Roof leak at night: emergency tarping calls and pricing

Why nobody goes on the roof tonight

The caller wants a person on the roof now. Water is coming through the ceiling, it is dark and it may still be raining. Your answer is almost always the same: nobody goes up until it is safe, and tonight's job is protecting the inside of the house. Roofers usually do not work during inclement weather^[1], and for good reason. Falls are the leading cause of death in construction, with 389 of 1,034 construction fatalities in 2024 being falls to a lower level^[2]. A wet, dark, wind-loaded roof is the worst version of that risk.

That does not make the call a write-off. A good night call does three things: it makes the inside of the home safer, it books the tarp for the first safe window, and it starts the documentation an insurance claim will need. Do those well and the caller tends to stay with you through the repair, because you were the company that picked up and knew what to do.

The night call, step by step

1. 01

   Check for electrical risk first

   Ask whether water is near light fixtures, ceiling fans, outlets or the panel. If it is, have them switch off that circuit at the breaker, if the panel is dry, and stay out of any room where water drips through a fixture.

2. 02

   Check the ceiling

   A sagging or bulging ceiling can come down. Tell them to keep people and pets out from under it and to move what they can from the room. Never suggest climbing a ladder in the dark to deal with it.

3. 03

   Contain the water

   Buckets, towels and plastic sheeting over furniture. Move electronics, rugs and paperwork. If water runs down a wall, a towel at the base and a container below is better than nothing.

4. 04

   Ask the roof questions

   Roof type, number of stories, rough age, any damage they saw from the ground such as missing shingles or a fallen limb, and whether this is a new leak or an old one that got worse.

5. 05

   Ask about insurance

   If they plan to file a claim, tell them to take photos and video now, inside and from the ground outside, before cleaning up, and to write down the time the leak started.

6. 06

   Book the tarp window

   Offer the first slot when weather and light allow, as a range rather than a promise. Confirm the address, gate codes, pets and a mobile number for updates.

7. 07

   Set the fee expectation

   Explain that the tarp is a separate service from the repair and how it is priced. Get a clear yes before the crew rolls, in writing if you can.

The tarp is its own ticket

Treat the emergency tarp as a job with its own number, price and photo set, not as the first hour of a repair. That keeps the invoice clean for the insurer, lets the homeowner approve it quickly, and protects you if they later choose another contractor for the full repair. It also lets you measure tarps as a service line: how many you do per storm, how long they take, and how many turn into repairs.

Whatever you choose, write the price rule on the CSR's card so night staff do not invent a number. If the after-hours or storm rate differs from the daytime rate, say both, and offer the daytime option when the home is already contained and dry enough to wait.

Photos that make the claim easier

• Wide shots of each affected slope before the tarp goes on, with the house number or street visible in at least one frame.
• Close-ups of the damage: missing or creased shingles, punctures, lifted flashing, debris.
• The finished tarp, showing how it is anchored and where it sits relative to the ridge.
• Inside: the ceiling stain, any visible wet insulation in the attic, and the containment the homeowner set up.
• A short note with arrival time, work done and materials used, attached to the tarp ticket.

Roof damage often lands in the biggest claim category. From 2018 to 2022, wind and hail losses hit 2.8% of insured homes, ahead of water damage and freezing at 1.6%^[3]. Across all causes, 5.3% of insured US homes had a homeowners claim in 2023^[4]. Your photos are often the clearest record the adjuster sees of the roof before anyone touched it.

Example: a 10 p.m. leak during a thunderstorm

Example. A two-story house with a 15-year-old asphalt roof has water dripping through a bedroom light fixture during a storm. The CSR asks the caller to switch off the bedroom lighting circuit, keep everyone out of the room and put a bin under the fixture with towels around it. The caller says a large branch came down on the roof before dark.

The CSR books a tarp crew for the first window after the storm passes, 7 to 9 a.m., and explains the fee: the medium tarp band at the storm rate, Example $450, credited to the repair if the homeowner books it within 30 days. She texts the fee and the window and asks for a YES reply to approve. The crew clears the branch, tarps the slope, takes about twenty photos and books the estimator for the next afternoon. The homeowner has a ticket number, a photo set and a repair visit, all before lunch.

Running the morning tarp queue after a storm

After a widespread storm the overnight list can be long. Sort it before the crews leave the yard, using a fixed order so nobody argues about it at 6 a.m.:

1. Active leaks into living space with water near electrical fixtures.
2. Active leaks into living space with no electrical risk.
3. Openings with no active leak, such as missing shingles or small punctures.
4. Inspection requests with no visible damage, booked into normal estimate slots.

Within each tier, group by area so crews are not crossing the county between tarps, and text each customer their window. Roofers often work overtime in the busy summer months^[5], so cap tarps per crew per day and add a second crew or shift instead of pushing one crew past safe hours. Tired crews on wet roofs are how storm weeks turn into injury reports.

After the tarp: turning it into a repair

A tarp buys time, usually days or a few weeks depending on the material and the weather, not months. Tell the homeowner that plainly, and book the repair conversation before the crew leaves. The best moment to schedule the estimate is while they are relieved the water has stopped.

1. Send the tarp photos and ticket number by text or email the same day, so the homeowner has them for the insurer.
2. Book the estimator within a day or two, and confirm whether the homeowner has opened a claim and has an adjuster visit scheduled.
3. Offer to meet the adjuster on site if the homeowner wants that, and bring the tarp photos.
4. Set a check-in reminder a week out to look at the tarp after any strong wind, and log the result on the ticket.
5. If they choose another contractor, close the tarp ticket cleanly and thank them. It is still a paid job and a possible future customer.

What not to say on a leak call

• Do not promise a crew on the roof tonight while it is raining or blowing.
• Do not tell them insurance will cover it; you do not know their policy.
• Do not quote the full repair by phone before anyone has seen the roof.
• Do not suggest they go into the attic or up a ladder in the dark.
• Do not pressure them to sign a repair contract to get the tarp.

The last point matters for trust and, in many places, for compliance. Storm work attracts rules about contracts and assignments, so keep the emergency tarp approval separate from any repair agreement. For the bigger picture of handling storm weeks, see the storm response plan for roofing companies.