The Tarp Can Leave Repairs Beyond the Storm Damage

Your roofer has priced the shingles that blew off, but a temporary tarp covers a much larger part of the roof. Before you approve that repair, ask one specific question: does the price include checking and repairing every place the tarp was attached? The opening made by the storm and the holes made while securing temporary protection may occupy different parts of the roof. A proposal that measures only the missing shingles can leave that second job unpriced.

For a St. Louis homeowner waiting between storms, the tarp may have done exactly what was needed. Now someone has to take it off, identify what is underneath, and leave a finished roof. That transition deserves a line in the repair scope, especially if one company installed the covering and another company will make the permanent repair.

Storm and hail

A temporary covering may extend beyond the visible damage so it can cover the opening and be secured. Depending on how it was installed, its attachments may reach shingles, wood strips, roof edges, or other parts of the house. Do not assume those attachment points all fall inside the section already marked for replacement. Ask the repair contractor to identify them before treating the original repair measurement as the complete job.

Picture a patch of missing shingles halfway up a roof slope. The tarp runs above that patch and farther out on both sides. The roofer's estimate calls for replacing the missing shingles and the surrounding material needed to complete that repair. But some fasteners holding the tarp sit several courses higher. Those locations need a decision of their own when the covering comes off. Removing the fasteners does not, by itself, restore the roof covering.

This does not mean the temporary installation was unnecessary or that the entire slope now needs replacement. It means the permanent repair has two things to account for: the storm damage and the condition left after removing the temporary protection. The contractor should distinguish those findings in photographs and explain the work each requires.

Keep the installation record

If you have photographs taken before the tarp went on, save them with the temporary work invoice. Photographs of the installed tarp are useful too, particularly if they show where wood strips or other attachments were placed. Give both sets to the contractor preparing the permanent repair. A picture taken from the yard may establish the general coverage area even when it cannot show individual fasteners.

If you do not have those pictures, say so. Ask the repair contractor to photograph the covering before removal and the exposed roof afterward. There is no need to climb onto the roof or lift a corner yourself to fill a gap in the record. The inspection should happen as part of controlled removal, with the contractor prepared to protect any opening that remains.

Set the removal time with the repair time

A tarp coming off is not proof that the roof beneath it is ready for rain. Agree on who authorizes removal and what work will follow immediately. If the permanent repair crew and the temporary covering crew are different, give each the other's scheduled work date. Avoid an arrangement where one crew removes the covering in the morning and nobody has accepted responsibility for the exposed roof afterward.

St. Louis weather makes that handoff practical rather than administrative. A repair postponed by rain or a freezing morning may also require postponing removal. Ask which contractor will keep the temporary protection in place if the work cannot proceed. Do not accept an automatic removal appointment that stays on the calendar after the repair appointment moves.

What it costs

The cost depends partly on whether the permanent work already includes the tarp attachment area. If the entire covered slope is being replaced, many attachment locations may fall within that work. If the roofer is repairing a small section, attachments outside it may require additional shingle work. The relevant measurement is not just the tarp's size. It is where it was secured and what must be repaired after those attachments are removed.

Ask the written price to identify removal, disposal, and repairs at attachment points. These do not have to appear as three separate charges, but the scope should make clear that they are included or excluded. A line reading only 'storm repair' does not tell you whether someone has allowed for taking off the temporary covering.

The contractor may be unable to see every affected shingle before removal. In that case, ask for a defined process for additional work: photographs of the finding, a description of the proposed repair, and your approval of its price before it proceeds. Also establish how the roof will remain protected while you make that decision. An unknown condition should not become an unexplained charge on the final invoice.

The existing shingles matter here. On an older three-tab roof, repairing scattered attachment locations may involve disturbing adjacent shingles that are already brittle. Age alone does not settle whether that work is practical. Ask the roofer what condition they found and how it affects the proposed repair area. A larger scope should have a physical explanation, such as surrounding shingles breaking during necessary lifting, rather than a general statement that the roof is old.

Access can affect the price as well. Attachments on a steep upper slope may take more setup to reach than those above a low porch. Have the contractor explain whether that access is already included in the permanent repair charge. You need to understand the added work before you can judge an added price.

What to ask

Start with the roof photograph or sketch used for the estimate. Ask the contractor to show the permanent repair boundary and the temporary covering's attachment locations on the same image. That comparison makes omissions easier to see than two separate descriptions on different invoices.

• Who removes the tarp, wood strips, and fasteners?
• Which attachment locations fall outside the planned shingle replacement?
• What repair is proposed at those locations?
• Who protects the roof if removal exposes more damage than expected?
• What needs my approval before the price changes?
• Will I receive photographs after removal and after the repairs are complete?

Ask for a specific answer about exposed fastener holes. 'We will seal everything' leaves the repair method unclear. Have the roofer explain whether affected shingles will be replaced, whether other materials were penetrated, and why the proposed treatment fits each location. Different attachment locations may need different work. A single sentence about caulk should not substitute for identifying what was punctured.

Before final payment, request photographs that show the former attachment areas as well as the original storm opening. Ground-level views can confirm that the tarp and wood strips are gone, but they generally cannot show how individual holes were addressed. Keep the completion photographs with the written scope so a future contractor can understand where this work occurred.

To discuss a storm roof repair in St. Louis or the greater St. Louis area, call Keys Roofing at (314) 220-2333. Mention that the roof has a temporary covering, who installed it, and whether you have photographs from before it went on. Have the temporary work invoice available so the conversation can include removal and attachment repairs from the start.