Emergency roof repair after a tree or limb comes down on a house, starting with safety and a temporary cover.
Fastest: call (833) 751-2102. Or send this and we call you back.
When a tree or limb lands on a roof, the first job is to keep people out and make the house safe, then to cover the opening until a repair can be made. Winds on the Palouse have brought trees down onto homes in Moscow and Pullman, so the damage can be serious even when the tree looks like a small one.
A tree coming down onto a house is one of the most frightening kinds of roof damage, and it is also one of the most urgent. The first hour matters more than the repair. Stay out of the area under and around the damaged section, check whether anyone was hurt, and keep clear of any power line that may have been pulled down. A roof opened to the sky can also let rain and snow into the attic and the walls, so a temporary cover is part of the emergency response, not an optional extra.
The Palouse has a record of this kind of event. The National Weather Service has reported gusts of 71 miles per hour south of Moscow in November 2006, with trees falling on homes in Moscow and in Pinehurst and Post Falls. A December gust in Pullman, reported in the NOAA Storm Events Database, brought down numerous trees and power lines across the region, and a tree fell onto part of a Pullman house in November 2010. Records like these are why a tree on a roof here is treated as a serious event.
Phones are answered around the clock at (833) 751-2102, and the call taker will ask whether anyone is hurt and whether there is a power line down. Those two answers decide whether to call the emergency services or the utility first. A technician is sent as one is available, and a visit on the same day happens only when a technician is free. No arrival time is promised, because storms close roads and delay crews across the region.
Stay out of the area under and around the damaged section until it has been inspected, and keep well clear of any power line, including one that looks like a telephone or cable wire. Do not go onto the roof, do not climb into a damaged attic, and do not try to cut or move a large limb or trunk yourself, because a branch under load can shift without warning. If you smell gas or see sparks, leave the house and call from outside. Use the emergency services first when anyone is hurt or a line is down, and only then call for the roof work.
A branch that lands on the roof often breaks shingles, dents metal and crushes the flashing at a valley or a vent. The damage can be a single spot or a line across several courses. The repair replaces the broken covering and the flashing around it, and checks the decking underneath for any splits that the impact has caused.
A full tree or a large trunk can break through the decking and into the attic and the rafters. This is a structural event, and the repair starts with the framing, not the covering. Temporary bracing may be needed before any roof work is done. The technician will say what is needed and in what order, because the framing has to be safe before the roof is rebuilt.
Wind can carry a branch or a piece of a neighboring structure onto a roof without a tree falling in full. The damage is often spread across several sections and can show up at edges, gutters and ridges. The repair involves a survey of the whole roof, not just the obvious impact, because wind damage often shows at the points the wind lifted first.
A tree that comes down against a house can take the gutter, the fascia or the chimney with it. A bent gutter can hold water against the roof edge, and a shifted chimney can open the flashing around it. These items are checked during the same visit, because a repair to the covering alone can leave a leak path at the edge.
Tell us what's happening and we'll tell you honestly whether it's a quick fix, and what fallen tree roof damage should cost.
Keep everyone out of the area under the damage and away from any power line, and call the emergency services if anyone is hurt or a line is down. Do not go onto the roof, and do not try to move the tree or a heavy limb yourself.
The first decision is who is at risk. Anyone inside the room below the impact should move to a part of the house that is clear, and anyone outside should keep well back from the tree and the roof edge. A branch under load can shift without warning, and a trunk can roll. If you smell gas, leave the house and call the emergency services from outside, and do not use a phone or a switch inside.
After the people are safe, call for a roof repair technician. They will ask where the damage is, whether the attic is open, whether there is power to the house, and whether a line is down. Those answers decide the next step, and a temporary cover is often the first job once the area is safe to work in.
A temporary cover is often the first step once the house and the area are safe, since an open roof lets rain and snow into the attic and the walls. Whether it can go on the same day depends on the weather, the damage and the number of technicians free at the time.
A tarp is a holding measure. It keeps water out while the permanent repair is planned, and it is secured so that it does not blow loose in the next wind. The cover has to be fixed to a sound part of the roof or to the framing where it can be reached safely, and the technician will decide where it goes.
The cover does not replace the repair. It is taken off when the permanent work is done, and the new covering is installed over the repaired structure. Keep the cover in place until the technician takes it down, and report any new leak, sag or movement immediately.
Insurance depends on the policy and the cause of the damage, and this page cannot answer that for you. Wind and tree damage are common claims, and the documentation you gather at the scene is what makes a claim easier to handle.
Take photographs of the tree, the roof, the attic and the ceiling before anything is moved, and write down the time and the weather. Keep receipts for the temporary cover and any emergency work. Ask your insurer what documentation it needs, and read the policy for the terms that apply to wind and to trees.
The Idaho guide on storm damage and insurance claims covers the general steps a homeowner can take. It does not give the deadlines or limits that apply to any particular policy, so read your own policy and ask your insurer directly about the specific deadlines and terms.
Strong winds on the Palouse can uproot or break trees, especially in storms that bring southwest winds at high speed. The National Weather Service has reported gusts from the 60s into the 70s miles per hour on several occasions, and trees have come down onto homes.
Reports from the National Weather Service and the NOAA Storm Events Database describe repeated windstorms across the Palouse. In November 2006 gusts of 71 miles per hour were reported south of Moscow, and trees fell on homes in Moscow. In December 2006, a 77 mile per hour gust was reported on the West Hill at Colfax, and the College Hill area of Pullman was hit hardest. These are reported gusts, and they are the basis for taking tree risk seriously.
The damage is not limited to the open country. Trees in town fall onto roofs too, and the risk is greater where a large tree stands close to a house and has been weakened by earlier storms, disease or a root problem. A technician can point out the trees near your roof that are worth an assessment by a tree service, which is a separate job from the roof repair.
The extent of the damage, whether the framing is affected, the access to the roof, and the amount of temporary cover needed all change the work. The price is explained and approved before work starts, and no figure is printed here.
A small limb strike on a covering is a much smaller job than a trunk that has gone through the decking and into the attic. Structural repair, bracing and the replacement of the rafters and the decking take more time and material, and they are checked before the roof covering is rebuilt. The age of the building and the type of covering on it also shape the repair.
The technician will explain what the damage involves and what the repair will cost before any work starts. Tree removal and debris clearing may be separate jobs with separate providers, and they are priced on their own. You can decide then how to proceed.
Get everyone out of the area under the damage and away from any power line. Do not go onto the roof, and do not try to move a tree or a heavy limb yourself. Call the emergency services if anyone is hurt or if a line is down, and treat every power line as live. These steps come before any roof work.
Once the area is safe, a technician looks at the damage from the ground and then from inside the attic, if it can be entered safely. The aim is to see whether the framing has moved, whether the ceiling is still held up and whether the rafters near the impact are still in place. A damaged structure is judged before the cover goes on.
A tarp or a temporary covering is secured over the opening to keep rain and snow out of the house. It is fixed so it does not blow loose in the next gust, and the edges are weighted or fastened where they can be reached safely. The cover is a short-term measure, and it is taken off only when the permanent repair is made.
Fallen branches and debris are cleared from the roof and the area around the house where it is safe to do so, and the damage is photographed before anything is moved. Photographs and a written list of what was found help the homeowner talk to an insurer, which is covered in the Idaho storm damage insurance guide. Tree removal is usually handled by a separate tree service.
Once the house is safe and covered, the permanent repair is planned. The decking, the framing, the covering and the flashing around the opening are looked at and replaced as needed. The repair is scheduled around the weather, and it is finished only after the structure has been checked to be sound.
The Palouse has been hit by windstorms that brought trees down on homes in Moscow and Pullman, and the National Weather Service has records of gusts across the region. A house on a hill or on open ground can take a stronger gust than one in a sheltered draw, so the damage risk is not the same from one street to the next. A technician who has worked the area will know which roofs and trees tend to take the worst of the wind.
Moscow is a town with many older houses, and some of its trees are large and close to the roofs. A tree that has stood for decades can be weakened by age, disease or root damage, and a storm can bring it down onto a roof that was never at risk from the tree while it stood. An assessment of trees near the house is a sensible step after any storm, even if the roof is not yet damaged.
Pullman sits about 14 kilometers from Moscow, and a storm that hits one town often hits the other. The rules for the roof repair differ on each side of the state line, though, and the technician will say which set applies to your address. Washington has its own permit and registration rules, and Idaho has its own, and neither covers the other side of the line.
Not sure if you're covered? Check your ZIP code.
Temporary tarping for a roof opened by wind or a fallen limb, keeping it weathertight until a permanent repair can be scheduled around the weather.
Repairing shingles, flashing and roof edges that wind has lifted, cracked or opened on a Moscow or Palouse house.
Finding and sealing the path water takes into your Moscow or Palouse home, from attic stains to flashing at the eave.
Resetting or replacing the metal at valleys, chimneys, sidewalls and vent pipes that keeps water out of a Moscow roof.
After a windstorm the first steps are safety, documentation and a call to your insurer.
Do not try to remove it yourself. A tree under load can shift, roll or break and cause a second injury or more damage. Keep everyone away from the area and call for help. A tree service removes the tree, and a roof technician can then assess and cover the damage once the weight is off the structure.
A temporary cover is often the first step once the house and the area are safe. Phones are answered around the clock, and a technician is sent as one is available. A visit on the same day happens only when a technician is free, and no arrival time is promised. Storms close roads and delay crews, so the timing depends on conditions.
If there is a power line down, touching the tree or the house, or if you smell gas, call the emergency services and the utility first. Once the line is safe and no one is hurt, call for the roof repair. Do not assume a line is dead because it is on the ground, and keep away from it.
It depends on the size of the work and the jurisdiction. In Moscow the Building Safety Division can say whether a repair needs a permit at your address. Outside city limits the county building official is the right contact. In Pullman, reroofing is a listed permit category, and the city's permit pages set out the requirements.
Tree removal is a separate job from roof repair, and it is usually done by a tree service. A roof technician can point out where the damage is and what the roof needs once the tree is off, but the removal itself is not part of the roof work described here. Ask whether the removal is coordinated with the repair before work starts.
Photograph the tree, the damaged section of the roof, the attic if you can enter it safely, the ceiling below, and any damage to the gutters, fascia or chimney. Include the date, the time and the weather if you can. These photographs and a written list of what you saw help when you talk to your insurer about the claim.