Storms in North Texas do not keep business hours. The line of supercells that rolls through Wise County usually arrives late in the day, and the phone starts ringing around the time most companies have gone home. Cannon Roofing has answered that phone since 1994, and 24/7 storm response is a real service here, not a line on a website.
Homeowners calling at midnight with water coming through a light fixture generally have no idea what to expect. So here is exactly what happens from the moment you call — what we will ask, what we will do that night, and what follows over the next couple of weeks.
Knowing the flow makes the call easier, and it helps you do the right things in the minutes before anyone arrives.
The Call: What We Ask and Why
Storm nights bring a lot of calls at once, so the first conversation is about triage. Expect a handful of quick questions.
- Where are you? Address and cross street, so we can group calls by area and route crews sensibly.
- What can you see or hear? Dripping, running water, a limb on the roof, missing shingles visible from the yard, a sound like something hitting the house.
- Is water actively coming in? Active intrusion moves you up the list.
- Is anyone in an unsafe area? Sagging ceilings, water near electrical, gas smell, downed lines.
- What is the weather doing at your house right now? Still storming, or has it passed?
Answer plainly and do not worry about using the right terminology. "There is a wet circle on the bedroom ceiling and it is getting bigger" tells us everything we need.
Triage: Who Gets Help First
After a widespread hail or wind event, dozens of homes need attention in the same few hours. Priority goes to danger and to water.
Highest priority is anything unsafe: structural damage, a limb through the roof, a ceiling about to come down, or water near electrical service. Next is active intrusion over living space. Then openings that are not leaking yet but will as soon as the rain returns. Cosmetic damage with no water path gets scheduled for a daylight inspection.
If you are in the last group, that is genuinely good news. It means the roof is holding while we handle the homes that are open to the weather.
What You Can Do Before the Truck Arrives
Three things help, and one thing hurts.
Contain the water. Buckets under drips, towels around them, plastic sheeting over furniture. Move electronics and anything irreplaceable out of the room.
Relieve a bulging ceiling. A sagging, water-filled drywall bubble will eventually fail all at once. A small hole punched at its lowest point, with a bucket underneath, drains it in a controlled way. Only do this if you can reach it safely and the power to that area is off.
Photograph everything. Interior damage, the ceiling, the contents, the yard, and whatever you can see of the roof from the ground. Timestamped photos taken during the event are worth more than anything shot a week later.
Do not climb the roof. Wet or hail-covered shingles, darkness, and possible hidden holes in the decking are a combination that puts people in the hospital. The roof will wait for daylight and for someone with fall protection.
For more on which situations warrant a night call, see our guide on when to call for emergency roof repair.
On Site: Temporary Protection
The night visit has one job: stop water from entering, without creating problems for the permanent repair later.
That means a properly installed tarp — anchored above the damaged area so water sheds over it rather than under it, run across the ridge where the damage is near the top, and battened so it survives the next round of wind instead of flapping off by morning. Fastener placement is deliberate, because every hole made now is a hole someone has to seal later.
We also document as we go: photos of the damage before it is covered, notes on what was found, and the location of every opening. That record becomes the starting point for the claim.
Safety limits apply and we are honest about them. Nobody goes on a roof during lightning, high wind, or on ice. When the roof cannot be worked, we help you manage the water inside and get the covering on at first safe light.
Daylight: The Full Inspection
Emergency work is triage, not diagnosis. The real assessment happens in daylight, when every slope can be walked and read properly.
A full roof inspection covers each slope for bruising, creasing, and granule loss; the penetrations, flashing, valleys, and pipe boots; the ridge and drip edge; the gutters and downspouts; the soft metals around the property; and the attic, where damp decking and daylight tell you what the surface will not. You get a written report with photographs, marked by location.
Our article on the post-storm roof inspection walks through what that visit covers step by step.
Claim Support and Permanent Repair
With the report in hand, the claim conversation gets much simpler. Cannon Roofing documents the damage, meets the adjuster on site, and makes sure nothing on your roof gets overlooked. We work alongside your adjuster — we are not public adjusters, we do not promise outcomes, and we will never suggest that your deductible can be waived or absorbed. That offer is fraud, whoever makes it.
Once the scope is settled, the work gets scheduled. Depending on what the storm did, that is a targeted roof repair or a full replacement, done by factory-trained crews who carry the Technician Seal of Safety — background-checked and drug-tested — and backed by our 10-Year Craftsmen Guarantee.
Then we come back and check it. A roof that was opened by a storm and closed properly should not need us again until the next one.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as a roofing emergency? Active water entering the home, a hole or opening in the roof, a limb resting on the structure, missing shingles over living space, or a sagging ceiling. If water is getting in or the roof is open to weather, call rather than wait.
What will you ask me when I call at night? Your address, what you can see or hear, whether water is actively coming in, whether anyone is in an unsafe area, and what the weather is doing. Those answers set the priority and tell the crew what to bring.
Do you tarp the roof the same night? When conditions allow. Nobody goes up during lightning, high wind, or on an iced roof. If the roof cannot be worked safely, we help you contain water inside and get the covering on at first safe light.
What happens after the emergency work is done? A full daylight inspection documents every slope and the attic, you get a written report with photos, and we work alongside your adjuster on the claim. Permanent repair or replacement follows once the scope is agreed.
Storm damage right now? Call Cannon Roofing at (940) 627-1045 or request a free quote. We answer around the clock across Decatur, Wise County & Greater North Texas.