The sound of aluminum ladders hitting the edges of roofs has been pretty constant in San Diego the last few weeks. The rain has kept roofing companies pretty busy.
“Extremely unusual and you know the rain is not stopping,” said Emilio Lopez, owner of San Diego Roof Doctor.
For months he’s been preparing his crews for the rainy season, which this year came in wetter than usual based on the number of emergency calls that keeps his office staff on their toes.
“Probably double than the number of calls we normally get,” said Lopez as he showed us around his shop in San Marcos.
He recommends those who haven’t had any issues with their roofs to research now to find a reputable company with a state license that could be called in an emergency.
This way, you’re not scrambling to find one should the upcoming rain start dripping into your home.
Keep in mind that an emergency crew could take between 24 to 48 hours to show up at your home. In the meantime, Lopez suggests keeping an eye on the ceiling, and not letting water bubbles grow.
“Put a big 55-gallon garbage can underneath and then poke it because you don’t want all the weight of the drywall to come down all at once,” he said.
Once the experts arrive, remember that they’ll be giving your home a quick, and likely temporary, fix.
“First we stop the leaks, then we come back a few weeks after to give a proposal for a permanent repair,” Lopez said.
He advises to not ignore the problem as water damage could grow throughout the ceiling, to the walls and eventually the floor.
For the do-it-yourselfer, he reminds you that it could sure get slippery up on the roof.
“To me, safety is the biggest thing,” he said while smiling, adding that no do-it-yourselfer should ever feel embarrassed to call in the professionals when water starts dripping from the ceiling.
He also mentioned that many of the leaks he repairs are preventable with yearly inspections that could save homeowners hundreds if not thousands of dollars come the rainy season.