Most people relax on exterior household maintenance a bit during the colder months, especially when it starts raining more or even snowing. The reasons are obvious – why have your windows professionally cleaned when a storm is coming? Why attend to your garden and its landscaping when the ground is frozen over and the trees have lost their leaves? There are still things to do of course, removing debris from your gutters being the operative example, but on the whole, you may relax and focus on your internal chores first.
That doesn’t mean your household is going to be preserved in a perfect state during this time, unfortunately. In fact, if you experience roofing issues during the wet season, you may start to panic. What if you can’t find a contractor, or what if the leak means you need to vacate your home while it’s fixed up, especially during the festive season?
We’d suggest, with empathy, that you don’t panic. Instead, you may wish to try some of the following advice:
Find An Understanding Contractor
You need someone who gets that this is an emergency and won’t leave you waiting around and worried during the holidays, even if a callout costs more. Looking for roofing pros? Mr Remodel connects you with trusted local contractors. It’s worth calling around to find professionals who are willing to work during this time of year, because not everyone will be.
As time is pretty sensitive here, it’s fine to ask about their availability and turnaround times upfront so you’re not left waiting around. Ultimately, a good contractor will understand the urgency of a leak and work with you to get it sorted quickly so the damage isn’t extensive, and they should also be honest about what needs doing right now versus what can wait until spring.
Put In Temporary Fixes
If you’re waiting on a contractor or the weather’s too bad for proper repairs, temporary solutions can buy you time. You can use tarp to cover the damaged area from the outside, which stops water getting in while you wait for the professionals to arrive. Buckets and towels inside help manage any drips that do make it through.
These aren’t permanent of course, but they’ll protect your home from further damage until someone can do the job properly. Just make sure you’re safe if you’re climbing up there yourself, but don’t force yourself to, but never do it and take zero risks if you’re at all nervous about what you’re doing.
Have Any Damaging Elements Removed
If there are branches hanging over your roof or debris that’s making the issue worse, get those sorted as soon as you can. That’s because any fallen branches or leaves can trap moisture and make any leakage problems worse. Clearing them away with a pole might prevent any encroaching damage while you’re dealing with the main issue, but again, put your safety first.
In this case, you might need to call in a tree service if big branches are threatening your roof, but smaller debris you can handle yourself on a dry day.
With this avice, we hope you can more easily avoid panic and focus on solutions if you experience issues during the wet season.
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