If a storm just put a hole in your roof, here’s what matters: get it covered before the next rain, stay off it yourself, and photograph the damage before anything gets cleaned up, because those photos are your insurance evidence. We handle all three: fast, properly anchored tarping with full photo documentation, across Sun Prairie, Madison, and Dane County.
What counts as a tarp-it-now emergency
Missing shingles over a bedroom. A limb through the decking. Hail that opened up a slope, or wind that peeled back a section to bare wood. If you can see daylight from the attic, or water comes in every time it rains, the roof needs to be covered now and repaired properly second. Waiting a week turns a shingle repair into a decking-insulation-and-drywall repair.
Honest response expectations
We’re based in Sun Prairie, minutes from most of Dane County. Instead of a fake “24/7” promise, here’s the real one: open-roof calls jump the schedule. Most of Dane County is 25 minutes from us, and if you call in the morning with an open roof, our aim is a tarp on it that day. Nights and storms make roofs lethal, so if you call at 9pm we’ll talk you through damage control inside and be there when it’s light and safe.
After a major hail or wind event that hits the whole county, everyone’s phone rings at once. We work calls in order, tell you honestly where you are in line, and never leave a caller guessing.
What a proper emergency tarp looks like
There’s a right way to do this. Heavy-duty tarp sized past the damage on every side, anchored with wood battens screwed into sound decking, edges wrapped so wind can’t get underneath, and the top edge run up over the ridge where possible so water can’t sneak behind it. Done right, a tarp shrugs off weeks of weather. Done wrong (a blue sheet and some bricks), it’s a sail that beats your roof apart in the next gust.
While we’re up there we photograph everything: the impact zone, the torn shingles, the exposed decking. If you file a claim, that documentation is gold. See our guide on insurance vs. paying out of pocket for how to decide whether to file at all.
After the tarp: the permanent fix
Tarping buys time; it doesn’t fix anything. Once the roof is protected we assess the real damage and quote the permanent repair, usually storm damage repair or shingle replacement on the affected slope. If the storm finished off a roof that was already at the end of its life, we’ll say that plainly and walk you through what replacement involves.
We tarp roofs across Sun Prairie, Madison, DeForest, Waunakee, and the rest of Dane County. Roof open right now? Skip the form and call. Otherwise, send a request with photos if you have them.
Frequently asked questions
How fast can you tarp my roof in Sun Prairie or Madison?
Call as soon as it is safe. We are based in Sun Prairie, so most of Dane County is within a 25-minute drive, and we prioritize open-roof calls above scheduled work. Same-day tarping is the goal whenever daylight, weather, and the size of the storm allow. After a county-wide hail event, we work calls in the order they come in and tell you honestly where you are in line.
How much does emergency roof tarping cost?
Pricing depends on roof height, pitch, and the size of the damaged area, and you get the number before we start, not after. If storm damage leads to an insurance claim, tarping is generally a covered cost, since insurers expect you to prevent further damage, and we give you the documentation to back it.
Will a tarp damage my roof?
A properly installed tarp will not, and a badly installed one will. We anchor with battens screwed through the tarp into decking above the damage, wrapped edges, and no loose plastic to flog itself apart in the wind. What we do not do is nail straight through the field of your good shingles.
How long can a roof tarp stay on?
A well-installed tarp protects for a few weeks to a couple of months, long enough to get through an insurance claim and schedule permanent repairs. It is a bridge, not a fix, and Wisconsin sun and wind eventually eat every tarp. We schedule the real repair before the tarp becomes the problem.
Should I tarp my own roof?
Please don't. Wet shingles are slick, storm-damaged decking can be soft enough to step through, and emergency rooms see a wave of ladder injuries after every major storm. If water is pouring in, move belongings, catch what you can, and call. The roof is our risk to take, not yours.