Why a roof opening cannot wait
An open roof spends the rest of the storm filling the building underneath it. Water entering at a lifted seam or a limb hole runs along the deck, drops through insulation and reaches ceilings, lighting and stock well away from the opening. Cover closes that path inside the same storm, and the Department of Insurance claims guide treats that kind of temporary repair as the reasonable step expected of a policyholder before the damage spreads.
On a low-slope roof the cover is held down, and that is the whole difference. A sheet laid loose over a flat membrane lifts at the first gust and takes more of the roof with it, so the tarp is weighted or fastened against the next one. The pitch, the state of the deck and the size of the opening decide which of the two is used.
Getting onto a storm-damaged roof is the hazard the rules are written for. Cal/OSHA Title 8 section 1730 covers roof work, with fall protection where a roof is more than 20 feet high and warning lines set back from the edge on slopes of 0:12 to 4:12. Section 1731, written for residential-type roofing, puts protection at more than 6 feet on slopes up to 7:12 and at any height above that. The condition of the deck under a fresh opening decides where anyone may stand.
A tarp buys the time the permanent repair needs. It holds the building while the membrane, flashing and decking are measured and the scope is agreed, and the area covered goes into the make-safe log with its photograph. The lasting repair or replacement belongs to commercial roofing, and a building that took water through the opening goes to water damage restoration.
What emergency roof tarping includes
Requests are taken around the clock, and the window for each city is shown in the list below. On arrival the ground under the opening is cleared and kept clear, because anything still hanging from the roof edge can come down while the ladder is being set.
Access is planned before anyone goes up, and the work follows the Title 8 fall-protection rules for the height and the slope of that roof. Wet membrane and a weakened deck change the route.
The break is photographed from the roof and from the ceiling below, and its size and position are recorded so the covered area matches what the adjuster is later shown.
The tarp is laid over the opening with enough lap onto sound roofing on every side, then weighted or fastened so a gust cannot get under an edge and lift it.
Glazing or a door broken in the same storm is closed with plywood on the same visit, leaving nothing open at street level.
The covered area, the time and the photographs go into the make-safe log, and wet ceilings or insulation pass to water damage restoration on the same file.
A tarp that is not held down is a sail. The cover is weighted or fastened at every edge before the crew leaves, because the storm that opened the roof usually has another band of wind behind it.
Where tarping is needed most
Strip center roofs
Wide low-slope membrane with a long perimeter edge: once a gust has peeled a corner back, the cover has to reach sound roofing well beyond the tear.
Tilt-up warehouse roofs
Long spans and large roof areas mean one opened seam wets insulation over a wide stretch of floor and racking below it.
Apartment and HOA buildings
A limb through the covering above one unit soaks the ceilings of the units beside and below it, so the cover goes on before the interior is touched.
Hotels and offices
Guests and staff stay in the building, so the covered area is set out for housekeeping and engineering and rechecked from inside.
Older houses with steeper pitches
Shingle roofs decades old lose tabs and flashing in a gust, and the cover is fixed above the break so water runs over it.
Farm buildings and shops
Large-span metal roofs lift at the eave and the ridge, and a panel gone leaves a run of open purlins to cover.
Questions about emergency roof tarping
It is a temporary cover, kept until the permanent repair is done. How long that takes depends on the size of the opening, the weather that follows and how quickly the roofing scope is agreed. The Department of Insurance guide treats temporary repair as a step against further damage, and the permanent work is measured separately.
The opening, plus enough sound roofing around it to hold the cover down. A tear that runs along a seam is covered along its length, because the loose end is where the next gust starts. Where covering is gone in several places, each area is tarped and measured into the log.
Cal/OSHA Title 8. Section 1730 covers roof work, with fall protection above 20 feet and warning lines back from the edge on the flattest slopes; section 1731 covers residential-type roofing, from more than 6 feet on slopes up to 7:12 and at any height above that.
It is looked for as soon as the cover is down. Ceilings, insulation, lighting and flooring under the opening are checked, and where the building is wet the file passes to water damage restoration for extraction and drying.
It is measured for the adjuster while the tarp holds, and the roofing work belongs to commercial roofing. Receipts for the emergency work are kept with the photographs, and the covered area is listed in the log.
Emergency roof tarping by city
Tarping is requested through the storm damage page for your city, which sets out the response window, the buildings involved and the permit authority.
Related storm damage services
