Short answer
A tree that opened the wall or roof is a structural job, not a patch. Get the hole covered and the water out first, then have the framing checked, because the studs, rafters and floor joists under the impact point are usually cracked even where the finishes still look fine. Call your insurer the same day and photograph every room wide before anyone cuts anything. Most tree hits come back as a repair of the damaged section, not a rebuild, and the repair costs a fraction of the rebuild.
Tell a repair from a rebuild in one walk-through
- Stay out of any room that is open to the sky or has a sagging ceiling. A ceiling holding water and debris can come down in one piece. Hire for this part.
- Look at the roof from the ground, not from a ladder. Count roughly how many feet of roof edge is pushed down, torn or missing.
- Sight along the roof edge where the damage meets the undamaged roof. A line that dips, twists or steps down means rafters are broken under the shingles.
- Walk the floor in the damaged room, close to the hit wall. Note every spot that feels soft, bouncy or sloped underfoot.
- Look at the wall studs you can see. Note whether they are straight and just bare, or split, snapped or missing sections.
- Photograph every affected room wide, showing the full wall, ceiling and floor, before anything is cut or hauled away. Insurers pay on photos.
- Get the opening covered the same day with tarp and sheeting. Water over the following week does more damage than the tree did.
If the studs are straight, the roof edge is dead level and the floor is solid everywhere, you are looking at a repair of the opening and the finishes. If studs are split, the roof edge sags, or the floor is soft, the framing is broken and that section has to be rebuilt before any finish work starts.
Repair or replace
| Situation | What to do |
|---|---|
| Siding and sheathing dented, studs straight, roof edge level | Repair. Replace the sheathing, weather barrier and siding on that section only. |
| A few wall studs split or snapped, roof edge still level | Repair. Sister or replace the broken studs, then close the wall back up. |
| Roof edge sagging or twisted over the impact point | Repair the framing. Replace the broken rafters and roof decking before any shingles go back on. Hire for this. |
| Floor bouncy, soft or sloping under the damaged corner | Repair the framing. Replace the rim joist and cracked floor joists before the subfloor goes back. |
| Room open to the sky with the ceiling down | Repair, but close it in first. Tarp the opening today, then rebuild the roof section. |
| Manufactured home with broken studs and a punctured roof | Rebuild that section. Manufactured walls are thin and carry the roof, so get the framing checked before you pay for any finishes. Hire for this. |
| More than about half the room's exterior wall and roof is gone | Rebuild. Framing new is cheaper than splicing into broken framing at that size. |
What it costs
Runhome contractor estimates to repair tree damage ran from $1,672 to $4,054 to close in one damaged corner and from $27,100 to $68,100 to tear out and rebuild the wall, roof and interior, as of October 2026, including the trip and assessment.
| Option | Range |
|---|---|
| Repair and close in one damaged corner: wall, roof and floor framing | $1,672 to $4,054 |
| Repair and rebuild several rooms after the tree opened the wall and roof | $4,087 to $8,583 |
| Tear out and rebuild the wall, roof and interior instead of repairing | $27,100 to $68,100 |
Can I do it myself?
No. Tarping the opening is the only part you should touch, and only from inside or from the ground. Everything else here is framing that holds up the roof, and a stud or rafter put back wrong sags within a year. Hire for this. A tree hit also breaks things you cannot see, like wiring inside the damaged wall and plumbing in the floor below, and those have to be found before the drywall goes back on.
What a contractor will ask you
Have these ready and you skip the back-and-forth.
- Wide photos of each damaged room, taken far enough back to show the whole wall, ceiling and floor. Close-ups are not enough.
- When the tree fell, to the week if you can. Contractors and insurers both ask.
- Which rooms the opening connects to, and which one took the worst of it.
- Whether any ceiling is open to the sky, or still up but cracked and sagging.
- How the floor feels near the damage: solid, or soft, bouncy and sloping.
- Whether the studs you can see are split or snapped, or just straight and bare.
- Whether the roof edge over the damage looks level or clearly sagging and bowed.
- The age of the building and how it sits: stick-framed over a crawlspace or slab, or a manufactured home on piers and blocks.
- Whether you want the original layout and finishes back, or are open to changing the space while it is open.
- Your insurance claim number, if you have filed one.
Common questions
- Does homeowners insurance cover a tree falling on my house?
Yes, under almost every standard policy, whether the tree was yours or a neighbour's. The deductible applies, and hauling the tree out of the yard is often capped separately from the building repair. File the same day and keep your wide photos.
- Can I just tarp it and wait until spring?
No, not for months. A tarp buys you days or weeks, and every rain after that soaks insulation, framing and drywall you would otherwise keep. Waiting turns a framing repair into a rot and mold job.
- The tree is still on the roof. Who takes it off?
A tree service takes it off, not the contractor who rebuilds. Removing it first is safer, and it lets anyone quoting actually see what is broken. Ask for the limbs to be cut off the roof rather than dragged across it.
- How do I know if the roof framing is broken or just the shingles?
Sight along the roof edge from the ground. A roofline that dips, twists or steps down over the impact point means rafters are broken underneath. Shingle-only damage leaves the edge dead straight.
- Do I need a permit or an engineer to rebuild a wall a tree broke?
Usually a permit, and sometimes an engineer. Replacing studs and rafters like for like is normally permit-level repair work. An engineer gets involved when a load-bearing wall or a roof beam is gone, and your contractor should tell you which before quoting.