When You Need Tarping
A tree limb through the roof at 2 a.m. Shingles peeled off in a thunderstorm and rain in the forecast tonight. A leak that started as a drip and became a stream during the storm. These are tarping situations — the roof needs immediate waterproofing, and the permanent fix (usually a full replacement) comes next. Tarping is not a repair and it is not a solution. It is a professional-grade stopgap that keeps water out while the real work gets scheduled, permitted, and (often) run through insurance.
What Professional Tarping Looks Like
A blue tarp thrown over the ridge with some bricks on it is not tarping — it is a kite waiting for the next gust. Professional emergency tarping means: heavy-duty reinforced tarps sized to the damage, secured with battens screwed through the tarp into the roof structure (not just weighted down), edges sealed against wind lift, and coverage extending well past the damaged area so wind-driven rain cannot get under the edges. Done right, a tarp holds through weeks of weather. Done wrong, it fails in the next storm and you have paid twice — once for the bad tarp, once for the water damage it allowed.
Our Process: Step by Step
- Send the form now. Tell us water is coming in — that puts you at the front of the line. Include your address and, if you can do it safely from the ground, a photo of the damage.
- We respond fast. Emergency calls jump the schedule. We will give you a realistic arrival window and tell you what to do while you wait (buckets, move valuables, kill power to wet areas if water is near electrical).
- Secure the roof. We assess the damage, then tarp it properly — batten-secured, wind-sealed, extended past the damage zone. We photograph everything before and after.
- Document for insurance. The photos and damage notes from the tarping visit become the first entries in your claim documentation. If this becomes an insurance replacement, you are already ahead.
- Plan the permanent fix. Once the roof is dry inside, we schedule the full inspection and written quote for replacement. The tarp buys you weeks — use them to do the job right, not rushed.
What Tarping Costs
Emergency tarping typically runs $300 to $1,000 in the Baltimore area depending on damage size, roof height and pitch, and timing (middle-of-the-night emergency calls cost more than next-morning ones — that is honest). If the damage becomes an insurance claim, tarping costs are frequently reimbursable as emergency mitigation — keep the receipt, and we will provide proper documentation.
Disclaimer: tarping is temporary protection, not a repair. Every tarp has a limited life — UV and wind degrade it. The goal is always to get to the permanent fix within weeks, not months.
What To Do While You Wait
- Contain the water: buckets, towels, and plastic sheeting under active drips. Poke a small hole in a bulging ceiling bubble to let water drain in a controlled spot rather than spreading.
- Protect belongings: move furniture, electronics, and valuables away from the leak path. Water travels along joists and shows up far from the entry point.
- Do not climb up. A storm-damaged roof is structurally uncertain and slippery. Every year people are hurt doing exactly this. Wait for the crew.
- Document: photos of interior damage and, from the ground only, exterior damage. Note the time the leak started.
- Call your insurance after the immediate crisis is handled — but the tarp comes first. Mitigating further damage is your policy obligation.
After the Tarp: The Real Fix
Once the emergency is handled, the question becomes repair or replacement — and after significant storm damage on an aging roof, the answer is usually replacement. We will inspect fully, document for insurance if you are filing, and give you the written quote for the permanent job. The tarp did its job; now the roof gets its new life.
Tarping vs Temporary Repairs: Knowing the Difference
After emergency tarping, homeowners sometimes ask whether a "temporary repair" — some sealant, a few shingles nailed over the hole — would be better than a tarp while waiting for replacement. The honest answer depends on the damage. For a small, well-defined hole on an otherwise sound roof section, a proper temporary patch can be more secure than a tarp and less visually alarming. For large damage, structural uncertainty, or anything involving the deck, a professional tarp is safer — it covers the whole zone without loading a compromised structure or pretending a patch is a fix. We will tell you which your situation calls for. Either way, temporary means temporary: patches and tarps both degrade, and the permanent replacement should happen within weeks. The worst outcome is a "temporary" fix that becomes permanent through inertia — we have torn off plenty of roofs where a three-year-old tarp was still up there, and the deck underneath told the story.
What Voids or Helps an Insurance Claim
Two things about tarping and insurance that homeowners get backwards. First: tarping helps your claim. Your policy requires you to mitigate further damage, and a professional emergency tarp with dated photos is documented proof you did. Second: waiting hurts your claim. Water that enters through storm damage and sits for weeks causes secondary damage — mold, rotted decking, ruined insulation — that insurers may argue you could have prevented. The sequence that protects you is simple: document the damage, mitigate immediately (tarp), then file. Keep every receipt and every photo with dates. When we tarp, our before-and-after photos go straight into your claim file, and the invoice is itemized for reimbursement. Do the emergency right and the paperwork takes care of itself.