Before the storm, and after it.

Before a storm is forecast to arrive, look at the roof from the ground. You want missing or lifted shingles, cracked tile, debris already sitting in a valley, and limbs close enough to fall on the house. Pipe boots and the metal where a roof meets a wall are worth a look with binoculars. If you can see a lifted edge, get it repaired while the weather is ordinary. A small opening is much easier to close on a clear day than in the wind.

Do not climb up because a storm is on the forecast. Falls happen on dry days too, and a hurried trip onto a slope is a poor trade. If you cannot see a problem but the roof is old, or a ceiling has stained in past rains, ask for an inspection while the schedule is still ordinary. Houses under mature trees, which is common in Memorial, Bellaire, and the Heights, deserve that look. So do long roof planes on larger houses farther west.

We repair what can be repaired and say so when the roof needs to come off. Underlayment, flashing, and vents go with a replacement. The goal before a storm is a roof that is already closed, not a promise about a future claim. Your insurer decides coverage if a later storm damages the house.

Close and latch windows and doors, including the garage, before the wind is up. Know which side of the house takes the weather. If you choose to board openings, do it while you can still work safely, and follow the instructions that came with the panels or the plywood you are using. We do not publish a fastening pattern here. A board put on after the rain has started is how people get hurt.

Walk the yard. Grills, patio chairs, potted plants, and loose lumber become debris. Store them inside, or secure what is meant to stay. Check the fence gates. A gate that swings free will meet a window. If you leave, tell a neighbor how to reach you, and take the policy number and the claim phone number with you. Clear Lake and Galveston see wind and coastal weather that an inland subdivision does not. The list is the same. Finish it while the weather is still ordinary.

Water that cannot leave the house comes inside. Clean gutters and downspouts so they discharge away from the foundation, not into the bed against the slab. Walk the low side of the yard. Soil and mulch piled against the brick, and drains clogged with leaves, hold water at the wall. In a hard rain that is how water crosses a slab and shows up in the living room even when the roof held.

If you have yard drains or a swale, clear the inlets you can reach on your own property. Do not wade into a street to clear a storm sewer once the rain has started, and do not assume a city inlet is yours to open. A downspout that dumps at the foundation is your job. A blocked public drain is a call to the city, made before the storm if you already know that corner floods.

Newer streets in Katy, Pearland, and The Woodlands often move water in swales and curb inlets. Older lots inside the Loop rely on shorter gutters and flatter yards. When the rain is heavy, it still has to move away from the house. If it does not on an ordinary thunderstorm, fix the downspout and the grade you can reach while the ground is dry.

Photograph each side of the house, the roof slopes you can see, and the rooms you would hate to describe from memory. Include the labels on large appliances if you can do it quickly. Store the photos where you can reach them if you are not at home. The insurance photo log on this site can hold a room-by-room set. A set taken before the weather is the most useful page in it, because after the storm you are comparing the house with something you can still see.

Put your policy, the phone number for your insurer, and our number where you will find them without power. Know where the main water shutoff is, and confirm it turns. If you use a generator later, keep it outside, away from windows and doors. Do not run one in a garage, even with the door open. That is a safety rule. It is not a suggestion about which storm kit to buy.

• Roof, from the ground: lifted shingles, cracked tile, debris, nearby limbs
• Openings: windows and doors closed and latched, boards on only if you are doing that early
• Yard: loose furniture, grills, and lumber put away
• Drainage: gutters, downspouts, and the soil against the slab
• Records: photos of the whole house, policy number, shutoff located

If you left, wait until local officials say you can return. When you are back, look before you step. Stay away from downed lines and from water around them. Do not touch a line that is on a fence or a roof. Do not start the cleanup in a flooded room if the power may still be on. From the ground, look for openings in the roof, broken windows, and siding that came loose.

If water got in, the indoor work is the same as any other water damage. Keep people out of unsafe water, photograph, and start drying. Houston humidity does not pause because the storm has moved on. Wet drywall and insulation will sit damp until they are dried or removed. A tarp belongs on an open roof only when it is safe for a crew to be up there. We photograph the damage first when we can, then cover the opening so the next band of rain stays outside. Permanent roofing comes after.

Call your insurer to open or update the claim, and keep receipts for temporary protection. Siding, drywall, and paint follow the dry-out. They are not the first hour. Do not assume a homeowners policy and a flood policy are the same conversation. We do not sort that. We can dry the house and repair what you hire us to repair.

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• Emergency roof tarping
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• Restoration in Houston
• Roofing in Clear Lake
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Call (713) 909-0034, or use the contact form. Before a storm, we can look at the roof while the weather allows it. After a storm, tell us if the roof is open or if water is inside. Elite Restorations is family-owned, at 511 Crestwater Ct, Houston, TX 77082, and has served Houston since 1993.