Active leak, storm damage, slipped tiles or a lifted ridge tile - these are roofing problems that need attention now. We cover Poringland and the surrounding villages.
Photo from one of our recent jobs
Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
A roof failure at the wrong moment - a cracked slate after overnight frost, a lifted ridge tile following a bout of wind, a split in a flat-roof membrane - can put the inside of your home at risk within hours. Emergency roof repairs cover the faults that are actively letting water in or are about to: slipped or missing tiles and slates, lifted or dislodged ridge tiles, failed lead flashings around chimneys and dormers, and splits or lifted membranes on flat roofs.
This page covers how to stay safe, how to limit the damage, and what the repair work itself involves. We cover Poringland and the surrounding villages.
Not every roof fault needs emergency attention, but some absolutely do. Water dripping through a ceiling, a visible gap in the roof line, or a ridge tile you can see has moved are clear signs of a problem that will get worse with every rain shower. On a flat roof, a split or lifted membrane that is letting water in is just as serious.
A common situation is a slipped tile on a pitched roof. Most pitched roofs have a layer of underlay beneath the tiles, so a single missing tile does not leave an open hole straight to the ceiling - the water reaches the underlay and the battens first. That buys a little time, but the battens, underlay and timbers will deteriorate if they stay wet, so the gap still needs repairing soon.
Slates slip when their fixing nails corrode and fail, which is sometimes called nail sickness. Because plain slates have no nibs, the nail is the only thing holding them. Plain clay tiles hang on the battens by small nibs and are double-lapped, so a single displaced tile exposes the one beneath but does not create a direct gap through the roof. Interlocking concrete tiles are single-lapped, so a displaced one leaves a more direct path for water.
The most important rule is to stay off the roof. An untrained person on a pitched or flat roof risks a serious fall, and a wet roof surface is more dangerous still. Everything below applies from inside the building or from the ground only.
Blocked gutters, overflowing valleys and blocked flat-roof outlets are a common cause of what looks like a sudden leak. Water that cannot drain away backs up and finds a way through joints, gaps around flashings or under tile laps. This can often be spotted from ground level - a gutter overflowing along its full length during rain, or water marks on a fascia board, are signs worth noting for the roofer.
In some situations a roofer will make the roof safe on the first visit and return to carry out the full repair separately. A heavy-duty tarpaulin or temporary sheeting fixed over a damaged section stops water getting in while materials are sourced or while the full extent of the damage is assessed properly. This is not a permanent fix, but it prevents further water reaching the building.
Whether temporary work is needed - and how straightforward it is to carry out - depends heavily on access. A slipped tile on a low roof with a safe overhang can sometimes be reached with roof ladders. A larger area, a steep pitch or a high roof is likely to need scaffolding or a mobile elevated platform before any work can be done safely.
On a flat roof, a split or lifted membrane can sometimes be patched temporarily with a compatible repair tape or bonded patch. Standing water on a flat roof usually means a blocked outlet or a roof with insufficient fall - the outlet can sometimes be cleared, but the underlying drainage problem will need addressing in the permanent repair.
The visible fault - a cracked slate, a loose ridge tile, a gap where a flashing has lifted - is only the starting point. Once access is safe, a roofer will check the underlay for tears or saturation, look at the condition of the battens (which sit on top of the underlay and can rot if they stay wet), and inspect the roof timbers beneath for any sign of water damage or softening. Finding this early means a more straightforward repair; leaving it means the timber may need replacing later.
Lead flashings around chimneys, party walls and dormer windows are a frequent source of leaks on older properties. Lifted lead can sometimes be dressed back into place and resealed. Cracked or split lead needs to be cut out and replaced; patching cracked lead is not a lasting repair. Ridge tiles on older roofs are bedded in mortar, which cracks and loosens over time. Dry-fix ridge systems, used on newer roofs, use a mechanical fixing and do not rely on mortar.
Storm damage to a roof is often covered under a standard buildings insurance policy, but the detail matters. Photograph the damage as soon as it is safe to do so from the ground, note the date, and keep any receipts for emergency work carried out. Where possible, contact your insurer before authorising repair work, so they can advise on how to proceed with a claim.
Insurers can and do decline claims where they decide the storm exposed pre-existing wear and tear rather than causing new damage. Each policy has its own definition of what constitutes a storm - some base this on recorded wind speed, others on rainfall. A refused claim can go through the insurer's internal complaints process and, if unresolved, to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
No two emergency repairs cost the same. The main factors are the extent of the damage, whether temporary or permanent work is needed on the first visit, the type of roof and the materials involved, and access. A job that needs scaffolding costs more than one that can be done from roof ladders. A flat-roof membrane repair is priced differently from replacing a run of slipped slates. We do not publish fixed prices for emergency work because the combination of these factors varies too much.
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.
When you call, it helps to describe what you can see - where the water is coming in, what the roof looks like from the ground, whether any tiles or ridge sections are visibly out of place.
We work in Poringland and the surrounding villages. If you have an active roof leak or storm damage, call us.
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Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
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