Active leaks, ice melt and fallen-limb holes on hillside and lake lots: call any hour, and the roofer you reach sets the timing.
Fastest: call (833) 751-2102. Or send this and we call you back.
If water is coming through a ceiling in Sherman, call (833) 751-2102 at any hour. The line is always answered and the call goes to an independent local roofer. The roofer decides when a crew can come and whether it is safe to work; no arrival time is promised. The first goal is a temporary seal. A lasting repair comes later.
An active leak is a different job from every other roofing page on this site. A planned replacement can wait for the right month and three quotes. A ceiling that is dripping at midnight cannot, and the question changes from which roof you want to how to keep the house dry until someone can fix it. That is what this page is about.
There are two stages. The first is an emergency measure: a tarp over the damaged area, a temporary seal at a failed flashing, a cover over a hole where a limb came through. It is meant to hold for days or weeks, not years. The second is the lasting repair, which is scheduled once the weather and the roofer's calendar allow, and is covered on the page for roof repair.
The line answers around the clock. That is a promise about the phone and not about a truck. A roofer reached in the middle of a storm has to weigh wind, ice, darkness and the condition of your roof before sending anyone up, and the roofer decides. You describe what you see, and the call is put through to an independent roofer who serves your town.
Never go onto a wet, icy or dark roof to cover a leak, and never stand under a ceiling that is bulging with water. Stay away from fixtures and outlets that are wet, and call 911 for a fire or if someone is hurt.
An emergency visit is priced differently from a planned repair, and no number is printed here. The roofer explains the charge before starting, and the permanent repair is quoted separately.
| Job | Typical range | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency visit and assessment | Explained on the call | Ask what the visit includes and whether it changes if the crew cannot work safely |
| Tarp or temporary cover | Quoted on site | Size of the area, roof pitch and height set the time and materials |
| Temporary seal at one detail | Quoted on site | A single pipe boot is a different job from a long wall joint |
| Access difficulty | Part of the visit | Long hillside driveways, ice and darkness add time |
| Permanent repair | Quoted separately | Done in daylight and good conditions once the water is stopped |
Your exact price is confirmed with the roofer before any work starts, and the permanent repair is quoted separately.
Heavy sheeting fastened over the damaged area so water runs off it. It is the usual stop-gap after a limb strike or when shingles have torn away. A badly fastened tarp can flap loose or trap water, so it is a job for a crew, not a homeowner on a ladder.
A sealed patch or temporary flashing over a split pipe boot, a lifted shingle or a wall joint. It buys time, nothing more, and the roofer should say that plainly.
When a crew cannot reach the roof, the safest response is inside: buckets, plastic sheeting and pierced drip points. Roofs are not climbed in ice, wind or dark, and the roofer may well advise this first.
Tell us what's happening and we'll tell you honestly whether it's a quick fix, and what emergency roof leak repair should cost.
Protect people first, then the contents. Move belongings away from the drip, turn off power to the wet area if it is safe to reach the panel, catch the water in containers, and relieve a bulging ceiling at its lowest point. Photograph the damage. Never climb onto a wet or icy roof.
A slow drip can be caught in a bucket. A bulge full of water is more urgent, because the ceiling can give way. A small hole at the lowest point of the bulge lets it drain in a controlled way.
Photograph the water, the stain and the roof from the ground. Date them. The roofer will find them useful, and so will anyone you speak to later about the damage.
An emergency fix stops water entering today; a repair removes the cause for good. The emergency work is quick, done in poor conditions and meant to be temporary, while the repair is done in daylight and good weather once the roofer has found where the water really comes in.
In the dark, with rain or ice, nobody can trace a leak to its origin. A crew covers the most likely area and leaves the investigation for later. That is sensible, and it is also why the first fix sometimes needs adjusting.
Expect the roofer to say what the temporary work is, how long it should last and what the next step is. See storm damage roof repair for how a larger storm job is planned afterward.
A roofer decides whether a roof can be worked on safely. High wind, ice, darkness, lightning or a steeply pitched wet roof can make climbing too dangerous, and during a widespread storm many homes need help at once. The line is always answered, but no arrival time is promised.
Crews have to travel, often on narrow hill roads that may be blocked by fallen limbs or ice. That is true across the lake towns, and it adds time.
If the roofer cannot come soon, ask what to do in the meantime. The answer is usually to contain the water inside and wait for safe conditions.
Winter leaks often come from ice and melting snow backing water under shingles at the eave, and they appear during thaws. Summer leaks come from wind-driven rain and storm damage. The temporary response is similar, but the lasting repair for an ice-related leak also involves the attic.
If the leak is along the eave during a thaw, think ice dam. The page on ice dam removal and prevention explains what a roofer does with ice and what stops it returning.
A leak during a rain with no snow on the roof points to flashing, a vent boot, a failed valley or missing shingles.
Move people and valuables away from the wet area. If water is near a fixture or outlet, turn off the circuit at the panel when you can reach it safely, and do not touch wet electrical equipment.
Put a bucket under the drip, lay towels, and if a ceiling bulges, pierce a small hole at the lowest point so the water drains into a container instead of bringing the plaster down.
Say where the water shows, how quickly it is coming, whether a tree has hit the roof and how the house is reached. The call goes to an independent roofer who decides whether and when to come.
If conditions allow, a crew covers the damaged area with a tarp, a sealed patch or a temporary flashing. If it is not safe to climb, the roofer says so and explains what to do until it is.
Once the water is stopped, the roofer inspects at a safer time, finds the real entry point and writes the permanent repair as a separate item. Ask for photographs of the damage and of whatever was done to make it temporary.
Sherman sits among wooded hills with long driveways that can slow any crew, and the roads that serve the lake and its communities, including Route 37 and Route 39, can be tied up by fallen limbs. Tell the line how the house is reached, whether the driveway is steep or shared, and if a gate or association road is involved.
Roughly 45 inches of snow falls in a typical winter in the Danbury area, and snow, ice and thaw produce a steady supply of eave leaks. Cottages converted to year-round use are the likeliest to leak from ice, because their thin attic insulation lets heat melt snow from underneath.
The May 2018 storms that crossed Brookfield, New Fairfield and Sherman are a reminder that a leak can follow a wind event that also felled trees and cut power. After a widespread storm, expect longer waits and be ready to contain the water yourself.
Not sure if you're covered? Check your ZIP code.
Leaks, loose shingles, worn flashing and limb damage on wooded Sherman-area roofs, looked at and quoted by an independent local roofer.
After a wind storm: a temporary cover to stop water, then a documented inspection and a written repair plan from an independent roofer.
A limb or whole tree on a wooded lake-country roof: clear the house, call, get a temporary cover, then plan the structural repair.
An ice dam forms when heat escaping into the attic melts snow on the warm part of the roof, and the water refreezes at the cold eave.
When a tree lands on a roof, get everyone out of the damaged area, stay clear of wires and call 911 if anyone is hurt.
Yes, around the clock. Whether a roofer can come at that hour is for the roofer to decide, based on safety and workload. This line cannot promise an arrival time.
No. A tarp or a temporary seal stops water for a short time. The lasting repair is planned separately once the weather allows a roofer to inspect and work safely.
It is safer not to. A wet or icy roof is dangerous, and a tarp that is not fastened properly can blow off or trap water. If you must act, work from the ground and inside the house.
Place a bucket below it, keep people out of the room, and pierce a small hole at the lowest point so the water drains. A ceiling full of water can collapse.
That is for your insurer to decide, and this line cannot say. Photograph the damage, keep the roofer's written notes and receipts, and ask your insurer what it needs.
Keep everyone out of the damaged area, stay clear of wires and call the roofer. The page on fallen tree roof damage explains what happens next.