Emergency Flat Roof Repair in Toronto and the GTA
Active water entry on a commercial or industrial roof: call 416-456-0777 and we will talk you through making the building safe.
If water is coming through your commercial roof right now, call NorthCan Roofing at 416-456-0777. Then move people and stock out of the area, contain the water, shut off electrical circuits and equipment under the leak, and photograph everything before you clean up. Do not send your own staff onto a wet roof.
What should you do before the crew arrives?
Six things, in this order. They protect people first, then the building, then your insurance claim.
- Clear the area. Move staff, tenants, stock, files and equipment out from under the water. Cordon off the floor area, because a wet floor and a possible ceiling collapse are both live hazards.
- Kill the power locally. Water tracking into light fixtures, ceiling-mounted equipment or panels is an electrical hazard. Isolate the affected circuits at the panel and have an electrician check anything that was energised while wet.
- Contain and channel. Buckets and poly under the drip. If water is pooling above a suspended ceiling, a controlled release, meaning a small hole punched deliberately over a container, is safer than letting a whole tile grid come down at once.
- Watch for a sagging deck or ceiling. A bulging ceiling, a visible deflection or water running along a beam line means evacuate the space and tell us when you call.
- Photograph and log. Photos and short videos of the water entry, the affected area and the damaged contents, with the date and time. Note when the leak was first seen and what the weather was doing.
- Stay off the roof. A wet or iced flat roof with an unguarded edge is where people fall. Roof access is our job under the Occupational Health and Safety Act working-at-heights requirements, and there is nothing useful your staff can do up there.
Call 416-456-0777. Tell us the address, the roof type if you know it, where the water is entering and whether anything is still live under it.
What causes most emergency roof calls in Ontario?
Emergency calls cluster around weather events, and the pattern is predictable.
- Blocked drains during heavy rain. Leaves, gravel, packaging and construction debris block the strainer, water backs up over the base flashing height and enters at the wall.
- Winter thaw and ice damming. Meltwater runs to a cold parapet, refreezes and backs up behind the ice until it gets behind the cap flashing or the membrane turn-up.
- Wind damage. Membrane lifted or peeled back at a corner or perimeter zone, where uplift is highest, or a cap flashing blown off the parapet.
- Failed detail plus a storm. A pitch pocket or curb flashing that had been marginal for a season and simply ran out of road during a long rain.
- Mechanical work. A contractor cutting a new penetration, dropping a tool, or leaving a curb open overnight. This one shows up the day after a rooftop unit is serviced.
- Snow load and drifting. Deep drifting against parapets and higher walls. Ground snow load Ss and rain load Sr are set by location in the Ontario Building Code Supplementary Standard SB-1, and drifted zones sit well above the field value. Any suspected structural overload is an evacuation and an engineering call, not a roofing call.
What is the difference between a temporary and a permanent repair?
Emergency work happens in two stages, and confusing them is how buildings get billed twice for the same leak.
Temporary: make safe and dry in
The objective is to stop water entering today, in whatever weather is happening. That can be a mechanically fastened patch over the failure, a peel-and-stick membrane over a split, a temporary sealant designed for wet application, a tarp weighted and edge-secured, or simply clearing a blocked drain and letting the roof shed. Interior protection goes in at the same time. A dry-in is honest work, but it is not a repair and we do not present it as one.
Permanent: repair once it is dry
The permanent detail goes in when the assembly is dry and the actual cause is confirmed. That usually means removing wet insulation back to dry material, replacing the insulation and cover board, and rebuilding the membrane and metal detail in matching material. Doing this into a wet assembly produces a repeat leak. The full method is on flat roof repairs, and where the whole assembly has taken on water the answer moves to flat roof replacement.
What documentation will your insurer want?
Water damage claims turn on evidence and on timing. We supply the roofing side of that file as a matter of course.
- Dated photographs of the failure before and after the temporary repair, and of the completed permanent work.
- A written description of the cause, distinguishing a sudden event such as wind damage from long-term deterioration, because insurers treat those differently.
- The date and time of our attendance and of the make-safe work.
- Moisture survey results where we mapped the extent of wet insulation.
- The scope and quote for the permanent repair.
Report the loss to your insurer promptly, keep damaged contents until they are released, and keep your own log of when the leak started. If your building carries a roof maintenance agreement, the inspection history in that file is often the strongest evidence that the failure was an event rather than neglect.
What happens after the emergency?
Once the building is dry, the useful question is why it happened and what else on the roof is in the same condition. We follow an emergency attendance with a written assessment of the roof so the next storm is not a repeat. That can be a targeted repair scope, a roof condition report for your capital plan, or a maintenance schedule that keeps the drains clear before the fall rain and the spring melt.
Industrial sites with live production have specific constraints on emergency access and hot work, which we cover on industrial roofing. Everything we do across low-slope buildings is summarised on commercial roofing, and you can reach us any time through the contact page or at 416-456-0777.
Frequently asked questions
Can you work on a roof in the middle of a storm?
We attend, assess and do what can be done safely. Lightning, high wind and heavy ice make roof access genuinely dangerous, and no repair is worth a fall. In those conditions we work from inside to contain water and protect the building, then complete the dry-in on the roof as soon as the crew can be up there safely.
Should we put a tarp on the roof ourselves?
No. A wet, dark or iced flat roof with an unprotected edge is one of the most dangerous places on your property, and an unsecured tarp can lift in wind and take the cap flashing with it. Call 416-456-0777 instead and contain the water from inside.
We have a stain on the ceiling but no active drip. Is that an emergency?
Not usually, but do not leave it. A stain means water has already entered the assembly and the insulation above it is likely wet. Book a repair visit while it is still a small cut-out. Wet insulation that sits through a winter of freeze-thaw cycling turns a repair into a replacement.
Do you handle the interior damage as well?
Our scope is the roof and the make-safe work. We coordinate with your restoration contractor and provide the roofing documentation they and your insurer need. If you do not have a restoration contractor, tell us and we will describe what to look for so you can appoint one quickly.
What information should we have ready when we call?
The site address and access details, who will meet the crew, the roof type and approximate age if known, where the water is entering and how fast, whether power has been isolated, and whether anything structural looks affected. Photographs sent through help us bring the right materials the first time.
Ready for your free roof assessment?
Tell us the address, the roof size and what you are seeing. We will book a time to get up there and put it in writing.
Call 416-456-0777 for anything urgent. Our emergency line is answered around the clock.
Call 416-456-0777