The thick layers of snow in our province have now melted. And now it is becoming increasingly clear what damage has been done. Leaks on roofs, for example. Roofers have their hands full.
Roofer Juan Verhoeven from Tilburg climbs the ladder with practice. He has been working since six o’clock this morning. “This is the eleventh roof today,” he shouts, laughing, when he reaches the top.
The flat roof it stands on belongs to Melvin Marinussen. Due to the enormous amount of snow on it, it has a leak. “The snow was nice outside, but not in here. The meltwater was dripping from the ceiling,” he points out. “It was so bad that I put a bucket under it.”
“People really panic sometimes.”
Marinussen is certainly not the only one with problems. Now that the snow that was on the roofs in recent days is melting, water is dripping into the houses through cracks. Or worse. “We get calls with problems from leaks to a collapsed roof. People sometimes really panic,” roofer Verhoeven explains. “It’s extremely busy. We’re trying to help everyone, but it may take a little longer than normal.”
Verhoeven and his employees do everything they can to help people with an emergency as quickly as possible. “We have put aside all major planned jobs for emergencies. There are now five teams at work and they repair an average of fifteen roofs per day.”
“This is certainly not the last roof I will stand on.”
The problem on Marinussen’s roof was quickly found. “There is a leak in the drain of the flat roof,” he points out. “It has probably been there for a long time. But now that the water is so high, you suddenly notice it. We can seal it as an emergency solution. But we will have to come back later, because we will probably have to replace the entire drain.”
The work for the roofers is therefore not over yet. “No, this is certainly not the last roof I will stand on today and in the coming weeks,” Verhoeven concludes with a laugh.
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