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Roof leaking: find the cause, not just the stain

Water that gets through a roof travels before it shows. It runs along a batten, down a rafter or across the top of a ceiling, and the brown ring you can see is often a metre or more from the actual hole. That is why a leak patched where the stain is so often comes back with the next heavy rain.

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Signs to look for

  • A brown or yellow ring on a top floor ceiling that grows after rain
  • Drips or a damp patch in the loft, often on the felt or the insulation
  • Daylight through the roof covering when you look up from the loft
  • Wet timber or white salt marks around the base of a chimney breast
  • Peeling paint or bubbling plaster high on an outside wall
  • A musty smell upstairs that is worse in wet weather

What causes it

On pitched roofs the commonest causes are a slipped or cracked tile or slate, perished mortar on a ridge or verge, and lead flashings that have lifted or split where the roof meets a wall or chimney. Valleys, where two slopes meet, carry a lot of water and fail early when the lining has worn through.

On flat roofs it is usually a split or blistered membrane, a failed upstand where the roof meets a wall, or water ponding in a dip that the covering was never meant to sit under. Blocked outlets and gutters cause leaks too: water that cannot get away finds a way in.

Not every wet ceiling is the roof. Condensation in a cold loft, a leaking tank or a bathroom seal can all look like a roof leak, and we will tell you if that is what we find.

What we do

We start in the loft where we can, because the timbers show where water has actually been running. Then we look at the roof itself, from a ladder or with access equipment, and match the two. You get photographs of what we found and a written price for putting it right.

If the leak is active and the weather is coming in, we can make it watertight first and come back for the permanent repair. We tell you which is which, so a temporary sheet is never billed as a fix.

What it usually costs

Most leaks are a repair rather than a new roof, and the price depends mainly on how we reach the area safely and what has failed. A single slipped tile reachable from a ladder costs far less than a chimney flashing that needs a scaffold. Every repair is priced after a free look, and the figure is fixed in writing before we start.

Questions

Can you come out the same day for a leak?

Often, yes. Send a photo of the ceiling and, if you can, the roof from the street, and we will tell you how soon we can get there. If water is coming in, we prioritise making it safe.

Will my insurance pay for a roof leak?

Insurers usually cover sudden damage, such as storm damage, but not wear and tear. We give you photographs and a written report of the cause, which is what an insurer asks for.

Why did my last repair not stop the leak?

Usually because it was carried out where the stain was rather than where the water was getting in. Tracing the path first is the part that cannot be skipped.

Do I need a new roof?

Rarely because of one leak. If the roof is reaching the end of its life we will say so and explain why, but if a repair will do, the repair is what we will price.

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