Emergency roof repair · Richmond Hill
Water coming in? We stop it today.
The first job isn't fixing the roof — it's stopping water reaching your ceilings, insulation and floors. We arrive with custom-cut tarps, batten systems and interior diversion rigs, make the roof weather-tight the same day where conditions allow, and schedule the permanent repair once the surface is dry enough to bond properly.
Richmond Hill gets priority on emergency calls. Please phone rather than emailing — a form sits in an inbox, a phone rings on a roof.
While you wait for us
Five things to do in the next ten minutes.
- Contain it. Move furniture and electronics clear, put buckets down, lay towels around them to stop splash spreading.
- Drain a bulging ceiling. If drywall is sagging, pierce the lowest point with a screwdriver and let it run into a bucket. Controlled drainage does far less damage than a collapse.
- Kill the power to that area if water is anywhere near a light fixture, ceiling fan or outlet.
- Photograph everything before you clean up — the ceiling, the floor, the contents. It matters for the repair and for any insurance claim.
- Stay off the roof. Wet shingles and membrane are lethal, and a fall costs more than any leak.
On arrival
How we stop water immediately.
Emergency work is a different discipline from roofing. The goal is a watertight roof within hours, using methods that hold through the next storm and don't damage what's underneath.
01
Custom-cut & battened tarps
Not a blue tarp weighted with bricks. Heavy-gauge poly cut to the affected area, wrapped over furring battens and screwed through into solid framing so wind can't lift an edge — then lapped shingle-fashion so water runs over each seam, never into it.
02
Over-ridge anchoring
Where the damage is near a ridge, the tarp is carried over the peak and anchored on the opposite slope. Anchoring below the damage is the classic mistake — water simply runs under the top edge and the tarp does nothing.
03
Interior diversion rigs
When the roof can't be safely accessed — ice, darkness, high wind — we rig catchment inside instead. Suspended tarps funnel water to a single point and hose it to a drain or container, so it stops soaking insulation and finishes while we wait for a safe window.
04
Membrane & peel-and-stick patching
On flat and low-slope roofs, self-adhered membrane patches bond to a dried and primed surface and hold through winter. Where the deck is soaked, we dry the area first — a patch stuck to wet membrane lifts in days.
05
Flashing & termination re-securing
Wind-lifted cap flashing, an open counter-flashing joint or a parapet termination pulled loose — mechanically re-fixed and sealed on the spot. Often this is the whole emergency, and no tarp is needed at all.
06
Safe access, whatever the weather
Steep, icy or high roofs need proper access before anyone steps on them. We bring scaffold and fall protection rather than improvising off a ladder, which is why we can work in conditions that stop other crews.
Worth knowing
Why most emergency tarps fail within a week.
If you've had a tarp put on before and it leaked anyway, it was almost certainly one of these four.
Weighted, not fastened. Bricks, tires and sandbags hold in still air. Richmond Hill's exposure on the moraine means the first real gust gets under an edge and takes the lot.
Anchored below the damage. The top edge has to sit above the entry point, ideally over the ridge. Fasten it below and water runs underneath and carries on into the house.
Seams facing uphill. Overlaps have to lap the way shingles do. A seam facing up the slope is a funnel.
Fastened into the shingle field. Screws driven through sound shingles create new holes that leak once the tarp comes off. Fasteners go through battens into framing, in places that are being repaired anyway.
A tarp done properly is a temporary roof. Done badly it's a sail with holes in it.
Is it an emergency?
Call now for these. The rest can wait for a booked visit.
Call immediately
- Water actively dripping or running inside
- A ceiling sagging, bulging or already fallen
- Shingles or membrane torn off in a storm, deck exposed
- A tree limb or debris on the roof
- Water near light fixtures, wiring or a panel
- A commercial roof leaking onto stock or equipment
- Ice damming pushing water back under the shingles
Book a normal visit
- An old ceiling stain that isn't growing
- Shingles missing with no water coming in yet
- Granules in the eavestrough
- Damp only during cold snaps with no rain — likely condensation, not a leak
- A skylight that mists up but doesn't drip
- Anything you've noticed but that hasn't changed in months
Not sure which column you're in? Ring and describe it. That conversation costs nothing and takes two minutes.
How an emergency call runs
Secure first. Repair properly second.
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01
Phone triage
We ask what you're seeing, where, and how fast. That usually tells us what to load before we leave — tarps and battens, membrane and primer, or diversion gear if the roof won't be safe today.
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02
Make it weather-tight
Same day where conditions allow. Roof secured, or interior diversion rigged if it can't be. We photograph the damage as we find it, before anything is covered — that record is what an insurance adjuster needs.
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03
Permanent repair, once it can bond
Adhesives, torch work and self-seal strips all need a dry, frost-free surface. We book the permanent repair for the first workable window, with a fixed written price and warranty — and the temporary work holds until then.
Storm damage & claims
The first report usually decides the claim.
With sudden storm or water damage, what's documented in the first 24 hours does more for your outcome than anything that happens afterwards.
We photograph the damage on arrival, before tarping, with dates attached. Where it helps we scan with infrared to map how far water has spread through insulation, and we produce a written cause-of-loss report separating storm damage from age-related wear — which is precisely the distinction an adjuster is looking for.
Insurers generally cover sudden, storm-related damage and generally don't cover gradual deterioration. Most policies also require you to take reasonable steps to prevent further damage, which is exactly what emergency tarping is. Keep the invoice.
We're roofers rather than insurance advisers, so confirm your coverage with your own insurer — but we'll give them everything they need from our side.
Emergency questions
Asked while the bucket is still filling.
How fast can you get here?
Same day for active leaks in Richmond Hill where conditions allow. What affects it is weather and safety rather than distance — we won't put a crew on an iced or wind-blown roof, and neither should anyone else. If the roof can't be safely accessed today we come anyway and rig interior diversion so water stops reaching your finishes while we wait for a workable window.
Can you tarp a roof in the rain?
Yes. Tarping is mechanical — battens and fasteners, not adhesives — so it works on a wet roof. That's the whole point of it. What can't be done in the wet is the permanent repair: self-seal shingle strips, torch-applied membrane and adhesives all need a dry, frost-free surface to bond. Secure now, repair properly when it can actually hold.
How long will an emergency tarp last?
Installed properly — heavy-gauge material, battened, fastened into framing, lapped correctly and carried over the ridge — several months, comfortably through a winter if needed. Weighted-down tarps last until the first real gust. We treat it as a temporary roof rather than a cover, because in Richmond Hill it has to survive moraine wind.
Will screwing a tarp down damage my roof?
Not when it's done correctly. Fasteners go through furring battens into solid framing, positioned within the area that's already being repaired. What causes damage is screwing straight through sound shingles in the middle of a good field — those holes leak once the tarp comes off. We plan the fastening around the permanent repair from the start.
Should I put a tarp on myself?
Please don't go up. Wet shingles and membrane are genuinely lethal, and a fall from a two-storey roof is life-changing. Inside the house you can do a great deal: contain the water, drain a bulging ceiling deliberately at its lowest point, cut power to the area, and photograph everything. That covers the urgent part until we arrive.
Do you charge extra for emergency call-outs?
Emergency work is priced for what it involves — immediate response, materials on the truck, and often two visits rather than one. You'll be told the cost before we start, and the temporary work is credited against the permanent repair where we carry out both. Nothing gets done that you haven't agreed to.
My ceiling is bulging with water. What do I do right now?
Move everything clear, put a bucket underneath, and pierce the lowest point of the bulge with a screwdriver so it drains in one controlled place. It feels wrong, but a saturated ceiling fails all at once and takes the whole sheet with it. Cut power to the area first if there's a fixture or outlet anywhere near, and photograph it before and after.
Is ice damming an emergency?
If water is entering the house, yes. Ice damming pushes meltwater back up under the shingle courses, past details that shed rain perfectly well. We steam or clear the dam and relieve the backup rather than chipping at it — hacking ice off a roof breaks shingles and turns a seasonal problem into a permanent one. The underlying cause is usually attic insulation and ventilation, which we'll flag for warmer weather.
Do you handle commercial emergencies?
Yes. Low-slope membrane, rooftop equipment curbs, parapets and drains on plazas, warehouses and multi-unit buildings. On commercial work the real cost is usually downtime and stock rather than drywall, so we secure the roof first and work around your operating hours for the permanent repair — see flat roof repair.
Emergency response across the city
Richmond Hill, neighbourhood by neighbourhood.
Same-day response anywhere inside the city where conditions allow — and neighbouring communities on request.
- Oak Ridges
- Jefferson
- Mill Pond
- Bayview Hill
- North Richvale
- South Richvale
- Devonsleigh
- Observatory
- Crosby
- Rouge Woods
- Westbrook
- Elgin Mills
- Doncrest
- Headford
- Langstaff
- Beverley Acres
Don't wait for it to spread
Every hour water is inside costs more than the repair.
Insulation, drywall and decking all fail on a timer once they're wet. Stopping the water today is the cheapest thing you'll do.