches, sealants, and definitely tarps.  You can patch up some of the holes with duct tape, patches, and sealants.  However, the degree of work you will be able to accomplish in an emergency situation is dependent upon the degree of the storm and also how comfortable you are in doing this. If you are not at all comfortable being on the roof for an extended period of time while a storm is happening, then you can default the fastening a rubber sheet, or tarp to the roof to redirect the water flow and leave the real repairs to the professionals.  In a more desperate situation where you are not prepared and you have leaks coming through, you can use any large materials to cover the area that is creating the leak to redirect water.  Items you should consider include plastic sheeting, pieces of ply wood, and even sheet metal will work in a time of emergency.

These temporary emergency roof repairing tips are for situations when there are serious environmental conditions outside and there is a leak from the roof to the interior and you are temporarily keeping the situation from getting worse.  These repairs are not permanent and should be fixed by a professional within a timely manner.