A storm damaged roof produces two jobs with two different clocks. The first is closing the hole, which is urgent, is mitigation, and is what a restoration crew does the same night. The second is the roof itself, which is a roofing trade repair and is not urgent once the building is closed.
The tarp, and what makes it worth paying for
A tarp mechanically fastened over the damaged area, dressed over the ridge where the damage is near it, and detailed so water runs off rather than into a fold. A weighted tarp leaves in the next gust and has then achieved nothing. Ask what the cover is rated for in weeks, because it is temporary and a cover that fails produces a second loss the insurer may fairly treat as your failure to mitigate.
What comes in with the water
Once rain is inside, it behaves like any other water loss: insulation saturates, ceilings hold water, and the cavity stays wet after the surface dries. The restoration half of a storm damaged roof is extraction, drying to measured readings, and removing what cannot be dried. That work does not wait for the roof to be fixed and should not.
Evidence it before it is covered
Photograph the damage from the ground and, where it is safe, the opening itself, plus the interior and the water line. Date everything. The single most argued line on a storm claim is emergency work, because a tarp that is already up is difficult to prove was ever necessary. Keep the emergency invoice separate from any reinstatement contract.
Where we stop
Restoration closes the building and deals with the water inside it. The roof covering, the flashings, the decking and the guttering are a roofing trade repair, and the honest answer from a restoration firm is that a roofer does that part. Be wary of anyone who arrives after a storm offering to do everything and asking for a large deposit or an assignment of your benefits.
Questions people ask about storm damage roof
How long can an emergency tarp stay on a roof?
Weeks rather than months, and it depends on the material and how it was fixed. Mechanically fastened tarps last considerably longer than weighted ones. Diarise the permanent repair or a replacement cover before the rated period runs out.
Should I wait for the adjuster before tarping?
No. Policies generally require you to prevent further damage, so emergency cover should go up at once. Photograph the damage before the cover goes on, and keep that invoice separate from the repair contract.
Does a restoration firm repair the roof too?
Usually not the covering itself. Restoration closes the building and dries the inside; the roof is a roofing trade job. Some firms offer both, and that is fine, but the two should be quoted and decided separately.
What about the water that already came in?
It is treated as a water loss on its own schedule, starting immediately. Waiting for the roof to be repaired before drying the building is how a storm claim turns into a mold claim a month later.
Is hurricane damage roof work different from an ordinary wind claim?
The work is the same and the claim is not. The tarp and the water that already came in are one job, the covering itself is a roofer's, and on a hurricane the wind and the rising water can sit under two different policies.
What does an emergency roof tarp cost cover?
Getting on the roof, the material, and fixing it down so it survives the next front rather than the next hour. It buys time and evidence; it is not a repair and it is not priced as one.