Emergency roof repair in Long Beach, CA

When a roof fails in the middle of a winter storm, the goal changes. Nobody is going to rebuild a valley in driving rain, and anyone who tells you they will is not being straight with you. The job in that moment is to stop the water, protect what is inside the house and make the roof safe until the weather breaks. That is what our emergency work is built around.

Our phone at (562) 414-1770 is answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by people who can dispatch a crew. We bring heavy reinforced tarps, lumber for battens, fasteners, sandbags and patch material. Once the area is covered and the water has stopped, we schedule the permanent repair for the first dry window and price it then.

What happens in the first hour

When you call, we ask a few quick questions: where the water is coming in, whether anything has fallen on the roof, whether power lines are involved and how high the house is. That tells our crew what to bring. If there is a tree limb on a line, we tell you to call the utility first and stay clear.

While you wait, move furniture and electronics away from the drip, put down buckets and towels, and if a ceiling is bulging with water, keep people out from under it. A small hole poked at the lowest point of a bulge, with a bucket below, can stop the drywall from coming down all at once.

• Tell us where water enters and how bad it is
• Keep clear of any downed lines and call the utility
• Move valuables and electronics out of the way
• Stay out from under a sagging wet ceiling

How we tarp a roof so it holds

A tarp that is just weighted with a few bricks will blow off in the next gust. We run the tarp well past the damaged area, up and over the ridge when we can, so water sheds over the top of it rather than under it. The edges get rolled around wood battens and fastened, and on tile roofs we take care to support the tarp without breaking more tile.

On flat roofs we cover the area, weight it and seal the edges where possible, and clear drains so water stops ponding over the damage. If decking has been punched through, we can sheet over the hole with plywood before the tarp goes on.

• Tarp extended over the ridge so water runs off the top
• Edges wrapped on battens and fastened down
• Plywood over holes before tarping
• Drains cleared on flat roofs

From temporary cover to permanent repair

A tarp is a holding measure for days or a few weeks, not a fix. Sun breaks it down and wind works it loose. Once the storm passes, our roofer comes back, removes the cover, inspects the damage in daylight and gives you a price for the permanent repair.

If your homeowner's insurer will be involved, we take photos before and after the tarp goes on and keep notes on what we found. That record helps when the adjuster visits. The decision on any claim is between you and your insurer.

When to call about emergency roof repair

Long Beach storms and late-night calls

Most of our emergency calls come in during the few big atmospheric-river storms Long Beach gets each winter. Several inches of rain can fall over two or three days, and roofs that looked fine all summer suddenly let go at a cracked boot or a rotted valley. The other wave comes with the Santa Ana winds in fall and winter, which can strip shingles, lift tiles and drop palm fronds and eucalyptus limbs onto roofs across the city.

Our crews work out of our downtown office on E 1st Street, which keeps us close to Belmont Shore, Bixby Knolls, North Long Beach and everywhere between. On the canal-front homes of Naples and the tight lots near the beach, access can be hard at night, so we ask about gates, side yards and parking when you call. Our La Mirada office covers the inland side.