How To Temporary Repair Roof Leak From Rain

temporary repair ceiling leak from rain

Repairing roof leaks is not difficult. However, doing it under the heavy rain is another story. Because leaks only show their signs when they are serious, we often fall into awkward situations that require temporary roof repair.

Therefore, for those who still have no idea about fixing leaks on the roof, I will show you the most convenient and easiest methods in my article today.

temporary roof repair

What You Will Need

From interior

  • A bucket (or a large basin)
  • A garden hose
  • A bottle
  • A ladder

From exterior

  • Polyethylene sheeting, metal sheeting, or roof coatings
  • A staple
  • Nails

Relevant:

How To Repair Leaking Windows During Rain

Temporary Repair The Roof Leak

From interior

However serious the leak is, what you need to do first is to stay calm. Then, find a way to prevent water from spilling all over the house. That will create various interior damages which you definitely don’t hope for.

There are two methods for you to solve this problem:

1. Use a bucket

use bucket for roof leak

It is the simplest method ever for those who don’t want to spend too much time on fixing the leak from the inside or don’t have enough equipment. All you have to do is place a bucket or a large basin on the floor, under where the water leaks.

And when the bucket or basin is full, replace it with another empty one. Keep doing that until the roof is temporarily sealed.

2. Use a garden hose

This way is a little more complex than the first one and requires some supporting utensils. If you lay a carpet on the floor, you should work on this method.

  • Step 1: Remove the base of the bottle with a knife.
  • Step 2: Insert one end of the garden hose into the small bottle-top and use a duct tape to attach them to each other.
  • Step 3: Turn the bottle upside down and put the other end (the one with no bottle) of the hose through the window or main door.
  • Step 4: Put the ladder up straight and stick the bottle to it with the tape. Remember to put it right under the leak so that water will fall into the bottle, through the garden hose, and run outside.

You have done one essential task and successfully protect your furniture as well as other stuff. Now, we come to the most important part in temporary roof repair.

From exterior

Obviously, when mentioning fixing the roof, you need to go on a field trip to identify where the leak is and discover the most appropriate way to repair it.

1. Find out where the leak is

If you want to fix the hole during rain, it is easy to locate where the leak is. You can visit the attic first and look for wet spots or listen to the sound of water. Wherever the water is, the leak has chances to be there.

Similarly, if you decide to leave the leak there and fix it when it stops raining, it’s best to pay attention to all the stains, marks, and discolorations caused by moisture. Water will leave them on the woods and it is not difficult to find out.

Or, if it is already in the morning when you repair the roof, just turn off the light and notice any sunlight shines through the roof. That is where the leak is.

One thing that you should remember to protect yourself is not to step on the top of the ceiling when walking on the attic. It may collapse anytime. It’s best to walk on the stable and firm frames, which have lower potential to break.

2. Choose a suitable method

It depends on the type of your roof that you can select the best method for temporary roof repair. According to my experiences, there are two kinds that often show leaks:

Tiled roof

tiled roof leak repair

It is the most common one. Numerous people choose it because it is able to bear strong winds, stylish can maintain colors well and has a reasonable price. Nevertheless, due to the overlap of the pieces, they can easily create leaks.

To prevent it, you can follow some simple steps:

Step 1: Use polyethylene sheeting or metal sheeting. You can measure the leak first and cut out a same-sized polyethylene sheeting or a little bigger. Make sure that it can cover the leak.

Or, if you choose to use metal sheeting, you can buy galvanized ones, sold in almost any hardware store. A twelve-by-twelve-inch piece is enough for most leaks.

Step 2: In this stage, we need to make the water flow over the roof and not shed through the leak. To do that, you can lift the shingle right above the leak up and lay the polyethylene sheeting or metal sheeting under it.

And be careful! Because the polyethylene sheeting is soft, you need to hold it tight in order not to let it fall through the leak or be blown away by the wind.

Step 3: Staple the polyethylene sheeting to stabilize it. Then, nail it with 3 to 4 common nails. You may not need to work on this step with the metal sheeting. However, if you want to ensure that hard wind cannot affect it, nailing it will be a good idea.

Flat cement roof

It’s not likely to see this type of roof in America. However, it is relatively common in South Africa and some Asian countries. And to fix the leak on it is much easier than on tiled roofs. All you need is to buy the correct roof coating.

I would recommend Karnak 155, 687 Enviro White Coating, Gaco Flex, or Lexis Coatings. They are the most excellent and famous brands in the market nowadays. You can purchase their products on e-commercial sites or their websites.

Using roof coatings is very easy, which only requires you to trail the material on the leak. You will get used to it immediately.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NCz2YQUDbw

Conclusion

I hope you have discovered what you want about temporary roof repair today. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to send me. I would love to discuss with you. Thank you for reading my article and I hope to see you in my other writings.

 

1 thought on “How To Temporary Repair Roof Leak From Rain”

  1. The temporary leaks can be best dealt with the use of plaster of Paris. This powder has a tendency to harden up in the moist places. That’s why it can be applied without any fears even when the weather is rainy.

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