What to do right now, before we get there
- Put a container under the drip and lay a towel in it to stop the splash-back soaking the floor.
- If the ceiling is bulging, pierce it at the lowest point. A small controlled hole into a bucket is far better than a ceiling that lets go all at once.
- Turn off power to that area at the breaker if water is anywhere near wiring or a fixture.
- Photograph the stain, the drip and the room before you clean anything up, and note the date and what the weather was doing.
- Do not go into the attic in the dark with a torch and wet insulation underfoot. If you can safely look from the hatch, do that instead and photograph what you see.
What we do when we arrive
We work backwards from the stain and forwards from the roof. Water travels along framing and decking before it drops, so the wet spot on your ceiling is frequently several feet from where it entered. We inspect the roof surface, every flashing detail, every penetration and the drainage, and we photograph the whole path. Then we tell you what it is. If it is not conclusive, we say so instead of guessing on your money.
Arlington specifics
Older bungalows and Capes on tight lots, many with more than one existing roof layer. Multiple layers hide where water actually enters and slow down finding it. Tight lots and street parking mean we plan access before the truck arrives rather than after.
We cover Clarendon, Ballston, Lyon Park, Cherrydale, Westover and Arlington Ridge, across 22201, 22203, 22204, 22205, 22207.
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Questions people ask at 11pm
Why is the leak not where the stain is?
Because water runs. It enters at a failed flashing, a split boot or an open seam, then travels along the underside of the deck or down a rafter until it finds a low point or an obstruction and drops. Chasing the stain is how homeowners pay for three repairs that do not work.
Can you fix a leak without replacing the whole roof?
Very often, yes. A single failed penetration, a bad length of flashing or a lifted edge on an otherwise sound roof is a repair, and it buys real years. A roof failing in several places at once, or one with soft decking underneath, is a roof where repairs become an annuity you pay somebody else. We will tell you which one you have and show you the photographs.
It only leaks in heavy or wind-driven rain. Is that still a roof leak?
Sometimes, and sometimes it is not the roof at all. Wind-driven rain gets in through siding, window and door flashing and wall penetrations at the same rate it gets through roofs, which is why we inspect the whole water path.
Once the water has stopped
Storm damage? How a Virginia roof insurance claim works and how to spot hail damage. Planning the permanent repair? What actually drives roof replacement cost here.
Other emergency services in Arlington: Emergency Roof Repair · Storm Damage Emergency Response · Emergency Roof Tarping.