Ask Who Checks the Tarp at Night Before the Crew Leaves the Roof

An open roof does not stop at quitting time. When the crew leaves at 5 p.m., the old shingles may be off a section of deck, the underlayment may be only partly laid, and the sky over St. Louis can change within an hour. Each roof bid should say what covers that open deck overnight, who checks it, and who answers the phone if wind lifts a corner at 2 a.m. This page is for the homeowner who has two or three quotes on the table and needs to compare the overnight plan the same way they compare shingle lines and totals.

Why the night is the hard part

A daytime crew can see a tarp start to lift and fix it before the next gust. At night nobody is watching. Spring fronts in the St. Louis area often bring gusts after dark, and a tarp that was tied well at dusk can work loose by morning. Rain that starts after the crew has gone is the common case. Water that gets under a tarp and onto bare sheathing can soak the deck, and wet sheathing does not dry quickly when the temperature is near freezing.

Wind is not the only risk. A tarp that pools water on its top surface can sag, then tear at the fasteners. A tarp that is pulled too tight can crack along a seam when the material cools. None of this is unusual on a St. Louis roof in March or November, which is why the overnight plan belongs in the bid rather than in a conversation on the driveway.

What a tarp plan should name

A tarp is a method, not a single product. Ask each roofer to write down the following, and compare the answers line by line:

• The tarp material and its weight, and whether it is a woven polyethylene cover or a heavier reinforced sheet.
• How the tarp is fastened: sandbags, batten strips nailed into sound deck, or both. Ask exactly where the fasteners go, because every nail through the deck is a new penetration that has to be watched.
• Which edges are sealed and which are left open to drain, so water runs down the slope instead of collecting behind a seal.
• Who inspects the tarp before the crew leaves each day, and whether that inspection happens again after any storm warning.
• The name and direct number of the person who drives out if the tarp fails, and the time window they commit to.

A bid that says the crew will "secure the roof daily" has not answered any of these. Ask the roofer to put the method in the scope itself, so it is part of what you signed.

Ask who checks it at 2 a.m.

This is the question that most bids skip. Ask whether anyone is on call after hours, whether the call goes to a crew lead or to a sales office, and what the response time is in hours. If the answer is "we will get someone out," ask for the number of hours. A roofer with a working plan will give you a window and a name. A roofer without one will tell you the crew comes back in the morning, which may be too late if the wind came up at midnight.

Ask also who is responsible for the call. If you call the office line and reach voicemail, what happens next? Keys Roofing's office line is (314) 220-2333, and you can ask any roofer you are comparing to put its after-hours route in writing before you book a date.

How much deck to open before dark

Tear-off speed is the other half of the overnight question. A crew that strips half the roof before lunch and leaves that much bare deck overnight has created more exposure than a crew that works a smaller area each day. A roofing square is 100 square feet of roof surface, so a 30-square section left open at dusk is a much bigger exposure than a 10-square section. Ask each roofer how many squares they expect to have open at the end of a typical day, and whether the open area is limited to what can be dried in and covered before dark.

Ask, too, whether the crew stages shingle bundles on the deck overnight. Bundles that sit in the rain on open sheathing can swell, stick together, and wet the decking beneath them. Ask where the bundles will be kept at night, and whether they are covered separately from the roof.

The forecast and the decision to stop

Ask what the crew uses to decide whether to tear off at all. Some roofers check the forecast the night before and hold the start if rain or high wind is in it. Others check only the morning. Both can be sound, but the bid should say which one applies, and whether the decision to hold is written into the schedule or left to the foreman on the day. A written hold rule is easier to check than a verbal one.

Ask what the crew does when a storm arrives partway through the day. Does work stop, does the open area shrink, or does the crew keep going until the first drop? Each answer changes how much deck is exposed when you get home from work.

Freeze, thaw and the tarp edge

In St. Louis, a tarp left through a freeze and thaw cycle can trap meltwater under its edges. Snow melts on the cover during the afternoon, then refreezes as the sun goes down. Ask what the plan is when the forecast shows temperatures below freezing with rain or snow to follow. Some crews reduce the open area, add a second layer of cover at the ridge, or delay tear-off until the weather settles. Ask which of these applies, and whether the bid states any extra cost for it, so the number you compare is the number you will pay.

What to keep on paper

Keep the overnight plan with the signed scope and the schedule. If a storm reaches the house while the roof is open and your interior gets wet, the dated written plan is what shows what was agreed before the storm. Take a photo of the tarp each evening if you can, with the time stamp on, and keep a short log of who came out and when.

If you later file a claim, your insurer will want those dates and photos. Keys Roofing documents the open roof, puts a written scope with photos and measurements in your hands, and attends as the contractor while you deal with your own insurer. Missouri law bars a roofing contractor from representing or negotiating your insurance claim, so the dated records you keep as the homeowner are yours to hand over.

The question to end on

Before you choose a roofer, ask each one to show you the tarp and the fastener they used on the last open roof they worked, and to walk you through where the fastener went into your deck. A roofer who can point to the spot, name the material, and tell you who checks it at night has an overnight plan. A roofer who has to think about the answer does not.