A tarp is the first thing a damaged roof needs and the last thing most homeowners want to think about while they are standing in a wet living room. Carapezza Construction & Roofing installs emergency roof tarps on storm-damaged homes across Plant City and eastern Hillsborough County. A tarp does one job: it keeps rain out of the house until a proper repair or replacement can be done. Done right, it does that job for weeks. Done wrong, it fails in the next thunderstorm.
Roof tarping is the front end of our storm damage service. We tarp, we document, and then we plan the permanent fix.
When a Tarp Is the Right First Step
Not every leak needs a tarp. A slow drip at a chimney during a heavy rain is a flashing repair, not a tarping job. A tarp is for a roof that is open to the sky or close to it.
You need a tarp when:
- Shingles or tiles are missing over a section of roof and the underlayment is exposed or torn.
- A limb or debris has punched through the deck.
- A ridge vent, turbine, or section of ridge cap has blown off.
- Metal panels have lifted or peeled back.
- Water is actively coming into the attic or ceiling from a storm and the repair cannot happen in the next day or two.
You also need a tarp when the repair is going to wait on an insurance inspection. Insurers want to see the damage, and they also expect you to keep it from getting worse in the meantime. A tarp satisfies both.
If the damage is small and dry weather is holding, we may be able to skip the tarp and go straight to the repair. We will tell you which one makes sense when we look at it.
A Proper Tarp vs. a Hardware-Store Tarp
After Helene and Milton in 2024, half the roofs in some Plant City neighborhoods had blue tarps on them. A lot of those tarps were gone or shredded within a couple of weeks. The difference between a tarp that lasts and one that does not comes down to how it is installed.
A hardware-store tarp thrown over the damage and held down with bricks, cinder blocks, or a few nails through the plastic will lift in the first gust. Nails through the tarp itself tear out. Blocks slide off. The tarp flaps, water pools in the low spots, and the flapping edge chafes the shingles it was supposed to protect.
Here is how we install one:
- Size the tarp to cover the damage with generous overlap, running from above the damaged area over the ridge if the damage is near it, and well down past the lowest point of the damage.
- Sweep off loose debris so nothing punctures the tarp from below.
- Roll each edge of the tarp around a furring strip or 2x4 so the fasteners go through wood, not just plastic.
- Screw the strips down through the tarp into the deck, with the top and side edges anchored so wind cannot get underneath.
- Position the tarp so water sheds off it and onto the roof below, not under it. On a low-slope roof we build in a fall so water does not pool.
- Photograph the finished tarp so there is a record of the mitigation.
The tarp itself matters too. Heavy-duty reinforced material holds up to Florida sun far longer than a thin blue tarp, which turns brittle and tears in a matter of weeks.
The fastener holes we make are real holes in your roof, and we make no more of them than we have to. Once the permanent repair is done, everything the tarp touched gets addressed as part of that work.
How Long a Tarp Is Meant to Last
A tarp is temporary. It is not a roof, and it should not be treated like one.
A well-installed heavy-duty tarp will typically hold through a few weeks of normal Florida weather, and can go longer if conditions are mild. It will not hold through another hurricane, and it should not be expected to survive a summer of afternoon thunderstorms without being checked. UV breaks down even good tarp material, and the fastened edges take a beating with every wind event.
Our advice is to treat a tarp as a bridge between the storm and the repair, and to get the repair scheduled as soon as the insurance side allows. After a major storm, permanent repair timelines stretch for everyone in the region, and we will be straight with you about where your job sits on the schedule. A tarp that has been up for a couple of months should be inspected and often replaced.
If a tarped roof starts leaking again, call us. Sometimes water is getting in at an edge that has lifted. Sometimes the damage has spread beyond the tarped area, which happens when hidden damage was missed on the first pass.
Documenting Damage Before and After Tarping
Take your photos before the tarp goes on. Once the damage is covered, the adjuster cannot see it, and "there was a hole under there" is a harder conversation than a clear photo of the hole.
We take our own photos of the damage before we tarp, of the tarp installation, and of the finished tarp. You get copies. Between your photos and ours, your insurer has a record of what the storm did and what was done to stop it getting worse. This is also why we do not remove debris, pull loose shingles, or start any repair work before the damage is photographed.
What Happens Next
Once the tarp is on and the house is dry, the real work starts.
We inspect the whole roof, not just the tarped area, because storm damage rarely stays in one place. Creased shingles on the other side of the house, lifted flashing at the chimney, and a torn pipe boot all count, and all belong in the report your insurer sees.
From there it is either a repair or a replacement. A localized hole or a section of missing shingles on a roof that is otherwise sound gets a hurricane roof damage repair. Widespread damage, torn underlayment across multiple slopes, or a roof that was already old means we talk about a roof replacement. Either way, you get a written scope and estimate that your adjuster can work from.
We are also a licensed building contractor, so if a tree came through the deck and the rafters, the framing repair and the roofing repair are the same crew and the same contract. If water got inside and there is drywall, insulation, or mold to deal with, our mold, fire, and water damage team handles that side.
Insurance and Your Duty to Mitigate
Most Florida homeowner policies require you to take reasonable steps to prevent further damage after a loss. In plain terms, if your roof is open and you leave it open for a month, the water damage from that month may not be covered. Tarping is the reasonable step. It is generally treated as an emergency mitigation expense, and many policies reimburse it as part of the claim.
That is the general picture. Your policy is the one that governs, so read it or ask your agent. Keep the tarping invoice and the photos together with the rest of your claim documentation. We provide a written invoice for the tarp that describes what was done and why.
We are roofers, not adjusters. We document, we provide the estimate your adjuster needs, and we do the repair. We do not negotiate your claim, and we will not tell you what your policy owes you.
Related Storm and Roofing Services
Frequently Asked Questions
Who do I call to put a tarp on my roof in Plant City?
A local roofing contractor. Tarping is roofing work, and it needs someone who can walk a damaged roof safely and anchor a tarp so it holds. Carapezza Construction & Roofing is based at 1605 N Wheeler St in Plant City and tarps storm-damaged roofs across the area. Call us at (813) 707-0235.
Will a tarp help with a roof leak?
If the leak is from storm damage, yes. A tarp over exposed decking or missing shingles keeps rain out until the repair. If the leak is from failed flashing, a cracked pipe boot, or an old roof that has simply worn out, a tarp is the wrong tool and a repair is the right one. We will tell you which one you have.
How much does emergency roof tarping cost?
It depends on the size of the area, the pitch and height of the roof, and how hard the damage is to reach. A small tarp over one slope is a modest job. A large, steep, or multi-section tarp is more. We quote it before we do it, and the invoice is written so it can go straight into your insurance claim.
Can I tarp my own roof?
You can, and some homeowners do a decent job. The risks are falling off a wet, damaged roof and installing a tarp that fails and makes things worse. If you do it yourself, anchor the edges with wood strips rather than nailing through the plastic, run the tarp over the ridge, and photograph the damage first. If the roof is steep, high, or badly damaged, do not go up.
How long can I leave a tarp on my roof?
A few weeks is reasonable. A few months is pushing it, and by then the tarp is usually degrading and the roof under it is getting worse. If your repair is delayed by insurance or scheduling, have the tarp checked and replaced if needed. Do not let a tarp become the roof.
Does insurance pay for roof tarping?
Often, as part of the storm claim, because it is the mitigation step your policy expects you to take. Coverage varies, so check your policy or ask your agent. Keep the invoice and photos with your claim file.
If a storm has opened up your roof, call Carapezza Construction & Roofing at (813) 707-0235 or reach us through our contact form. We tarp and repair storm-damaged roofs across Plant City, Lakeland, Brandon, Valrico, Tampa, Wesley Chapel, Zephyrhills, and Mulberry, covering Hillsborough, Polk, and Pasco counties.