There’s no fixed or exact time for your roof to begin leaking or having other issues, however there are also certain times when it is worse than others. If your roof begins to leak during a holiday, weekend or another time when an expert roofer can’t pay his visit to help you out. You probably need sometime to delay the damaging of the roof or prevent it from getting worse. You might even need sometime to manage your funds to get your roof fixed. Sometimes an emergency roof repair might also be required.
When you witness the first sign of a leaking roof, the first step you might want to take is to call an expert for repairs. While you’re waiting for roofers to turn up, but, water might still be sweeping in through the leaks of your roof, and unless you perform a temporary fix it could lead to worsening of the situation. Even if you aren’t particularly experienced in repairing your home, there are many simple ways to stop a leak while you wait for professional help to arrive.
Here are four of the easiest ways to temporarily stop a roofing leak while you wait for a new roof:
Use Roofing Tape
Roofing tape is applied to the inside of the roof deck to limit or prevent water flow in the home. This one of the quickest ways to temporarily stop roofing leak, roofing tape can be applied from inside your upper floor or the top floor of your home. This makes it far easier than other temporary fixes such as sheet, which usually have to be protected from atop your roof.
Cover the Leak with Sheet
Once you find the source of the leak, which will possibly be in the attic of your home, then cover up the hole from somewhat below the leak. To make this happen, protect the sheet by binding it down or using a duct tape, also make sure the sheet expands over the edge of the roof. If the volume of water coming into your home is quite high, then it is required to layer the sheet in order to give it a strong base.
Use Plastic Roofing Cement
If you don’t have plastic roofing cement, you should purchase one as it is perhaps the easiest way to temporarily seal a leaky roof. The purpose of plastic roofing cement is to seal cracks or small holes in roofing. Therefore, it outshines at averting water from getting through to your home. But, to properly apply plastic roofing cement, you will need some type of roofing trowel, putty knife, or caulk gun. It is advisable to buy these items and keep them at home; as they have the ability to seal roofing leak quickly can save you thousands of dollars worth of water damage.
DIY Shingles
If the leak in your roof is due to cracked or damaged shingles, one of the best ways to stop water flow until repair help or roofer arrives is to put on temporary shingles. Sheet metal or copper shingles are the best choices, cut them into estimated shape of your actual shingles and then fix them on the damaged place. Here the job can be done easier with the help of roofing cement, but any strong adhesive will work to for the time being to secure your temporary shingles. The important thing is that, even if your DIY replacement doesn’t completely seal the hole, it will at least reduce water flow into your home.
There are other ways to temporarily prevent roofing leaks until the repair or roofing company can arrive, but above-discussed are quick and best ways to fix the problem. It’s important to keep these solutions in mind to save your home. Even a small decrease of water flow in your home is more preferable than a full fledged leak.