Roof Leaking During Rain? What to Do Right Now

What should you do first when your roof leaks during rain?

Start with safety, then contain the water, then protect your belongings. The repair itself can wait until the storm has passed; your job right now is to keep a small leak from turning into a ruined ceiling, a soaked floor or an electrical hazard.

Work through it in this order:

1. Check for electrical risk. If water is dripping near a light fixture, ceiling fan, outlet or appliance, stay clear of it. If you can reach your electrical panel without standing in water, switch off the circuit for that room. If you can't, keep everyone out of the room and call an electrician.
2. Catch the water. Put a bucket, storage bin or trash can under the drip. Lay a towel or scrap of wood inside the bucket to stop splashing, and put old towels around it to catch overspray.
3. Move what you can. Slide furniture, rugs, electronics and boxes out of the way. Cover anything too heavy to move with a plastic sheet or shower curtain.
4. Watch the ceiling. A brown ring is normal. A sagging, bubbled area means water is pooling above the drywall or plaster (more on that below).
5. Take photos and video before you clean up too much, so you have a record for your insurer.
6. Call a roofer. Many will log the call and schedule emergency tarping as soon as conditions are safe.

Is it safe to go up on the roof during a storm?

No. Stay off the roof and off ladders until the storm has fully passed and the roof has dried. Wet asphalt shingles are slick, wind gusts can knock you off balance, and a ladder against a gutter in the rain is one of the easiest ways for a homeowner to get badly hurt.

Lightning is the other reason. The National Weather Service's indoor lightning safety guidance treats a building with plumbing and electricity as safe shelter during a storm, and advises staying away from plumbing, corded electronics and exterior doors and windows while the storm is overhead. Climbing onto a roof with a tarp in that weather is never worth it.

Even after the rain stops, tarping a roof properly is harder than it looks. A tarp that isn't secured over the ridge and fastened with battens can act like a sail in the next gust of wind, tear shingles loose and make the leak worse. On a two-story colonial or a steep Cape, it is a job for a crew with the right equipment. Emergency tarping is part of our roof repair service for exactly this reason.

What should you do about a sagging or bulging ceiling?

If a section of ceiling is bulging with water, the safest move is usually to drain it in a controlled way before it lets go on its own. A saturated ceiling can come down suddenly, along with a lot of water.

Here is how to do it carefully:

• Make sure there is no light fixture, ceiling fan or wiring in or near the bulge. If there is, do not touch it; shut off power to the room if you safely can and wait for a professional.
• Place a large bucket or bin directly under the lowest point of the bulge, with a tarp or plastic sheeting underneath.
• Standing to the side rather than directly beneath it, use a screwdriver to poke a small hole at the lowest point. Let the water drain into the bucket.
• Leave the hole open so water keeps draining through one spot instead of spreading across the ceiling.

A small hole is a simple patch later. A collapsed ceiling is a much bigger repair, and it can damage everything underneath it. If the bulge is large, near wiring, or you are not comfortable doing this, keep the room clear and call for help.

Why isn't the leak where the water is dripping?

Because water rarely falls straight down. It gets in at one spot on the roof, runs along the roof deck or a rafter, and drips through the ceiling wherever it finds a low point. The stain over your dining table might start several feet away, sometimes on the other side of the house.

On Long Island and in Queens, the most common entry points during a storm are:

• Flashing around chimneys, skylights, dormer walls and where a roof meets a second-story wall. When the metal or the sealant behind it fails, water runs right in.
• Pipe boots, the rubber collars around plumbing vents. The rubber cracks with age and sun, then leaks in every heavy rain.
• Wind-driven rain during nor'easters and coastal storms, which can push water sideways under shingles, especially on exposed South Shore homes.
• Lifted or missing shingles after high winds.
• Clogged gutters that overflow at the eaves and back water up under the roof edge or behind the fascia.

It is also worth knowing that not every ceiling or wall leak is the roof. Windows, failed siding flashing, chimney masonry and overflowing gutters can all send water into a wall during a heavy storm. That is why patching the stain, or smearing roof cement where you guess the leak is, so rarely fixes it. The source has to be traced.

How do you document the leak for insurance?

Photograph everything before you clean up, tell your insurer promptly, and keep receipts for anything you spend to prevent further damage. Good records are the difference between a smooth claim and a frustrating one.

• Take photos and video of the drip, the ceiling stain, any bulging, wet flooring and damaged belongings. Your phone timestamps them automatically.
• Note the date and time the leak started and what the weather was doing (heavy rain, high wind, a named storm).
• Don't throw out damaged items until your insurer says it's fine. An adjuster may want to see them.
• Keep receipts for emergency tarping, a wet vac rental, fans or dehumidifiers. Most homeowners policies expect you to take reasonable steps to limit further damage.
• Read your policy for how it treats sudden storm damage versus wear and tear. Flood damage from rising water is usually a separate policy.

The New York State Department of Financial Services publishes storm preparedness tips for homeowners, including keeping your insurance documents handy and building a home inventory before a loss. It is worth a read before the next big storm, not just after one.

One caution: after a major storm, door knockers sometimes show up offering to handle your claim and start work on the spot. Take your time, ask for a written, itemized estimate and don't sign anything under pressure.

What should you avoid doing while the roof is leaking?

The most common mistakes are understandable, but they tend to make the damage or the bill bigger. Avoid these:

• Climbing on the roof or a ladder in rain, wind or lightning.
• Ignoring a small drip because it stopped when the rain did. Water that gets in once will get in again, and hidden moisture leads to rot and mold over time.
• Painting over the stain before the source is fixed. You lose the evidence of where water is coming in, and the stain will come back.
• Relying on caulk or roof cement as the permanent fix. Sealant can buy time, but failed flashing needs to be replaced, not smeared over.
• Leaving wet materials to dry on their own. Once it is safe, run fans and a dehumidifier, pull up soaked rugs, and dry the area as quickly as you can. If drywall stays soft or smells musty, it may need to be cut out and replaced.

What can you check yourself once the storm passes?

Once the rain has stopped, you can do a useful check from the ground and from inside the house without ever climbing a ladder. It helps you describe the problem and spot anything urgent.

• Walk around the house and look up with binoculars for missing, lifted or creased shingles, and for shingle pieces in the yard.
• Look at the flashing around the chimney, skylights and any wall where the roof meets siding. Bent, loose or gapped metal is a red flag.
• Check your gutters and downspouts for overflow marks, sagging runs or downspouts dumping water against the foundation. If gutters keep overflowing in heavy rain, properly pitched seamless gutters can stop water backing up at the roof edge.
• Inside, check ceilings and the tops of walls near exterior corners, closets and around windows for new stains.

What you can't do safely from the ground is confirm the actual entry point. That takes someone on the roof who knows where flashing typically fails and how water moves once it is under the shingles.

When should you call a roofer, and what happens next?

Call as soon as you notice the leak, even mid-storm. You won't get someone on your roof in a downpour, but you will get on the schedule for emergency tarping once it is safe, and for a proper repair after that.

A good roofer should trace the water to where it actually enters, fix the cause rather than the symptom, and show you photos of what they found. Typical storm repairs include replacing flashing at chimneys, skylights and sidewalls, swapping out cracked pipe boots, and replacing blown-off shingles. If the roof is too far gone for a repair to make sense, you should hear that plainly, with the evidence to back it up.

LaRocco Roofing & Siding handles leak tracing, emergency tarping and storm repairs across Long Island & Queens, NY. Owner Peter LaRocco has more than 30 years in the trade, and every repair is documented with photos so you see the same thing we do. If you aren't sure how much damage the storm did, start with a free roof inspection and photo report, or contact us or call (516) 924-2050 to book a visit and a free written, itemized estimate.

Related service: Roof Repair