In short
- Emergency work is usually a temporary cover (tarp or board) first, with the lasting repair booked once the weather allows.
- Wind damage is typically covered by home insurance, says the Insurance Bureau of Canada; your policy sets the deductible.
- Ontario lets you cancel a contract signed at home within 10 days, and a business may charge at most 10% above its written estimate.
- The Ottawa pages we could open print no price for an emergency tarp, so the company sets it after it sees the roof.
- Cracked rafters or trusses make the lasting repair structural, and structural work needs a City of Ottawa building permit.
What counts as an emergency
Water keeps coming into the house. A limb or tree has opened the roof. Wind has stripped a slope and bare deck is exposed. A chimney has shifted or collapsed. Fire has burned through the covering. In each case the first job is the same: close the opening so the building stops taking on water, then plan the lasting repair.
A slow drip that stops after the rain is a repair call, and the roof leak page covers it.
Safe steps for the first hour
These steps keep people and the house safe and leave the roof to the crew.
- Stay off the roof. Wet shingles, snow and wind make a fall likely.
- Move furniture, rugs and electronics out of the wet room and put buckets or sheeting under the drip.
- If water reaches a ceiling light, fan or outlet, switch off that circuit at the panel.
- Photograph the damage from the ground and from inside: ceiling, walls, floor, attic.
- If a branch or tree rests on the house, keep clear of it and of any wires, and say so when the company calls.
The temporary cover, then the repair
A make-safe cover is sheeting or board fixed to sound deck so water runs over the opening and stays out of the house. It holds until the real repair, which can mean new decking, underlayment, flashing and shingles. The two jobs often have separate prices because the second depends on what the roofer finds under the first.
We found no Ottawa page that prints a price for an emergency cover, so the company that calls sets it after it sees the roof. Ottawa labour runs $60–$120 an hour on one local firm’s published guide, and that gives you a yardstick when a company quotes time and materials. Ask whether the charge is a flat amount or hourly, and what it includes.
Insurance in the first days
Call your insurer straight away, send the photos and keep every receipt, the temporary cover included. The deductible comes from your policy. Let the adjuster see the damage, or at least the photos, before you agree to permanent work, and ask whether the insurer wants its own contractor to quote. The wind and storm damage page has what the Insurance Bureau of Canada counted after the May 2022 storm.
Signing under pressure
Storm weeks bring door-knockers and quick contracts. Ontario’s roofing guide wants anything over $50 on paper. Signed at your kitchen table, the contract can be cancelled within 10 days, and the bill can pass a written estimate by 10% only with a signed change. A deposit above a tenth of the job goes past what the guide advises. The roofing contracts page covers the whole list.
When the damage reaches the structure
Broken rafters, cracked trusses or a sagging ridge are structural. On the City of Ottawa’s permit list, structural repairs need a building permit, so the lasting repair may need one. Ask the company who applies. The permit guide goes through it, and wind and storm damage covers the shingle side.
Who you are dealing with
One independent Ottawa roofer receives the request, decides with you what the weather allows, covers the opening and quotes the lasting repair. Arrival time is the company’s to state on the call; this desk promises none.
Questions to ask the company
- Can you come out and cover the opening, and what do you need me to have ready?
- Is the temporary cover a flat charge or time and materials, and what does it include?
- Will you photograph the damage and the cover for my insurer?
- What stays open until the permanent repair, and how long does the cover hold?
- If I sign today, what is in writing and what does the 10-day cooling-off mean for work you start?
Have this ready for the call
- Photos from the ground of the damage, the opening and any fallen branch or debris
- The room where water enters, with the breaker for that room switched off if water reaches a light or outlet
- Your home insurer's claim number or phone number
- Buckets, plastic sheets and a tidy path to the attic hatch
- An address a crew can reach: driveway clear, gate open, a note about overhead wires
Questions people ask
Should I climb up and put a tarp on myself?
Stay off the roof. A wet or snowy roof is slippery and a fall is the real danger. Keep to the ground and the attic floor, move belongings, and let the crew place the cover.
What happens first when a company arrives?
Usually a walk-around, photographs, then a temporary cover over the opening using sheeting or board secured to dry deck. The lasting repair is quoted separately once the roofer sees the damage under the cover and the weather allows shingles to go on.
Do I phone the insurer before the roofer?
Phone the insurer as soon as you can. Ask your insurer whether the temporary cover is part of the claim, and keep receipts and photos.
Is there a hotline for insurance questions after a storm?
The Insurance Bureau of Canada’s Consumer Information Centre takes home insurance questions at 1-844-2ask-IBC (1-844-227-5422). Call it if you are unsure what home insurance covers; your own insurer handles the claim itself.
I signed a repair contract on the spot. Can I back out?
Ontario gives you 10 days to cancel a contract signed at your home. The company then owes back what you paid, deposits included, within 15 days of your notice. Where you asked it to begin during those 10 days, it may keep reasonable payment for work already done.