What to Do When Your Roof Leaks in a Storm | Huntsville
If water is coming through your ceiling right now, the order of operations is: protect people, drain the ceiling, contain the water, document everything, then call for emergency dry-in. Do not go on the roof during the storm.
Protect people and electricity first
Move everyone out of the room below the leak and keep children and pets away from it. A saturated drywall ceiling can release several gallons at once with no warning.
If water is anywhere near a light fixture, ceiling fan, outlet or electrical panel, switch off the breaker for that circuit. Water travels along framing and wiring runs, so the electrical risk is rarely directly under the visible drip.
Drain the ceiling on purpose
This is the step people get wrong. When a ceiling starts to bulge, the instinct is to leave it alone, but a bulge means water is pooling above the drywall and the sheet is going to fail.
Put a bucket underneath, then use a screwdriver to punch a small hole at the lowest point of the bulge. You are choosing where the water comes out. Draining it deliberately turns a ceiling replacement into a patch.
Contain and spread out the water
Buckets and trash cans under active drips, towels around the base, and a plastic sheet or tarp over anything that cannot be moved.
Water spreads laterally under flooring and inside wall cavities, so pull back rugs and move furniture well beyond the visible wet area. If you have a shop vacuum rated for water, use it on standing water rather than letting it soak in.
Photograph everything before you clean up
Take dated photographs and video of the ceiling, the walls, the floor, every damaged possession and the attic if you can reach it safely. Capture wide shots that show the room, then close-ups.
Do this before you mop, before you move anything you do not have to move, and before any repair. Alabama insurers assess what they can see documented, and cleanup that happens before documentation is effectively invisible to a claim.
Do not go on the roof
Wet asphalt shingles are extremely slick, storm-damaged decking may not hold your weight, and lightning is an obvious hazard. More homeowners are seriously injured investigating storm roof damage than roofers are repairing it.
Look from a window or from ground level with a flashlight. Attic inspection from inside is safe and usually more informative anyway, because that is where you can see daylight through the deck.
Call for emergency dry-in
A roofing contractor with 24-hour dispatch will talk you through containment on the phone and get a crew out to tarp the opening as soon as conditions are safe.
Most Alabama homeowner policies require you to take reasonable steps to prevent further damage, so emergency tarping is not just practical, it is usually an obligation under the policy. Keep the invoice and the photographs together with the claim file.
Questions
Should I call my insurance company or a roofer first?
Call the roofer first for emergency dry-in, then the insurer. Stopping the water is time-critical and is required under most policies; filing the claim is not.
Can I use roofing cement to patch a leak in the rain?
No. Roofing cement does not adhere to a wet surface, and applying it in the rain traps water underneath. Wait for the dry-in.
Will a leak stop on its own when the rain stops?
The drip will stop. The damage will not. Water sitting in insulation and framing continues causing damage for days and is how mold gets started.
If you need this handled
We dispatch across Huntsville, Madison and Madison County 24 hours a day from 7738 Madison Blvd #119, Huntsville, AL 35806. Call +1 864-936-4159.
Related reading: Signs you need emergency roof repair and the Huntsville storm season roof checklist.
See our Huntsville emergency roof repair homepage for a full overview of services.