🏠 Roof Leak
Flat rowhome roofs leak sideways — the drip is rarely under the hole. Contain first, diagnose second.
Structure check: a ceiling that's sagging or bellied with water can come down. Poke a small drain hole in the lowest point of the bulge with a screwdriver (bucket underneath) to relieve it — and stay out from under large bulges.
1Safe first steps
- Buckets/bins under active drips; an old towel in the bucket kills the splash.
- Move or tarp everything under and near the leak — water travels along joists and shows up feet away.
- If water is near any light fixture or outlet, turn off that circuit at the panel.
- Check the simple causes you can see safely: clogged roof drain or downspout spitting over, debris damming a box gutter. Many "roof leaks" are drainage clogs.
- On a shared/party-wall block, ask your neighbor — the failure can be on their side of the parapet and show up in your ceiling.
- Don't go on a wet flat roof. If you must look, do it from a window or wait for dry daylight.
✕What not to do
- Don't hire the person who knocks on your door after a storm. Storm-chaser fraud is a real, documented pattern — especially ones who "noticed damage from the street" or want to "handle your insurance claim."
- Don't sign an Assignment of Benefits or let a contractor "be your insurance rep" on the spot.
- Don't smear roof cement over everything before a roofer sees it — it can hide the actual failure and make a proper repair harder.
- Don't ignore a "small" stain. Flat-roof leaks rot decking quietly between rains.
📷What to document
- Date-stamped photos/video of the ceiling/wall damage as it happens, plus each rain event after.
- Weather that triggered it (heavy rain? wind-driven? snow melt?). It's diagnostic gold.
- Photos of the roof surface (from a safe vantage) before and after any repair.
- Every estimate and invoice — and if an insurance claim is possible, call your insurer before permanent repairs.
?Questions to ask a roofer
- "Are you registered/licensed here?" — verify: PA · MD · NJ.
- "Patch, coat, or replace — and why?" A good flat-roof contractor explains the decision; a bad one only sells replacement.
- "What's the warranty on the repair, in writing?"
- "Will you photograph the roof and show me what you found?" (You can't see your own flat roof — make them prove it.)
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Educational disclaimer: Rowhome Ready is an educational directory, not an emergency dispatcher, roofer, or insurance advisor. Confirm hours, pricing, insurance, and licensing directly with each business, and speak to your insurer before authorizing permanent storm-damage repairs.