Stop the water before you price anything
If water is entering now, the sequence is tarp, then assess, then repair. A properly fastened tarp buys days or weeks safely and it is not the repair.
Move what is under it and get a container under the drip. If the ceiling is bulging, that is water held above drywall — puncturing it deliberately in a controlled spot drains it into a bucket instead of bringing the ceiling down.
Photograph everything before anything is cleaned up or covered. If this becomes an insurance claim, those photos are the claim.
The four things that set the price
Decking. Plywood or OSB is replaced in whole sheets to land on framing, so a small hole in the wrong place still means a sheet. Older houses with plank decking are a different job again, and often need over-boarding rather than a patch.
Framing. If a rafter or truss took the impact, that is structural and it is a different trade conversation. Rare, and it has to be ruled out rather than assumed.
Time. A hole open for a day is a roof repair. A hole that has been leaking quietly for a season is a roof repair plus wet insulation, stained drywall and possibly mould remediation.
The age of the roof around it. Shingles weather. A patch on a fifteen-year-old roof will not match, and the surrounding shingles are brittle enough that working on them creates new damage. At some point a patch is money spent on a roof that needs replacing anyway.
Impact damage and your insurance
A tree limb, storm debris or a fallen branch through the roof is a sudden event and is the classic covered loss. Report it promptly, keep receipts for emergency tarping, and do not have permanent repairs done before the adjuster has seen it.
A hole that opened because the roof rotted is a maintenance problem, not an event, and policies do not cover age. The distinction is made on the evidence, which is why documentation matters more than the argument.
You file and own the claim and your carrier decides coverage. We are a licensed roofing contractor, not a public adjuster, and we do not negotiate your claim. On an approved claim your deductible is typically your out-of-pocket cost.
Why we will not quote this over the phone
Every variable above is invisible from the ground. Decking condition is not knowable until shingles come up, and the honest range between "one sheet and a few bundles" and "structural plus interior" is too wide for a number to mean anything.
What we will do is come out free, across Maryland and Northern Virginia, usually within twenty four hours, tarp it if water is still coming in, and give you a written line-item estimate for the actual condition. The photo report is yours to keep whether you hire us or not.
Get it looked at, free
We inspect across Maryland — Montgomery, Prince George's, Howard, Anne Arundel, Frederick, Carroll and Baltimore counties. Free inspection, photo report within 24 hours, and the report is yours to keep whether or not you hire us.