I live in one of the areas that was hit this week by a major ice storm.

An ice laden tree branch fell from a tree near the house an unfortunately
poked a small (about three quarters of an inch) hole through the shingles
and roof deck.

The roof is still ice covered and for my safety I'd rather not go up
there. Which leaves me to try to make a temporary patch from below.

The best thing I can think of is to use canned expanding foam from below,
perhaps poking a hole in the bottom of a plastic cup, and filling the cup
from the bottom with the open end of the cup against the hole.

Anyone else successfully made a temporary roof patch from the attic side?
If so, how did you do it?

--
Tony Sivori
Due to spam, I'm filtering all Google Groups posters.

On Jan 30, 11:45*am, Tony Sivori <TonySiv...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> I live in one of the areas that was hit this week by a major ice storm.
>
> An ice laden tree branch fell from a tree near the house an unfortunately
> poked a small (about three quarters of an inch) hole through the shingles
> and roof deck.
>
> The roof is still ice covered and for my safety I'd rather not go up
> there. Which leaves me to try to make a temporary patch from below.
>
> The best thing I can think of is to use canned expanding foam from below,
> perhaps poking a hole in the bottom of a plastic cup, and filling the cup
> from the bottom with the open end of the cup against the hole.
>
> Anyone else successfully made a temporary roof patch from the attic side?
> If so, how did you do it?
>
> --
> Tony Sivori
> Due to spam, I'm filtering all Google Groups posters.


That sounds like a good way to do it till spring. Maybe a pan in the
attic to catch any resiudual leakage before it messes up your drywall.

Tony Sivori wrote:
....

> The best thing I can think of is to use canned expanding foam from below,
> perhaps poking a hole in the bottom of a plastic cup, and filling the cup
> from the bottom with the open end of the cup against the hole.
....

Sounds reasonable in the short term until the ice melts and to minimize
any direct entry.

There will be, of course, more damage than just the hole that will need
repairing when it warms up again but if the serious leak problem is that
small you're probably in decent shape until can get up there.

I presume this means the limb is still there as well, or did it come on
down after the hit? If it's there still, you'll want to get up there
when you can to get if off, obviously at which time can inspect and
decide where/how much repair is required in the short term as opposed to
"can wait"...

--

On Jan 30, 11:45*am, Tony Sivori <TonySiv...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> I live in one of the areas that was hit this week by a major ice storm.
>
> An ice laden tree branch fell from a tree near the house an unfortunately
> poked a small (about three quarters of an inch) hole through the shingles
> and roof deck.
>
> The roof is still ice covered and for my safety I'd rather not go up
> there. Which leaves me to try to make a temporary patch from below.
>
> The best thing I can think of is to use canned expanding foam from below,
> perhaps poking a hole in the bottom of a plastic cup, and filling the cup
> from the bottom with the open end of the cup against the hole.
>
> Anyone else successfully made a temporary roof patch from the attic side?
> If so, how did you do it?
>
> --
> Tony Sivori
> Due to spam, I'm filtering all Google Groups posters.

Cold foam takes hours to cure, maybe put it on and screw wood or
cardboard to hold it in place. Foam in can is sprayed with can upside
down or air comes out, it might get a bit of foam in a new can. Adding
on a longer hose can make the foam barely come out. I would not use a
real cold can. But it sounds like a small hole.

On Fri, 30 Jan 2009 12:52:07 -0600, dpb wrote:

> Tony Sivori wrote:
>
>> The best thing I can think of is to use canned expanding foam from
>> below, perhaps poking a hole in the bottom of a plastic cup, and
>> filling the cup from the bottom with the open end of the cup against
>> the hole.
>
> Sounds reasonable in the short term until the ice melts and to minimize
> any direct entry.
>
> There will be, of course, more damage than just the hole that will need
> repairing when it warms up again but if the serious leak problem is that
> small you're probably in decent shape until can get up there.

You're right. I'm just looking for a temporary repair until I can get
inspections, estimates, and the insurance company's involvement. Damage in
the Louisville KY area is widespread enough that just getting estimates
will take a while, and of course actual repair will be even an longer
wait.

> I presume this means the limb is still there as well, or did it come on
> down after the hit? If it's there still, you'll want to get up there
> when you can to get if off, obviously at which time can inspect and
> decide where/how much repair is required in the short term as opposed to
> "can wait"...

Yep, it is still decorating my roof. It is a fair sized branch, larger in
diameter than my arm but smaller than my leg.

Here's a photo:

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...eat=directlink

--
Tony Sivori
Due to spam, I'm filtering all Google Groups posters.

On Jan 30, 1:53*pm, Tony Sivori <TonySiv...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> On Fri, 30 Jan 2009 12:52:07 -0600, dpb wrote:
> > Tony Sivori wrote:
>
> >> The best thing I can think of is to use canned expanding foam from
> >> below, perhaps poking a hole in the bottom of a plastic cup, and
> >> filling the cup from the bottom with the open end of the cup against
> >> the hole.
>
> > Sounds reasonable in the short term until the ice melts and to minimize
> > any direct entry.
>
> > There will be, of course, more damage than just the hole that will need
> > repairing when it warms up again but if the serious leak problem is that
> > small you're probably in decent shape until can get up there.
>
> You're right. I'm just looking for a temporary repair until I can get
> inspections, estimates, and the insurance company's involvement. Damage in
> the Louisville KY area is widespread enough that just getting estimates
> will take a while, and of course actual repair will be even an longer
> wait.
>
> > I presume this means the limb is still there as well, or did it come on
> > down after the hit? *If it's there still, you'll want to get up there
> > when you can to get if off, obviously at which time can inspect and
> > decide where/how much repair is required in the short term as opposed to
> > * "can wait"...
>
> Yep, it is still decorating my roof. It is a fair sized branch, larger in
> diameter than my arm but smaller than my leg.
>
> Here's a photo:
>
> http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...Vlbw?feat=dire....
>
> --
> Tony Sivori
> Due to spam, I'm filtering all Google Groups posters.

For something that small you should consider just paying someone to
fix it now, its probably as much or less than your deductable

On Jan 30, 11:45*am, Tony Sivori <TonySiv...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> I live in one of the areas that was hit this week by a major ice storm.
>
> An ice laden tree branch fell from a tree near the house an unfortunately
> poked a small (about three quarters of an inch) hole through the shingles
> and roof deck.
>
> The roof is still ice covered and for my safety I'd rather not go up
> there. Which leaves me to try to make a temporary patch from below.
>
> The best thing I can think of is to use canned expanding foam from below,
> perhaps poking a hole in the bottom of a plastic cup, and filling the cup
> from the bottom with the open end of the cup against the hole.
>
> Anyone else successfully made a temporary roof patch from the attic side?
> If so, how did you do it?
>
> --
> Tony Sivori
> Due to spam, I'm filtering all Google Groups posters.

The foam sounds like as good an idea as any. But mostly likely there
will still be leakage, you'd be surprised what a puddle it can make
from a small hole. So the main thing is to have something to put
under it to catch the drips. The drips may come down somewhere
downhill from the hole itself. If you have one of those cheap plastic
kiddy pools, stick that up there; otherwise the biggest pan or tub or
whatever you can find. -- H

Tony Sivori wrote:
> I live in one of the areas that was hit this week by a major ice
> storm.
>
> An ice laden tree branch fell from a tree near the house an
> unfortunately poked a small (about three quarters of an inch) hole
> through the shingles and roof deck.
>
> The roof is still ice covered and for my safety I'd rather not go up
> there. Which leaves me to try to make a temporary patch from below.
>
> The best thing I can think of is to use canned expanding foam from
> below, perhaps poking a hole in the bottom of a plastic cup, and
> filling the cup from the bottom with the open end of the cup against
> the hole.
>
> Anyone else successfully made a temporary roof patch from the attic
> side? If so, how did you do it?

I haven't done it, but here's an idea.

Clean out the hole from below as best you can. Put some warmed up asphalt roof
cement in a small paper cup. Place the top of the cup over the hole, then push
firmly on the bottom to force the cement up through the hole. Tape the cup in
place to keep the cement in place. You could start by smearing the sides of the
hole with the cement first to get a good bond, and push cement in between the
various roofing layers.

On Fri, 30 Jan 2009 15:28:25 -0500, benick wrote:

> On Jan 30, 11:45 am, Tony Sivori <TonySiv...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>> Anyone else successfully made a temporary roof patch from the attic
>> side? If so, how did you do it?
>
> Cold foam takes hours to cure, maybe put it on and screw wood or
> cardboard to hold it in place. Foam in can is sprayed with can upside
> down or air comes out, it might get a bit of foam in a new can.

That was a problem. But I did manage to get a decent amount of foam in the
hole; hopefully water won't pour in when the snow and ice finally melt.

> Maybe take a 4inch by 4 inch square piece of plywood or similar add some
> silicon caulking to the top and screw it up with small screws..Add a
> bucket under it and you should be good for a while....

I'll try that of the foam doesn't hold. I hope I don't have to go back up
there. I have a low slung hip roof, and it is more like a crawl space than
attic.

> It will keep the critters out better than cardbosrd and foam...

I hadn't thought of the squirrels. If they get in I will have trouble.

> You could throw up a rope with a loop in it to drag the branch off...

I'd rather throw it off, if I can. Dragging it off might damage the roof
more, but in a way the gutters are more important since they are so far
undamaged.

--
Tony Sivori
Due to spam, I'm filtering all Google Groups posters.

On Fri, 30 Jan 2009 16:50:54 -0500, (E-Mail Removed) wrote:
> Good grief! For a hole that size, stick a cork in it and put a smidgen
> of caulk around on the inside....should be good enough until weather is
> decent. Call ins. co. anyway, since you don't know for sure the extent
> of the damage. Sounds like things are pretty awful up there. Stay safe
> )

The electric has gone out twice today, just for a few minutes. I think
they're turning it off once in while just to remind me how lucky I am to
have power. :-)

--
Tony Sivori
Due to spam, I'm filtering all Google Groups posters.