Wind tears off a section of shingles, or a limb comes down and opens a hole straight through the decking, and the first instinct is right: get something over the breach before the next rain finds it. What’s less obvious is how much a tarp-over’s quality matters. A tarp thrown over the hole and weighted with a few bricks can fail in the next windstorm and do almost nothing, while one installed correctly can hold through weeks of sustained Pacific Northwest wind and rain.
What a proper tarp-over actually requires
An emergency tarp-over is temporary weatherproofing over a roof breach — torn-off shingles, a hole from a fallen limb, lifted flashing — meant to stop water intrusion until permanent repair happens. Getting it to actually hold means covering the full breach with margin well past its edges, anchoring it with furring strips rather than just the tarp’s own grommets, and fastening across ridges and valleys so water sheds off the tarp rather than pooling on it. A small, localized breach from a few missing shingles needs a tighter, more precisely placed tarp; a full tree strike spanning multiple roof planes needs a larger tarp system anchored across more of the roof structure. Getting the coverage or the fastening wrong turns a temporary fix into a second leak source.
How long should a tarp hold
Done correctly, a tarp-over should hold through several weeks of normal Pacific Northwest weather — long enough to get a structural assessment done, insurance documentation submitted, and a permanent roofing repair scheduled. It isn’t meant to be a long-term fix, but it shouldn’t need to be revisited every storm either. If a tarp is flapping, has pulled loose at a corner, or is visibly pooling water instead of shedding it, that’s a sign it wasn’t anchored properly and needs to be redone, not just re-weighted.
Why timing matters more here than in drier climates
In a region where fall and winter bring a long stretch of sustained rain rather than isolated storms, a breach that sits uncovered doesn’t just risk the one event that caused it — it’s exposed to every storm that follows until it’s tarped. Each additional storm before a proper tarp goes on compounds attic, ceiling, and wall damage well beyond what the original wind or tree event caused. That’s why tarping gets treated as the priority the moment it’s safe to work, ahead of any other assessment of the damage.
What happens after the tarp goes on
The tarp buys time; it doesn’t finish the job. Once the breach is covered, the sequence that actually resolves a roof breach — covered in more detail on our emergency roof tarp-over page — typically runs:
- Structural assessment. Roof decking, rafters, and ceiling joists get checked for damage that isn’t visible from the ground, particularly after a tree strike.
- Water mitigation, if needed. Any water that got into the attic or living space before the tarp went on gets extracted and dried before it produces secondary damage like mold.
- Permanent roof repair. A roofer replaces the damaged section — shingles, decking, flashing — matched to the surrounding roof.
- Interior rebuild, if the breach reached living space. Ceiling, drywall, insulation, and finishes get reconstructed to match the original.
The insurance side
Wind and tree damage to a roof is a core covered peril on most standard homeowner policies, and the tarp-over itself is typically treated as a covered mitigation cost rather than something billed separately outside the claim — carriers expect a breach to be covered promptly, since delay increases the size of the claim. Photographing the damage before the tarp goes on, and again once it’s installed, gives the adjuster what they need to document the loss. We handle that documentation and bill the carrier directly on covered claims, the same approach described in our guide to what storm damage restoration costs — you’re responsible for your deductible, not the full repair.
What not to do
Don’t climb onto the roof yourself to inspect or tarp a breach, especially with standing water, ice, or an unstable section nearby — this is exactly the situation a trained crew is equipped to handle safely. Don’t rely on a household tarp secured only with duct tape or loose rope; wind will find the gap within days. And if the breach came from a tree strike, don’t assume the visible hole is the extent of the damage — hidden framing damage beyond the obvious point of impact is common.
The short version
A tarp-over is only as good as its anchoring. Done right, it holds through weeks of Pacific Northwest weather and buys the time needed for a proper structural assessment and permanent repair; done wrong, it fails in the next windstorm and the breach is exposed again. Getting a crew out to tarp correctly the same day the damage happens is what actually controls how big the eventual claim gets.
If storm damage opened a hole in your roof, call TIK Construction at (360) 938-4601. A real person answers 24/7, and we tarp the breach, assess the structure, and coordinate the full repair as one job.