Water – one of the building blocks of life… and the absolute bane of your home’s interior. A slight yet steady leak can cause catastrophic damage to your home and rack up expensive repair costs. Worst of all, most leaks aren’t jets of water shooting out of a noticeable crack in the ceiling or wall. Instead, water often drips in slowly, one little drop at a time, until it causes enough harm to be noticeable weeks later, when the damage is already extensive.
To help stop roof leaks from turning into problems for your entire home, look for:
- Ceiling spots: First and foremost, look for discolorations in your ceiling. Stucco will generally turn brown around the edges of a leak and sag slightly towards the center of the stain. Don’t be fooled by the location of a water spot on your ceiling, though. The actual leak might not be directly above it, as water can trickle along pipes, wires, wooden beams, and more to get far away from the source.
- Wall spots: Although it may be more difficult for water to pool up in the wall, it is not impossible. Look for similar brown discolorations along walls, interior and exterior. Roof leaks can trickle into the walls, pool there, and find an exit in the wall itself.
- Low-flow gutters: After any amount of rainfall, you can expect to see a decent amount of water coming out your gutter’s runoff. If you don’t, there might be a pool of water collected up someone on your roof’s shingles, which could be causing a leak.
- Missing shingles: When the weather isn’t rainy is the right time to check on the overall condition of your roof. Give it an onceover to see if any shingles are missing, either washed away from rainfall or swept off by the wind. If you find a missing shingle, it could indicate a leak that has yet to become serious enough to manifest as any other sign.
- Wet floors: In the early stages of a fast roof leak, there might not be any actual signs of it on the walls or ceiling, but the water falling has to go somewhere. If you step in an unexplained puddle of water, look up. There could be minute cracks forming there that have yet to damage the stucco or wood.
Should you come across any signs of a roof leak, what are you supposed to do? If you have homeowners’ insurance, you should receive coverage to help pay for the structural repairs, mold removal, and shingle replacement. Watch the amount that you are offered, though; insurance companies are notorious for finding ways to cut their own costs for storm damage claims, sometimes claiming that it was caused by a plumbing leak of your own negligence.
When it seems that your homeowners’ insurance provider will not take your claim seriously, either denying it or offering a lowball amount, act fast to protect your finances and your home. Call 844-HIRE-A-DICK to connect with a Houston insurance bad faith attorney from Dick Law Firm. With our help and a free initial consultation, you may be able to secure the coverage you need now more than ever.