Emergency Board-Up and Tarping
Temporary protection, roof tarps, board-up, and shoring, put in place immediately to stop further damage while permanent repairs are arranged.
The short version
- It is temporary by design. A tarp buys weeks, not a season, and is not a roof repair.
- Nearly every property policy imposes a duty on the insured to protect the property from further damage after a loss.
- Photograph the damage before the tarp goes on, because the tarp hides the evidence the claim depends on.
- Emergency services are usually billed and paid separately from, and before, the permanent repair scope.
- Failing to protect the property can reduce or defeat recovery for the additional damage that follows.
What it actually means
When a hurricane opens a roof, the storm damage is the beginning. Every subsequent rain enters the building, soaks insulation and drywall, runs down inside walls, and in Florida temperatures starts microbial growth within a day or two. Emergency mitigation exists to close that opening: tarps and shrink-wrap over the roof, plywood over broken openings, shoring for compromised structure, water extraction, and enough drying to stop the loss from expanding while the real repair is scheduled.
This is not merely good practice; it is a policy obligation. Property policies contain duties after loss that require the insured to take reasonable emergency measures to protect the property from further damage. Documented, reasonable emergency work is normally reimbursable. Damage that accumulates because nothing was done is where insurers push back, and after a major storm that argument arrives in the form of a partial denial for what they characterize as avoidable damage.
The other half of the job is documentation. A tarp installed before anyone photographed the roof has just hidden the evidence that the roof was open. Photograph and video the damage from the ground and, only if it is safe, from a distance that shows the opening, then photograph the temporary protection once installed, then keep the invoice.
What it looks like on a real job
After a named storm, demand vastly exceeds capacity for days or weeks, which produces two predictable problems: long waits for legitimate contractors and a wave of unlicensed operators offering immediate work for cash. Verify licensure, get the scope of the emergency work in writing with a price, and never sign a blank or open-ended authorization.
Track what you spend. Tarps, board-up materials, emergency extraction, a generator, and reasonable temporary measures are typically part of the claim, and receipts kept from day one are worth considerably more than a reconstruction from memory a month later.
Questions we get asked
- Will insurance pay for a tarp?
- Reasonable emergency measures to prevent further damage are generally covered, and your policy also obliges you to take them. Keep the invoice, the scope, and the photographs. Very large emergency bills after a catastrophe do get scrutinized, so a written scope beforehand protects you.
- How long can a roof tarp stay on?
- Weeks, not months, and less than that under Florida sun and wind. Tarps degrade, fasteners work loose, and a failed tarp during the next storm produces a fresh interior loss that is harder to attribute to the original event.
- Should I wait for my adjuster before doing emergency work?
- No. Waiting is what causes the avoidable-damage argument. Do the emergency protection, document it thoroughly before and after, notify your insurer promptly, and leave the permanent repair scope for after the inspection.
Official sources
Everything on this page rests on the documents below. Read them yourself, they are all free.
- Florida Statutes § 627.70132, Notice of property insurance claim
- Florida Statutes § 627.70131, Insurer’s duty to acknowledge communications regarding claims; investigation
- ANSI/IICRC S500, Standard for Professional Water Damage Restoration
Last reviewed against these sources on August 26, 2026. These definitions are general information about restoration work and property claims in Florida, not legal advice or a coverage opinion. Your policy language and the facts of your loss control what is owed. Swift Response Restoration Inc is a licensed restoration contractor, not an insurer, a public adjuster, or a law firm.
Not sure how this affects your loss?
Send us the estimate, the photos, or just tell us what happened. We will walk you through what you are looking at and what the next step is. Free inspection, no obligation, and someone answers the phone at any hour.
Related terms
Mitigation
The emergency phase of a loss: stopping the damage from spreading and drying the structure, as distinct from rebuilding it.
Secondary Damage
The damage caused not by the original event but by moisture left in the building afterwards: swelling, delamination, corrosion, and microbial growth.
Wind Damage
Structural damage from high winds, which matters most for what it opens up: once the envelope is breached, water does the rest.
Storm Water
Ground water and surge that enters a building during a storm, treated as Category 3 because of everything it picks up on the way in.