Right now, in order:
- Contain the water — put buckets or a tarp under active drips. If water is pooling on a ceiling, poke a small hole at the lowest point with a screwdriver to release it into a bucket. A relief hole prevents the entire ceiling from collapsing.
- Move valuables and electronics away from the leak area. Cover what you can’t move with plastic.
- Photograph everything — exterior of the home, interior damage, the leak source if visible. This is what your homeowner’s insurance adjuster will need.
- Do not climb on a wet roof. Wet shingles and tile are extremely slippery — every storm season in the Bay Area there are fatal falls from homeowner self-repairs.
- Call a licensed roofer — for emergency tarping, call (415) 410-7917. We tarp roofs 24/7 during storm events.
Most residential leaks in the Bay Area originate at penetrations — chimneys, skylights, plumbing vents, satellite-dish mounts, and the valley flashings where two roof planes meet. Less than 20% of leaks come from the field of shingles. This is why a proper repair finds the source, not the visible drip (which can be 6–15 feet away from where water entered).
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