What to Do Right Now

If water is coming into your home, these five things matter in this order:

1. Stay off the roof. A wet, storm-damaged roof is genuinely dangerous, and walking on compromised decking makes the damage worse. Stay away from any downed power lines.
2. Contain the water. Buckets under active drips, and move furniture, electronics, and anything valuable out of the affected area.
3. Relieve a bulging ceiling. If a ceiling is sagging with trapped water, puncturing the center with a small hole lets it drain in a controlled way. Left alone, the whole section can come down at once.
4. Photograph everything. Interior damage, and any exterior damage visible from the ground. Timestamped photos matter if this becomes an insurance claim.
5. Call for tarping. The faster the roof is covered, the less interior damage accumulates.

Emergency Tarping

A properly installed tarp is the difference between a roof repair and a roof repair plus drywall, insulation, flooring, and possibly mold remediation. Water moves fast once the roof envelope is broken.

Tarping done right means the tarp is anchored to the roof structure rather than weighted down, sealed at the edges so wind can’t get underneath, and extended past the damaged area with enough overlap that water can’t track under it. A tarp that blows off overnight has accomplished nothing.

Worth knowing for your claim: most homeowner policies require you to take reasonable steps to prevent further damage after a loss. Emergency tarping generally qualifies, and those costs are typically reimbursable. Keep the receipt.

Same-Day Repair

Not every emergency needs a tarp. Sometimes the fix is immediate — a failed pipe boot, a section of lifted shingles, a flashing detail that opened up in high wind. Where the repair can be made safely and permanently the same day, we do that instead of tarping and coming back.

Either way, you get an assessment of the full damage — not just what’s leaking. Storm damage is frequently more widespread than the leak suggests.

Common Roof Emergencies in Middle Tennessee

• Wind damage after spring storms — shingles lifted or torn off, exposing underlayment or bare deck
• Tree and limb strikes — common in older neighborhoods with mature canopy like Green Hills, Forest Hills, Sylvan Park, and East Nashville
• Hail impact — occasionally severe enough to breach the roof outright rather than just bruise it
• Failed flashing — a chimney or wall detail that finally gives during heavy rain
• Cracked pipe boots — a small failure that leaks steadily and is easy to miss until a ceiling stain appears
• Ice damming — during winter events, melt-and-refreeze cycles force water backward under the shingles
• Clogged or damaged gutters — water backing up under the shingle edge instead of draining away

Why Fast Matters

Water damage compounds. In the first few hours it’s a ceiling stain. Within a day it’s saturated insulation, which loses its R-value permanently and stays wet. Within a couple of days you’re looking at drywall replacement, and in Tennessee humidity, mold becomes a genuine concern quickly after that.

The roof repair is usually the smaller part of the bill if water sits. That’s the entire argument for tarping immediately rather than waiting for a scheduled appointment.

After the Emergency: Insurance

If the damage was storm-related, there’s likely a claim. We document everything during the emergency response — photographs, the extent of damage, what was done to mitigate — which becomes the foundation of the claim file.

We handle claims on a contingency basis, attend the adjuster inspection, and take on denied or underpaid claims. See our storm damage and insurance claims page for how that process works.

Common Questions

How fast can you get here?

It depends on where you are and what else is happening — after a major regional storm event, every roofer in Middle Tennessee is fielding calls at once. Call and we’ll give you a realistic answer rather than a promise we can’t keep.

Does insurance cover emergency tarping?

Usually. Most policies require the homeowner to take reasonable steps to prevent further damage after a covered loss, and tarping is the standard step for a compromised roof. Keep receipts and photograph the damage before and after.

Should I put a tarp up myself?

We’d strongly advise against climbing a wet or storm-damaged roof. Beyond the fall risk, an improperly secured tarp can blow off overnight or channel water into a different part of the house. If you must do something immediately, focus on containing water inside.

Do I need to be home?

For exterior emergency work, not necessarily. For anything requiring interior access or a full damage assessment, yes.

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Roof Emergency? Call Now.

Serving Nashville, Franklin, Brentwood, Murfreesboro, Hendersonville, Mount Juliet, Gallatin, Smyrna and all of Middle Tennessee.

ROOFWORX — Licensed TN Contractor BC-A/r #85166 · CertainTeed ShingleMaster · Bonded & Insured · (615) 934-5732