Active leaks, storm damage, slipped tiles and failed flashings need attention before water gets further into your roof structure. Keep safe, photograph the damage and call us.
Photo from one of our recent jobs
Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
A sudden leak, a tile missing after a storm, or a ridge tile that has shifted overnight are not jobs to leave. Water that gets past the outer covering soaks the battens and underlay and eventually the timbers underneath, and the damage can spread further than most people expect. This page covers what counts as a genuine roofing emergency, how to keep safe and limit the damage, and what the repair work itself involves.
Not every roof fault needs the same level of urgency, but some faults definitely do. Treat the following as urgent:
Blocked gutters and overflowing valleys are a common cause of what looks like a roof leak but is actually water backing up under the edge of the covering. From the ground you may be able to see an overflow or a damp patch running down a fascia board, which points to drainage rather than a tile failure.
The most important rule is to stay off the roof yourself. Roof surfaces are uneven, often slippery, and without the right equipment and training a fall is a serious risk. There is nothing on a domestic roof that a homeowner can safely fix without proper access equipment.
Inside the house, place buckets or trays under any drip and lay down towels or plastic sheeting to protect floors and furniture. Move belongings out of the affected room where you can. Take photographs of the water coming in and of any damage to ceilings, walls or contents - you will need these if you make an insurance claim.
Ceilings: if a ceiling is sagging or bulging, keep people out of that room. A waterlogged ceiling can come down without much warning. Do not poke, prod or pierce it - leave it alone and keep the room clear until the ceiling has been checked.
Electrics: water and electricity are a serious combination. Do not touch a wet light fitting, socket or switch under any circumstances. If water is near or dripping onto the fuse board, do not go near it - call an electrician. Only switch off the main switch at the consumer unit if the unit itself is dry and you can reach it safely without going anywhere near the water. If there is any doubt at all, leave it and call an electrician first.
Never climb up to clear a gutter or valley yourself.
Pitched roofs with clay plain tiles: plain tiles are double-lapped, so a single missing tile does not leave a straight hole through the roof, but rain reaches the battens and underlay together. Older roofs may have no underlay at all, in which case a missing tile leaves very little protection.
Slate roofs: slates slip when their fixing nails corrode and fail - a condition known as nail sickness. When nails fail across a roof, slates begin to slip in numbers and the problem accelerates. A handful of slipped slates can usually be refixed individually.
Interlocking concrete tiles: these tiles are single-lapped, so a broken or missing one leaves more exposure than a plain tile would. They can also crack along the interlocking edges, which is not always visible from the ground but lets water through at the join.
Ridge tiles: on older roofs, ridge tiles are bedded in mortar. That mortar cracks and shrinks over time, and a ridge tile can lift or tip in wind. Newer roofs often use a dry-fix ridge system with mechanical fixings instead of mortar, which is more resistant to movement. A lifted ridge tile should be treated as urgent - once it shifts, water gets into the top of the roof slope.
Lead flashings: lead is used where a roof meets a wall, chimney, or skylight. Lifted lead can often be dressed back into position and re-secured. Cracked or split lead needs replacing - dressing it back will not stop the leak. Never patch lead with mastic or tape as a permanent repair; it may slow the water short-term but it will fail.
Flat roofs: a split or lifted membrane lets water straight through. Standing water on a flat roof that will not clear usually means a blocked outlet or a roof with insufficient fall. Both need attention: standing water adds load and accelerates any weakness in the membrane.
Where the damage is severe or the roof cannot be fully repaired in one visit, a roofer may install a temporary tarpaulin or sheeting over the affected area to stop further water getting in. This is make-safe work, not a finished repair. It buys time for the right materials to be sourced or for scaffolding to be erected where it is needed.
Access and scaffolding affect both what can be done and what it costs. A slipped tile on a low roof over a flat area of ground might be reached safely with a roof ladder and no scaffold at all. The same repair on a three-storey gable or a steep hipped roof may need a full scaffold, which adds time and cost.
After the visible fault has been addressed, a good roofer also checks the underlay, battens and roof timbers in the affected area. Water sitting in a roof space causes timber to soften and, over time, rot. Catching it early means less remedial work later.
Storm damage to a roof is often covered by buildings insurance. Before a repair is done, make sure your photos include the roof as seen from the ground and any fallen materials. Note the date and time. Keep any receipts for temporary protection or emergency work.
Speak to your insurer before authorising permanent repair work where possible, as some policies require the insurer to approve a contractor or inspect the damage first. Be aware that insurers can refuse a storm damage claim if they decide the main cause of failure was existing wear and tear rather than the storm itself - for example, if mortar that was already crumbling was dislodged by wind. Insurers generally judge whether a storm occurred by reference to recorded wind speed or rainfall data rather than by the customer's account alone. A refused claim can go to the insurer's own complaints process, and if that fails, to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
No price can be given without seeing the roof, but the factors that drive cost are: the extent of the damage and how many areas are affected; whether temporary make-safe work is needed before a permanent repair can be done; the height and pitch of the roof and whether scaffolding or a scaffold tower is required; and the materials needed, since replacing a run of lead flashing or repairing a flat roof membrane is a more involved job than refixing a slipped slate. An emergency call-out in difficult access conditions will cost more than the same repair on a straightforward bungalow.
Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers, who ring you back to talk through what has happened and arrange a visit.
On the visit, we assess the fault, check the surrounding area for related damage, and agree with you what needs to be done: temporary make-safe first if the situation requires it, then the permanent repair once access and materials allow.
For urgent roof problems in Aylsham and the surrounding villages, call Aylsham Roofers.
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