Emergency call-out
Emergency tarpaulins & temporary roof covering
In short
A properly battened tarpaulin over an open roof buys the weeks it may take to do the permanent work correctly — while a scaffold is arranged, an insurer responds, or the weather turns. Done properly it is a real piece of work, not a sheet thrown over and weighted with bricks.
Also called: Roof tarpaulin · Emergency roof sheeting · Temporary roof repair · Make safe
Signs you need this
- A hole or open section in the roof after storm damage
- A flat roof that has torn or lifted and cannot be re-laid in the wet
- A repair that needs a scaffold which is not up yet
- Waiting on an insurer, a survey or a planning answer
- A life-expired roof that needs replacing rather than patching
Temporary covering exists because the right permanent repair often cannot happen immediately, and pretending otherwise costs the homeowner money. A slate roof cannot be re-laid in a gale. Mortar will not cure in the rain. A scaffold on a terrace fronting the pavement needs a highway licence from Cheshire East before it goes up, and that takes time. Meanwhile the house has to stay dry.
A tarpaulin done properly is fixed, not weighted. It is a heavy-duty reinforced sheet, sized to run well past the damage in every direction and up over the ridge where the geometry allows, secured with timber battens screwed through the sheet into sound roof structure so the wind cannot get under an edge. Every fixing is placed where it can be made good afterwards. Loose sheets held down with blocks and bricks fail on the first windy night and take slates with them.
Sizing matters as much as fixing. Water runs downhill under a covering, so a sheet that stops just above the damage lets rain in at the top edge and does nothing. It has to start high enough that all the water lands on top of it, and lap far enough down that it discharges into the gutter rather than under the covering below.
How long it lasts depends on the sheet and the exposure. A good reinforced tarpaulin, properly battened, holds up for weeks and through normal winter weather. It is not a season's solution, and on the high ground east of the town — where wind and frost are both harder — it wants checking after any serious blow.
Insurers generally expect it. Most buildings policies place a duty on the policyholder to take reasonable steps to prevent further damage, and a temporary covering is exactly that. Keep the invoice and the photographs: the cost of making safe is often recoverable as part of the claim, and failing to mitigate can reduce a settlement.
It is also the honest answer when a roof needs replacing and the homeowner needs time. Rather than a patch repair on a life-expired roof — which is money spent twice — a temporary covering over the worst section keeps the house dry while a proper re-roof is quoted, planned and paid for.
What the job covers
- Heavy-duty reinforced sheeting, sized well beyond the damage
- Timber battens screwed into sound structure — no loose weights
- Laps set so water discharges into the gutter, not under the covering
- Fixings placed so they can be made good at the permanent repair
- Photographs and an invoice suitable for an insurance claim
- Removal and making good when the permanent work goes ahead
What it costs
We don't publish a price for this yet, because a number pulled out of the air is worse than no number at all — your roofer has to honour it. On roofing it would also be close to meaningless: access is often the biggest single factor, and it varies enormously house to house. You'll get a firm price for your actual job when they ring you back, before any work starts. The quote itself is free and there's no obligation either way.
Common questions
How long will a tarpaulin last?
A properly battened reinforced sheet will comfortably see out several weeks of normal winter weather. It is not a permanent covering and it should not be sold as one. On exposed roofs up in the hills it is worth a look after any serious gale.
Will my insurer pay for it?
Usually. Most buildings policies require you to take reasonable steps to prevent further damage, and emergency covering is precisely that — so it is normally recoverable as part of the claim. Keep the invoice and the photographs. Not covering an open roof can actually reduce a settlement, because the additional water damage was avoidable.
Will the fixings damage my roof?
Battens are screwed into sound structure and the fixing points are chosen deliberately so they sit where the permanent repair will cover them. A handful of screw holes in a batten is a trivial thing to make good compared with the alternative, which is a sheet that lifts in the night.
Can I just put a tarpaulin up myself?
Please do not. Getting onto a wet, damaged roof in bad weather with an awkward sheet of material is how people get seriously hurt, and a sheet that is not fixed properly will take more of your roof off when it goes. If you must do something yourself, do it from inside: buckets, moving furniture and turning off the affected electrical circuit.
Need this doing in Macclesfield?
Tell us the job and it goes straight to our local roofer — one call back, usually the same day. Free quote, no obligation.