Roof Emergency in Hickory NC? What to Do in the First Hour

A limb crashes through the roof during a thunderstorm. Or you walk into the living room and find water running down the wall from the ceiling. A roof emergency in Hickory rarely gives you warning. If you move fast in the first hour, you can keep your family safe and most of the house dry.

The steps below are for the first hour, while water is still coming in. If the storm passed hours ago and you're walking the property the next morning, start with our guide to what to do in the first 48 hours after storm damage instead.

Get Everyone Away From the Damaged Area

Move people and pets out of any room where water is coming in or where the ceiling has opened up. A wet ceiling gets heavy fast. Drywall soaked from above can sag, bulge and come down in one piece, so keep everyone out from under it, even if it looks like it's holding.

If a tree or a large limb has come through the roof, get everyone out of that part of the house. Leave the house altogether if you see a sagging roofline, cracked ceiling joists or walls that look out of line. Wait outside until someone has looked at the framing.

Call 911 if anyone is hurt, if you smell gas, or if power lines are down on the house or in the yard. Stay well back from any downed line and treat it as live.

Cut Off Power and Gas Hazards

Water and electricity are the biggest danger inside a leaking house. If water is dripping near light fixtures, ceiling fans or outlets, turn off the breaker for that part of the house, but only if you can reach the panel without standing in water. If the panel or the floor around it is wet, leave it alone and call your power company.

If you smell gas after a tree hits the house, get everyone outside first and call 911 or your gas company from the yard. Don't flip switches or use anything that could spark on your way out.

Slow the Water Down Inside

Once everyone is safe, you can limit the damage without going near the roof. Put buckets, trash cans or storage bins under each drip. Move furniture, rugs, electronics and anything made of paper out of the room. Lay towels down to keep water from spreading across hardwood or into the next room.

Check the rooms next to the leak and the floor below it. Water can run along the rafters and the top of the ceiling before it finds a way down, which is why one roof leak can stain two rooms. Our post on what a small roof leak can cost in NC explains how far water travels once it gets in.

If you can safely get into the attic, look for water pooling on the insulation and set a container under the drip there. Step only on the framing, never on the drywall between the joists, and stay out of the attic if anything above you is cracked or moving.

When Water Comes In Without a Tree

Some roof emergencies start without a falling limb. A heavy afternoon storm can drive rain under shingles that wind has already loosened. An old rubber boot around a plumbing vent can crack and let water straight into the attic. In the winters when western North Carolina gets real snow, ice can build up along the eaves, and melting snow behind it backs up under the shingles.

The first-hour steps stay the same: keep people away from wet ceilings, protect the electrical, catch the water and take photos. The cause changes, and you can't tell which one you're dealing with from inside the house. After an inspection, we can show you what's damaged on the roof and whether it's near the end of its life.

Stay Off the Roof and Leave the Tree Alone

A roof during or right after a storm is wet, may be damaged in places you can't see, and can give way under your weight. Homeowners get hurt climbing up with a tarp in the rain or in the dark, so stay on the ground.

The same goes for a tree resting on the house. A loaded limb can shift or roll once someone cuts it, and that can push it farther into the roof or onto the person with the saw. Call an insured tree service to take it off the house. Around Hickory and Catawba County, we see most tree damage come from the tall oaks and pines in older neighborhoods, during summer thunderstorms and again when ice weighs the branches down in winter.

Take Photos Before Anything Moves

As soon as it's safe, take photos and video of everything: the tree or limb on the roof, the hole from inside, water on the ceilings and floors, and anything that got soaked. Shoot wide to show the whole room, then get close on the details. Write down the time the damage happened and keep receipts for anything you buy, like buckets, fans or a hotel room.

Do this before the tree service, a cleanup crew or anyone else starts moving things. Once the limb comes off, you can't photograph it on the roof again.

Who to Call, and in What Order

When the immediate danger has passed, make these calls, in about this order:

• 911 for any injury, gas smell or downed power line
• Your power company if water reached the electrical system
• A tree service if a tree or limb is resting on the house
• Your insurance agent or company, to report the damage and ask what they need from you
• A local roofing company, to inspect the roof and document what's damaged

Every policy is different, and your insurance company is the source of truth on what's covered. Ask your agent what they want you to do to protect the house in the meantime, and write down who you spoke with and when. Our roof insurance claims page explains how we support homeowners through the process.

When you choose a roofer, go with a local company you can call back next month. We're based in Hickory and work across Catawba County, so we're close by after a storm moves through.

What Happens After the First Hour

Once the tree is off and the water has stopped, the roof needs a full inspection. A falling limb can crack decking, break rafters and loosen shingles well beyond the hole you can see. The wind that brought the tree down may have lifted shingles on other slopes too.

After a free inspection, we'll walk you through what we found with photos and notes. On an older roof in the 15 to 25 year range we see asphalt shingle roofs reach around here, a full roof replacement often makes more sense than fixing the one damaged area. On a newer roof with damage in one spot, the answer may be different, and we'll tell you which situation you're in.

When a replacement is the right call, we tear the roof off down to the deck, replace any damaged decking, and install CertainTeed shingles as a ShingleMaster certified contractor, one of the highest tiers CertainTeed offers.

Get a Free Roof Inspection in Hickory NC

If a tree or a storm has damaged your roof, call Catawba Valley Roofing and Restoration LLC at (828) 962-0617 for a free inspection once everyone is safe. If you'd like a price range for a new roof first, our free instant roof estimate tool gives you one in a couple of minutes, no phone call needed.

We serve Hickory, Conover, Newton, Maiden, Claremont, Taylorsville, Morganton, Lenoir, Lincolnton, Mooresville, Statesville and surrounding communities of western North Carolina.