It does
Stop further water entering. Protect interior finishes, stock and equipment from additional damage. Preserve the claim by showing you acted, which most policies require once you know about a loss. Buy time to scope the repair properly.
Water coming in right now? Call (512) 529-2072. Do not go on the roof.
Emergency roof tarping in Austin
Emergency roof tarping in Austin stops water entering the building while the real repair gets planned. A dry-in is temporary by design — it buys you days, protects what is underneath, and keeps the damage from spreading while the roof dries out enough to work on.
2-hour emergency response, 24/7 · Serving Austin since 2008 · $2M liability coverage · Zero OSHA accidents in 2024
What to do in the first hour
Before anyone gets to the building, four things protect the property and the claim. In this order.
- Move what water can ruin. Water travels sideways along a ceiling or deck before it drops, so clear a wider area than the drip suggests — stock, files, equipment, furnishings.
- Kill power to the affected area if water is anywhere near a fixture, panel or outlet. Use the breaker, not the switch, and bring in a licensed electrician before anything is turned back on.
- Relieve a bulging ceiling. A small hole over a bucket drains it in a controlled way. It feels wrong. It is far better than a saturated ceiling coming down in one piece.
- Photograph everything before you clean up, including standing water, stained ceiling tiles and wet stock. Once it is mopped, it never happened as far as a claim file is concerned.
Stay off the roof. Not in rain, not in wind, not in the dark, and not after a wind event when edge metal may be loose. A fall costs more than any repair on this site.
The first 24 hours, in order
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| Hour 0 | Call. We confirm the building, the active leak and safe access, and tell you what to move and isolate in the meantime. |
| On arrival | Safety assessment first: structural condition, standing water weight, electrical risk. If the structure looks unsafe, nobody goes up and we say so. |
| Before the dry-in | Photographs of the damage as found. This is the evidence the claim rests on, and it disappears the moment the tarp goes down. |
| The dry-in | Temporary protection appropriate to the roof system, secured so wind does not take it in the next storm. |
| After | Photographs of the completed dry-in, plus interior protection where water has already come through. |
| Next dry day | Full inspection to trace the entry point and scope the permanent repair. |
Dry-in is not one method
What gets used depends on what is on the building, and the wrong method creates a second problem.
- Single-ply membranes (TPO, PVC, EPDM): a membrane patch or temporary weld where the substrate is dry enough to accept it, rather than a tarp that traps water and moves in wind.
- Built-up and modified bitumen: temporary patching compatible with the existing surface, which matters because incompatible sealants complicate the permanent repair.
- Shingle and steep-slope: tarp run over the ridge and secured on both slopes. A tarp that stops short of the ridge channels water underneath it, which is why DIY tarping so often makes the leak worse.
- Open penetrations and equipment curbs: covered and sealed directly, since these are often the actual entry point when the field looks fine.
The stain is almost never under the hole
Water enters at one point, runs along the top of the decking or the underside of the membrane, and drops wherever gravity and an obstruction give it the chance. That can be several feet from the entry point and on a different part of the building.
This is why an emergency dry-in stabilizes the situation rather than fixing it, and why tracing the entry point happens in daylight on a dry roof. Anyone who tells you they have found and fixed the leak in the rain has patched the nearest suspicious thing.
What a dry-in does and does not do
It does not
Repair the roof. Dry out saturated insulation, which usually has to come out. Survive indefinitely — a tarp is a days-to-weeks measure, not a season. Guarantee that no water reaches the interior during the next storm.
For occupied buildings and apartment properties
Most of our emergency calls are buildings full of people — tenants, residents, staff. Two things matter as much as the roof work. Contain and isolate the affected area so nobody walks under a saturated ceiling. And tell residents or tenants what is happening and when, because the calls a property manager fields after a leak are mostly about not knowing.
One diagnostic question saves days on a multifamily leak: ask the resident whether the water tracks with rain or with occupancy. Rain means roof. Occupancy usually means plumbing, and that is a different trade entirely.
Emergency roof tarping in Austin — common questions
How quickly can you get here?
We hold a 2-hour emergency response for active water intrusion, 24/7. During a regional storm we work active leaks first and give you a real window rather than a comfortable one, because a promise we cannot keep is worth nothing at 2am.
Can I tarp the roof myself?
We would rather you did not. Roofs are unstable after storms, edge metal can be loose, and a tarp that does not run over the ridge channels water underneath it and makes the leak worse. Protect the interior from below and call.
How long does a tarp last?
Days to weeks, depending on weather and how it is secured. It is a holding measure while the permanent repair is scoped and scheduled, not a season-long solution.
Does insurance cover emergency tarping?
Emergency mitigation is commonly covered, and most policies impose a duty to prevent further damage once you know about a loss. Keep every receipt and the before-and-after photographs. Your policy wording decides coverage — this is general information, not coverage advice.
Will the tarp damage my roof?
A dry-in matched to the roof system should not. That is why the method changes by system, and why fasteners through a membrane are avoided where a compatible patch will hold instead.
Do you do the permanent repair too?
Yes, and the inspection that scopes it is free with no obligation. The written report is yours whether or not you use us for the repair.
Water coming in? Call now.
(512) 529-2072, 24/7. Once the building is dry, start at the storm damage roofing hub or read about hail damage roof repair in Austin and wind damage roof repair in Austin. For permanent work, see commercial roof repair in Austin or Residential roofing in Austin or Austin roofing services from our team.