A storm rolls off the Wasatch and something gives. Wind lifts a run of shingles, a limb comes down, or snowmelt backs up under the eave and finds its way into a bedroom ceiling.
Emergency roof repair is the work that happens before the real repair: get the water stopped, get the opening covered, get the inside of the house protected. Then we look at what caused it in daylight and tell you straight what the lasting fix takes. No scare talk, no pressure. Just a roof that stops leaking.
What the job involves
First thing is finding where the water is actually getting in. That is rarely where the stain is. Water tracks along decking, down a rafter, across a truss chord, and drops through the first gap it finds. So we work backward from the drip — attic first when there is access, then up top.
On the roof we look at the usual failure points. Lifted or missing shingles. Cracked pipe boots, which are probably the single most common leak on a Utah house. Failed step flashing where a roof plane meets a wall. Chimney counterflashing pulling out of the mortar joint. Valley metal that has rusted or been nailed through. Ice dam damage at the eaves, where meltwater got behind the underlayment.
The stabilizing work depends on what we find. A tarp mechanically fastened and run up over the ridge so it cannot wick. Peel-and-stick membrane over an open section. New boot, new flashing, shingles replaced and sealed. If decking is soft, we cut it out and sheet it back.
Along the way we usually find things nobody knew about — wet insulation, a second layer of shingles hiding the first problem, a bathroom fan venting into the attic instead of out the roof. We tell you what we see and show you photos.
Included on an emergency call:
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Leak origin tracing, attic and roof side
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Temporary water stop
tarp or membrane, fastened properly -
Shingle, boot, flashing and valley repair as needed
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Rotted decking cut out and replaced
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Photos of what we found and what we did
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A clear description of the permanent repair, if the stabilization is not it
When you need it, and when you don't
Call now if water is actively coming into the house. Same if you can see daylight through the roof deck, if a tree or large limb is on the roof, if a section of shingles blew off and the underlayment is exposed, or if a ceiling is sagging or bulging. Those get worse by the hour.
Some things feel like emergencies and are not. A small brown stain on a ceiling that has not grown in a week is a leak worth finding, but it is a scheduled visit. Granules in the gutter are normal wear. One curled shingle on a twelve-year-old roof is not urgent. A drip that only shows during a heavy wind-driven rain usually means flashing, and it will keep until we can get on the roof dry.
If you are not sure, call and describe it. We would rather talk you out of an emergency call than sell you one you did not need.
What North Salt Lake does to a roof
We are up against the bench here, and the roofs show it. Canyon wind comes down hard and finds any shingle that was not sealed properly — it peels tabs in strips, usually on the west and north exposures.
Then there is the freeze-thaw. Daytime sun melts snow on the upper slope, the water runs down to the cold eave, and it refreezes. That ice dam backs water up under the shingles, where nothing is designed to hold it out. Houses with marginal attic insulation or ventilation get it worst, year after year.
Summer is the other half of the problem. High-desert UV and big day-to-night temperature swings cook asphalt shingles and make pipe boots crack and shrink years before anyone expects it.
A lot of the housing stock from Bountiful up through Layton and Ogden is on its second roof now, and the original pipe boots and valley metal were often left in place. That is frequently what is leaking.
What it costs, and what moves the price
We will not quote a number before we have seen it, and you should be careful with anyone who does over the phone.
What actually moves the price:
How much of the roof is involved — a single cracked boot is a different job from fifteen feet of valley. Pitch, because anything over about 7/12 needs staging and takes longer. Access, including two-story work, tight side yards and landscaping we have to protect.
Material matters too. Architectural asphalt is straightforward. Tile, metal and cedar shake all cost more to match and take more care to walk.
Decking is the common surprise. Until shingles come off, nobody knows how much sheathing is wet. Flashing work around a chimney or a wall tie-in runs higher than open-field shingle work because it is slow and detail-driven.
If you are filing on this, we document what we find for your insurer. What they approve is their call, not ours.
Our process
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Call
Tell us what you are seeing and where. We will tell you whether it needs someone today. -
Inspection and estimate
We get on the roof and in the attic, photograph everything, and write up what the repair takes and what it costs. -
Stabilize
If water is getting in, it gets stopped on that visit where conditions allow. -
Repair
The permanent work — shingles, flashing, boots, decking — done to match what is up there. -
Final walkthrough
We clean up, run a magnet for nails, and walk the job with you before we leave.
Emergency roof repair questions
Do you come out at night or on weekends?
Call and ask — it depends on the day and the weather. If we cannot get there safely, we will tell you honestly and walk you through protecting the inside meanwhile.
Can you tarp a roof in a snowstorm?
Sometimes. Wet snow and wind make a steep roof genuinely dangerous, and a tarp fastened badly does more harm than none. We make that call on site.
How long does a tarp last?
It is temporary. A properly fastened tarp buys weeks, not months, and it is not a substitute for the repair. UV and wind chew them up fast here.
Will my insurance cover this?
That is between you and your carrier. We document the damage with photos and a written description so your adjuster has what they need. We cannot tell you what they will approve.
Where is the leak actually coming from?
Usually uphill of the stain and off to one side. Pipe boots, flashing and valleys account for most of what we find. The field of the shingles is rarely the culprit.
Should I go up and look myself?
Please do not, especially wet or icy. Take photos from the ground with your phone. From inside, put a bucket down and poke a small hole in a bulging ceiling so the water drains in one spot instead of collapsing the drywall.
Is this a repair or do I need a new roof?
Depends on the age and condition of what is up there. If the shingles are brittle and losing granules everywhere, a patch will hold but it is money toward a roof you will replace soon. We will tell you which one you are looking at.
Do you fix the ceiling and insulation too?
We handle the roof side and remove wet insulation where it is in the way. Drywall, paint and interior restoration are someone else's trade, and we will say so rather than pretend otherwise.
What if it leaks again after you repair it?
Call us. On a roof with more than one failure point, a second leak can show up in a different spot after the first is fixed. We come back and look.
Related work
If your situation is less urgent, start with a roof inspection. Wind or hail event, see storm damage roof repair. For non-urgent fixes, roof repair. If the roof is past patching, roof replacement.
Get a look at it
Call (801) 880-7663 and tell us what you are seeing. We will tell you whether it needs someone today or whether it can wait for a dry morning. Either way you will know what you are dealing with.
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954 Mink Cir, North Salt Lake, UT 84054