Santa Ana, CA
Storm damage, and what to do first
Storm work attracts two kinds of contractor: the ones who live here, and the ones who followed the weather in. Only one of them will answer the phone next spring.
Describe the storm damage job
Three questions, then the address. Up to three Santa Ana contractors who do this work.
You are on the list.
No provider in Santa Ana is taking requests through this service yet. We are lining them up, and yours is kept until one can.
- Nobody gets your details yet. Your request stays with us and is not passed to any company.
- One email when someone can help. When a provider covering your area can take it on, we email you once and ask whether you want that company, by name, to contact you.
- Deleted after 90 days. If nobody can take it on, or you do not say yes, your contact details are deleted 90 days after your request.
- You decide, or you do not. There is nothing to cancel and nothing to pay us.
Nobody will call you about this request unless you say yes to a company by name.
Before you let anybody on the roof
The things worth pinning down on a storm damage job. A contractor who has not raised them has not looked properly.
- A written scope of the work, line by line
- A local address you could actually drive to
- Whether the contractor is licensed and insured in this state
- What the emergency tarp costs, separate from the repair
- Photographs of the damage before any work happens
Do not sign anything on the doorstep. Read any contract twice before you sign it; most home improvement contracts in California can be cancelled within three business days.
Keep every receipt, including the tarp and the emergency call-out. They are part of the record of what happened and what it cost.
A local contractor who inspects and documents properly is more use to you than a fast one who is already on the roof.
Locally
Close behind that: enough salt in the air to matter to fasteners over twenty years. The covering will reach its rated life here. Plain galvanised fixings holding it down will not.
About storm damage here
Can I stay in the house while it is done?
Yes, though it is loud, and things will fall off shelves in the garage. Move cars out of the driveway and take anything fragile off the walls of the top floor.
Is moss on the roof a problem?
Yes, eventually. Moss holds water against the shingle and lifts the edges as it thickens. Zinc or copper strip at the ridge suppresses it. Pressure washing an asphalt roof strips the granules and does more harm than the moss did.
Are gutters included in a re-roof?
Normally a separate line. It is the one add-on that genuinely costs less when done at the same time.
How long does a re-roof take?
Two days is typical for asphalt. Add days for steep pitch, multiple layers to strip, tile work, or a roof with a lot of valleys and penetrations.
Get it priced
Free, no obligation, and your details go to no company until you say yes.