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How to Repair Your Roof In An Emergency

By John Markus

Republish: EasyPublish™
Published: 26Feb2012
Word count: 511
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Doing major roof repair is the job of contractors, trained professionals who do roof repair for a living. However, there are some things you can do to shore up your roof in an emergency where you have leaks. These are just stop gap measures until the contractor gets there.

Remember when you climb on your roof that it is extremely easy to slip on a wet roof. You also need to use great caution around tree branches, ladders and downed power lines. You will be making your emergency roof repairs on the outside. Inside the house, have someone set up some buckets under the dripping areas. On the roof, you are going to be using tar paper or plastic sheeting. You can use a trowel and roofing cement to plug the small holes.

If you are using plastic sheeting, keep in mind that this is the most temporary thing to do. You will need to take heavy plastic sheets, such as Visqueen, and fasten it to your roof with roofing nails. If you have any 2X4s handy, you should square off the hole in the roof with them first. The next step is to wrap that plastic around the 2X4s and nail your wood to your roof. If you are not able to get any nails or wood, we recommend using bricks, sandbags or cement blocks to secure the plastic. It is only a temporary measure until the roofing contractor arrives. Looks is not an issue!

If you can get your hands on some roofing paper, you also can use this to cover your holes in your roof. You can usually find it in the contractor or building section of major home stores. You will apply this product with a roofing cement and a trowel. You usually will buy the paper in 15, 30 or 90 weight, in rolls of 100 square feet per. The best way to apply it to your roof is in layers that overlap. You will need to alternate the paper and the cement. You will do this from the bottom of the roof and up.

Hopefully with these tips, you can temporarily plug the holes in your roof.
When it comes to selecting your roofing contractor, make sure that the person you use has an actual place of business, with a phone, a tax ID number and a license to do business. Any good professional will have these items. You also want to make sure the company has a good record, and feel free to ask for recommendations. The company should be bonded, insured and licensed as well. Ask about the warranty that the company provides.

It is very important that you use caution when you select your roofing contractor. Your roof has to last many years, and you do not want to have problems with it again after just a year or two. Roofing contracting is one business where there are many shady operators. So you need to use care when you select the company using the tips we offer above.

Check our section on roofing projects now and visit our main website for great home improvement ideas.

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