GUIDE / RIGHT NOW
Water through
the ceiling.
The first hour.
Most of the damage a roof leak does happens indoors, and most of it can be limited in the first hour. None of that needs anyone on the roof, and nobody should be up there.
IN ONE LINE
“Safe, then contained, then recorded. The roof comes last.”
01 / SAFE FIRST
Three things
before the
buckets.
Water in a house is a nuisance. Water near electricity, or overhead in a ceiling, is a hazard.
01
Water near anything electrical.
If water is reaching a light fixture, a ceiling fan, an outlet or the electrical panel, do not touch the fixture or its switch. If you can reach the breaker panel without standing in water, switch off that circuit. If you cannot, stay clear and call an electrician. Keep off metal ladders, and have the fixture checked before it is used again.
02
A ceiling that is bulging.
Drywall holding water can come down without warning. Keep people and pets out from under it and move whatever you can from beneath it.
03
Stay off the roof.
Not to look, not to tarp, not to find the hole. Wet roofing is slippery, storms bring wind and lightning, and nothing you could do up there is worth the fall.
02 / CONTAIN IT
Catch it,
steer it,
move things.
- Containers under every drip. Buckets, bins, a towel in the bottom to stop the splash.
- Move what water can ruin. Electronics, rugs, furniture, papers. Then anything in the room below if you are upstairs.
- Soak up standing water early. Water left on floors and against walls keeps spreading into things that are expensive to dry.
- Trace the stain with a pencil. Mark the edge of any ceiling stain. If it moves past the line, the leak is still active, which is worth telling whoever comes to look.
Water often travels along the structure before it drips, so where it appears is a clue to the entry point rather than the answer. Finding the answer is a job for later, from the outside, in dry weather.
03 / RECORD IT
Before anything
is cleaned up
or fixed.
Five minutes with a phone now saves a great deal of reconstruction later, whether or not you end up making a claim.
01
Wide, then close.
A wide photo that shows which room and where, then close-ups of the ceiling, the walls, the floor and anything damaged. Video of an active drip is useful too.
02
Write down when.
When you first noticed it, and what the weather was doing. That detail is surprisingly hard to recall accurately two weeks later.
03
Keep damaged things for now.
If you might claim, check with your insurer before throwing out damaged belongings. They may want to see them.
04
Tell your insurer early, if you are claiming.
Policies generally expect prompt notice and reasonable steps to stop further damage. Your policy and your insurer decide what that means for you. We document roofs; we do not adjust claims or promise coverage.
04 / WHAT NOT TO DO
Four things
that make it
worse.
Each of these is common, and each tends to turn a contained problem into a bigger one.
Fine, and usually sensible
- A temporary measure to stop water, such as a tarp put on by someone equipped to do it
- Drying the room out as soon as the water stops
- Getting the leak looked at once the weather clears
Worth avoiding
- Climbing up in the rain to find the hole
- Sealant squeezed over the spot you think it is, which often hides the real entry point
- A permanent repair before the damage has been photographed
- Signing for a replacement on the day, under pressure, before anyone has assessed the roof
05 / COMMON QUESTIONS
While it drips.
Can the roof wait until the rain stops?
The roof usually has to, because nobody can safely work on it during a storm. The inside of the house cannot. Containing and drying the water is the part that will not wait.
Should I call a roofer or a water damage company first?
If water has soaked into walls, floors or insulation, drying it quickly limits further damage and mold, and that is a water damage company’s work. Finding and fixing where water gets in is a roofer’s. Plenty of leaks need both.
Why does it only leak in some storms?
Because many leaks depend on the wind. Rain driven sideways gets into places that ordinary rain never reaches, which is why a leak can appear in one storm and not the next. Monsoon preparation covers what to do about that before the season.
Will my insurance cover it?
That depends on your policy and on what caused the leak, and only your insurer can decide it. What helps any claim is a clear record of when it started, what the weather was, and what the damage looks like.
What does Atlas do once the water stops?
The free inspection looks for where the water is getting in, photographs what it finds, and says in writing whether a repair will hold or the roof needs more.
Water coming in right now?
Contain it and record it first, then call. From 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week, we can tarp the roof or stop the leak temporarily until it is repaired properly.