Stormy weather has its upside

Elia Powers

While the rest of Southern California slogged through heavy traffic

and wrung soggy clothing in disgust last week, some local business

owners weren’t complaining.

Many area roofing, plumbing and home maintenance companies

reported significant spikes in business because of the wet weather.

Dave Miller, owner of Orange Coast Roofing, said he received more

than 60 calls in the last five days, a sharp increase from the usual

total.

“Anything and everything that could leak did,” Miller said. “I’ve

been awfully busy.”

Flat roofs that collected rain were one of the main concerns he

heard from customers, and high winds over the weekend led to shingles

and other loose objects flying off roofs, he said.

Miller said the business likely won’t taper off in the coming

days, as homeowners want to assess damage and make repairs during dry

weather.

Newport Coast Roofing and Waterproofing owner Patrick Gargan said

he was prepared for the storm.

“The phone was ringing off the hook,” he said. “We had more than

double the amount of calls than usual. But this is our busy time of

year.”

Gargan said the most serious project he had was a home in Newport

Beach where the roof blew off in the wind.

He expects his client list to grow in the coming weeks, especially

near the beach communities, where much of the storm damage occurred.