Roof leaking right now? Do these things in this order.
Updated October 12, 2026
The goal in the first hour is limiting damage and documenting it. The repair is a separate problem, and the documentation is what decides whether insurance helps pay for it.
First: contain it
Put a bucket under the drip and move anything valuable out of the area. If water is pooling in a ceiling — a bulge or a sagging patch — put a bucket underneath and pierce the centre of the bulge with a screwdriver.
That feels wrong, and it is right. A contained hole drains into your bucket. A ceiling left to fill eventually comes down all at once, across the whole room.
Second: photograph everything
Before you clean anything up, take photographs and video. Wide shots showing the room, close shots of the damage, and anything ruined.
Insurance claims are decided on evidence of the condition immediately after the event. Cleaning up first and photographing later costs people money routinely.
- The active leak and where water is entering
- Every damaged surface — ceiling, walls, flooring, insulation
- Damaged contents, individually
- The date and time, which your phone records automatically
Stay off the roof
A wet roof is slick, and storm-damaged decking can be soft in places that look fine. Roof falls cause serious injuries and deaths every year, and almost all of them are homeowners rather than roofers.
If the roof needs a tarp, that is a job for someone with the equipment and the insurance to do it. Interior containment is yours; the roof is not.
Safety.
If water is anywhere near electrical fixtures, outlets or a ceiling light, shut that circuit off at the breaker and do not touch the fixture. If the ceiling is sagging badly across a wide area, stay out of the room entirely.
Call your insurer before you commit to a repair
Most policies cover sudden storm damage but not gradual wear, and most require you to take reasonable steps to prevent further damage — which the containment and tarping satisfy. Keep receipts for anything you spend.
Get the claim opened before you authorise permanent repairs. An emergency tarp is fine and usually expected; a new roof signed for on the spot is not.
Be careful who knocks
After any significant storm, crews appear in the neighbourhood offering free inspections. Some are legitimate local companies. Some are not, and the pattern is familiar: pressure to sign immediately, a demand for money up front, and an insurance claim handled entirely by them.
Do not sign anything the day of the storm. Check that the company is licensed and insured in New Jersey, and get the details in writing. Nothing legitimate disappears if you take a day.
Need someone to look at it?
Jersey Home Pros sends your request to one participating roofing company that serves your area — not a call center, and not eight companies at once. You choose whether anyone is allowed to phone you.
More from Jersey Home Pros
- What a roof replacement costs in New Jersey.
- Furnace blowing cold air? Here's what to check first.
- No heat at all: what to check before you call.
General information for New Jersey homeowners, not a substitute for an inspection by a licensed contractor. Jersey Home Pros does not perform, supervise or guarantee any work.