Emergency roof repair cost
Emergency tarping costs $300 to $700, and after-hours rates run 25% to 40% above scheduled work. An emergency is water entering the house; everything else costs less on Tuesday.
National average
$500
per project
On this page
- What it costs
- What actually counts as an emergency
- The first hour, before anyone arrives
- What a tarp is and is not
- Storm chasers
- Insurance, in the right order
- Frequently asked questions
- Will insurance pay for the tarp?
- How long can a tarp stay up?
- Can I tarp it myself?
- Is the after-hours premium negotiable?
- Should I use whoever arrives first?
Emergency roof tarping costs $300 to $700, or roughly $1.00 to $2.80 per square foot covered. After-hours and weekend rates run 25% to 40% above scheduled work, and a genuine emergency repair costs $500 to $3,000 before any permanent fix.
An emergency is water actively entering the house. Everything else can wait until Tuesday and cost a third less.
What it costs
| Typical | |
|---|---|
| Emergency tarp, installed | $300 to $700 |
| Tarping a large or steep roof | $700 to $1,500 |
| After-hours call-out premium | 25% to 40% |
| Temporary patch to stop an active leak | $300 to $900 |
| Board-up of a hole from a fallen tree | $500 to $2,000 |
| Full emergency replacement | $12,000 and up |
Most contractors credit the tarp against the permanent repair if they do both. Ask, and get it in writing while you are on the phone.
What actually counts as an emergency
Yes:
- Water entering the house now
- A tree or branch through the roof
- A section of roof gone in a storm
- A ceiling bulging with trapped water
- Structural sagging you can see
No, and it will cost you less on Monday:
- Missing shingles with no leak
- A stain that has been there a while
- Granules in the gutters
- A leak that only appears in driving rain and has for two years
The difference is $200 to $400 in call-out premium and, more importantly, the ability to get two quotes rather than accepting whoever answers.
The first hour, before anyone arrives
Contain the water. Buckets. Then, if a ceiling is bulging, punch a small hole at the lowest point of the bulge and let it drain into a bucket. It feels like making it worse. It is not: a bulge holding thirty pounds of water will come down on its own schedule and take the whole ceiling with it.
Cut the power to the affected area at the breaker if water is anywhere near light fittings or outlets.
Move what matters. Electronics, papers, anything with sentimental value.
Photograph everything, dated. Ceiling, walls, contents, and the roof from the ground if it is safe. Do it before you clean anything up. This is what an insurance claim is made of.
Do not climb on the roof. In wind and rain, on a surface that has already failed. Emergency roof work injures more people than emergency roofs do.
What a tarp is and is not
A properly installed tarp is heavy-duty poly, run over the ridge where possible so water cannot get under the top edge, and fastened to battens screwed through into the deck.
That last part surprises people: yes, the tarp is screwed down through the roof. Those holes are patched during the permanent repair. A tarp weighted with bricks or tucked under shingles blows off in the next gust, which is when the real damage happens.
A tarp buys two to six weeks. It is not a repair and it does not stop the clock on water already inside the structure.
Storm chasers
After a large hailstorm or hurricane, crews arrive from out of state. Some are competent. The pattern to watch for:
- Door-to-door immediately after the storm, with urgency
- Offering to "handle the insurance claim for you"
- Offering to waive or absorb your deductible — this is insurance fraud in most states, whatever it is called, and you are a party to it
- A contract presented as an "authorisation to inspect" that is actually an assignment of benefits signing your claim over
- No local address you can drive to
- Large deposit demanded up front
The workmanship warranty on your roof is worth exactly as much as the company's presence in five years' time. Read anything before signing it, in an emergency especially, because that is when nobody does.
Insurance, in the right order
- Photograph before touching anything
- Get emergency mitigation done — tarping is covered, and failing to mitigate can reduce a payout
- Keep every receipt
- Call your insurer and open the claim, noting the date
- Have your own roofer present at the adjuster's inspection
- Compare the adjuster's scope against your roofer's quote line by line
Policies require prompt notice, often within a year and sometimes 180 days.
Frequently asked questions
Will insurance pay for the tarp?
Emergency mitigation is generally covered, and most policies expect you to do it. Keep the receipt and photograph the damage before the tarp goes on.
How long can a tarp stay up?
Two to six weeks before ultraviolet light degrades it. Longer than that and it needs replacing, which some jurisdictions and some insurers will start asking about.
Can I tarp it myself?
On a low single-storey roof in calm weather, with help, possibly. In the conditions that create the emergency, no. A tarp that blows off at two in the morning leaves you worse off than none.
Is the after-hours premium negotiable?
Rarely, and it is not unreasonable — someone is leaving their house at night. What is negotiable is whether it is credited against the permanent work.
Should I use whoever arrives first?
For the tarp, yes, if water is coming in. For the permanent repair, no. Those are two decisions and the urgency of the first should not decide the second.
Read next
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