Emergency Roof Repair in Pasadena and the San Gabriel Valley

What to do before anyone arrives

In order, and none of it requires a ladder.

Get everything out from under it. Water tracks along framing and comes through wherever it can. Move furniture and electronics well clear of the wet area, not just directly beneath it.

Put a container down, then puncture the bulge. This sounds wrong and it is the single most useful thing you can do. A ceiling holding water will sag into a bulge. Left alone, that bulge eventually takes the whole section of ceiling down at once. Pierce it in the center with a screwdriver and let it drain into a bucket. You trade a small hole for an intact ceiling.

Photograph everything, with timestamps. Insurers ask when the damage started and what it looked like before anyone touched it. Photographs taken now are worth more than any description later.

Stay off the roof. A wet roof in wind is how people get seriously hurt, and a walked-on wet roof often takes more damage than the leak caused.

What we do on arrival

The first job is stopping water, not fixing the roof. Those are two different visits and pretending otherwise leads to bad work done fast.

We locate the actual entry point, which is rarely above the stain, because water runs along the deck and the framing before it finds a way through. Then we dry-in the area: a properly fastened temporary covering, sealed at the edges, that will hold through the rest of the weather.

Only after that do we look at the permanent repair, and we look at it in daylight and dry conditions. A scope written in the rain is a scope written badly.

What actually causes most emergencies

Almost never a hole in the middle of the roof.

Flashing. The junctions where the roof meets a wall, a chimney or a skylight. Metal moves more than the material around it, and those joints open first.

Lifted or missing shingles after wind. The sealant strip that bonds each course had already failed. The wind only revealed it.

Blocked valleys and gutters. Water that cannot leave backs up under the courses. This is the most common cause we see after the first real rain of the season.

Failed penetrations. Vent pipes, swamp cooler curbs, satellite mounts. Every one is a deliberate hole in the roof relying on a seal that has an end date.

What emergency work costs

These are the ranges Stucco Contractor Pro publishes for a new roof. Estimates depend on size, pitch and materials, and financing is available. For diagnosis and repair we do not publish a figure, because a number set from the ground is a number that changes once we are on the roof. You get a written estimate after the inspection.

Emergency work carries costs an appointment does not: out-of-hours labor, and a temporary dry-in that is later removed when the permanent repair goes on. We separate the two on the estimate so you can see exactly what the emergency itself cost.

When it is not actually an emergency

Worth saying plainly, because urgency gets sold hard in this trade.

If it is not currently raining and no more rain is forecast, you have time to get the diagnosis right rather than paying a premium for speed. A stain that appeared weeks ago is not an emergency, it is a leak, and it should be scoped properly in dry conditions.

If the water is coming from a swamp cooler, an air conditioning condensate line or a plumbing vent, the roof is not the problem at all, and we will tell you rather than sell you a repair.

What customers say

Who does the work

Bryan runs the crew and is on site for the assessment. The company has worked roofing, exterior stucco, siding and painting across the San Gabriel Valley and the foothills for over 25 years. Stucco Contractor Pro holds California contractor license number 1079589, which you can look up on the CSLB website.

Frequently asked questions

My ceiling is bulging with water. What do I do?

Put a container underneath and pierce the bulge in the center with a screwdriver so it drains in a controlled way. It feels wrong, but a drained bulge is a small hole to patch, while an undrained one eventually brings the whole ceiling section down at once.

Where is the leak, if not above the stain?

Usually not above it. Water enters the roof, runs along the deck or a rafter until something stops it, then comes through. The visible stain can be several feet from the actual entry point, which is why diagnosis happens on the roof rather than from the ceiling.

Can you fix it permanently in the rain?

No, and anyone who says otherwise is selling you a repair that will fail. We dry the area in with a properly fastened temporary covering that holds through the weather, then scope the permanent repair in dry conditions.

Will my insurance cover it?

That depends on cause. Sudden storm damage is usually covered; gradual failure from deferred maintenance usually is not. Photograph everything before anyone touches it, because that distinction is what an adjuster will be looking at.

Do you charge more for emergency call-outs?

Out-of-hours labor and the temporary dry-in are real costs and they appear as separate lines on the estimate. You will see what the emergency itself cost as distinct from the permanent repair.

Related services

Storm damage is covered on our storm damage repair page. For blocked or failed gutters, which cause more leaks here than anything else, see gutter installation and repair. Regular checks are covered under roof inspections. Our main roofing services page covers the rest of what we do.

Contact Stucco Contractor Pro Today!

Service Areas

Eastside

• Highland Park
• Eagle Rock
• Atwater Village
• Boyle Heights
• Lincoln Heights
• El Sereno

South LA

• South Los Angeles
• Baldwin Hills
• Leimert Park
• Crenshaw

San Fernando Valley

• Sherman Oaks
• Studio City
• North Hollywood
• Van Nuys
• Encino
• Reseda
• Tarzana
• Woodland Hills
• Canoga Park
• Chatsworth
• Northridge
• Granada Hills
• Sylmar

Additional Cities and Suburbs

• Azusa
• Covina
• West Covina
• Baldwin Park
• Glendora
• Pomona
• La Verne
• Claremont
• Rancho Cucamonga
• Ontario
• Upland
• Chino Hills
• Diamond Bar
• Walnut

Lake Areas

• Lakewood
• Lake View Terrace
• Lake Balboa