A tree falling on your house during a storm is one of the most serious types of roof damage you could experience as a homeowner.
If that were ever to happen, what should you do next?
Obviously, you will need some substantial residential storm damage repairs, but there are a few important things to take care of first.
Before calling for a roof damage inspection, make sure things are ready for your roofer to come and do the inspection.
- Get Out of the House – Before doing anything else, get all people and animals out of the house. There is no telling, before a residential storm damage inspection whether a tree falling on the roof has caused structural damage or some other problem that could cause a dangerous situation. If necessary, make temporary lodging arrangements if the damage is severe enough that you will need to be out of the house for a while.
- Call 911 and Treat It Like An Emergency – After vacating the house, call the local emergency line and let them know what happened. They may send the local fire service to check things out or the police if other help is needed. Follow their instructions and answer any questions. They may also tell you to contact the utility company or do it for you, should there be a need to cut power to the house.
- Call Your Homeowners Insurance Company – Once everyone is safe and emergency services as well as utility services are on the way to inspect the scene, let your homeowner’s insurance company know what happened. They will start filing an insurance claim, getting the process going for having an adjuster out to do a roof damage inspection for insurance purposes.
- Contact A Tree Removal Company – Before residential storm damage repairs can be done, the tree must be cut up and removed. Call a professional with experience removing fallen trees carefully, so they don’t cause more damage.
- Call A Storm Damage Repair Service – Though it is a good idea to reach out to a roof damage inspection and repair company in the midst of all these other preparations, they won’t be able to do anything until the tree is gone. Plan ahead with a storm damage repair service, letting them know when the tree should be gone. Then they can come and do a damage inspection and get started on the repairs.
Though the natural idea might be to immediately call a residential storm damage inspection and repair service after a tree falls on your house, they are actually the last ones that should be called.
By taking care of these other calls first, you will get better service and see your repairs made more quickly than by calling the roofers before they can actually do anything.