Emergency Roof Repair in Salem, OR
Fogged Glass Replacement. Hardware & Lock Repair. Draft Fixes. Caulking & Seal Repair. Free Estimates. Licensed OR #241979..
When a limb comes through a Salem roof in an ice storm, the tarp goes on the same day regardless, and if the mast is down, the first call is the utility and the second an electrician; the roofer comes third. The order is set by what happened in February 2021. The city's report on that storm, quoted by the press, said that "large Oregon white oaks were particularly hard hit by the ice storm as their large diameter branches accumulated heavy loads of ice, resulting in massive limb breakage and whole trees keeling over." The storm, which the city dates to February 11 and 12, cost Salem close to a sixth of its tree canopy between August 2020 and May 2021, most of it on those two days, and by the first morning, almost 2,000 residents were reporting hazardous debris. Six weeks later, the city still had eight to 10 contract tree crews working each day. A roof emergency in that storm was a queue, with electricians, arborists, and utility crews the trades every damaged house was calling.
The tarp goes on today; the mast decides the rest
The temporary cover does not wait for anyone. The main emergency roof repair page describes it, and VResh Construction puts it on the day it arrives, around whatever is on the roof. What the order of calls decides is the permanent repair, and on a house where the limb took the service mast or the meter base off the wall, that repair waits on an electrician. The mast, the entrance conductors, and the meter base belong to the homeowner under both utilities serving the city. PGE, which serves most of Salem, says "only a certified electrician can safely handle the repairs" to customer-owned equipment; Salem Electric, the cooperative serving part of West Salem, writes in its service requirements that the member maintains "all service equipment, including switches, service entrance conductors, raceways, enclosures, and meter sockets." Where PGE requires a permit and inspection before reconnecting, it accepts either the local inspection or a state form the electrician files, the Request To Energize, which lists among its reasons an "uncontrollable event, such as fire, flood, or severe weather." Salem Electric's requirements state that an installation is approved by the inspection authority before it is energized; the cooperative answers whether the same applies. The roof cannot be closed permanently around a mast that has not been replaced, so on a house with a torn service, the electrician is booked first, and the roofing is scheduled behind the mast repair.
The tree, and whether it is also a form
The second call is the arborist, and in Salem the tree may also be a permit. The city's page lists its protected trees as Oregon white oaks, riparian trees and "any tree that is over 30 inches in diameter," with white oaks counted as significant from 20 inches, and it lists the reasons a removal permit can be granted, among them a hazardous tree, defined as one whose "location or condition poses a danger, and pruning or treatment will not fix the problem," and the repair or replacement of a structure that has stood since June 2000. For the hazard reason, the application must "include an ISA Basic Tree Risk Assessment Form completed by an ISA Tree Risk Assessment Qualified (TRAQ) arborist." The page says ordinary pruning requires no permit; it says nothing about a protected tree already on a house, and the decision comes by mail and cannot be appealed. So on a Salem roof under a white oak, a riparian tree or a large tree of any kind, the arborist, the owner's or one VResh refers, should hold the risk-assessment qualification, the form is written while the tree is still on the house, and the question of which permit reason applies, or whether cutting the fallen limbs is pruning, goes to the city's Planning division that morning rather than being decided on the roof. Smaller trees that are not oaks or riparian trees are outside the permit on the city's private-property list.
The tree debris is disposed of by the owner; in 2021 the city opened park drop sites rather than picking up from the curb.
Serving Portland Metro Area
VResh Construction provides window replacement, siding installation, roofing, dry rot repair and full exterior renovation services throughout the Portland metro area and Southwest Washington.
Portland Metro — Oregon
Southwest Washington
Extended Service Areas
(503) 272-6436 — Call or Text, Available 24/7
We answer calls and texts at any hour. For storm damage, active leaks, or structural emergencies, calling directly is the fastest path to a response.
Emergency roof repair questions from Salem, OR
Client's Talk
We have a wealth of experience working as main building contractors on all kinds of projects, big and small, from home maintenance and improvements to extensions, refurbishments and new builds.
Get in the right line
On a Salem roof emergency, the tarp goes on first, and then the calls go in order: the utility and an electrician where the service is down, a qualified arborist and Planning where the tree is protected, and the roofer for the repair behind them. Call or text (503) 272-6436.