A roof fails at awkward moments: in the middle of a gale, late on a Sunday, with water creeping towards a light fitting. The instinct is to get up there and sort it out. Please do not. A wet roof is slippery, wind snatches at anything you carry, and a fall from a ladder or from the eaves does far more harm than any leak ever will. The useful work in the first stage happens at ground level and in the loft.
This post covers what you can sensibly do yourself: limit the water, protect the house, find out what has happened and record it. It leaves out patching tiles, pinning a tarpaulin to a slope and climbing onto a roof, because those jobs need proper access and someone who does them regularly. On our visits the sequence is water stopped, roof made safe, repair priced afterwards, and the notes below help you leave things in a state where that first visit is quick and clear. If a storm caused the damage, the order of your actions matters for any insurance claim as well, so we point out where that comes in.
Why the roof itself is off limits
Roof work is the classic case of a small job with a big consequence. Tiles are brittle underfoot, moss and algae turn a slope into a slide, and a ladder footing that feels firm on a lawn can shift under load. After rain or wind, every one of those risks is worse. A temporary fix that costs you a fall is no fix at all.
What about a ladder at the gutter?
A ladder leaning on a wet gutter is not stable, and plastic guttering can crack under it. If you must look at the eaves, do it from the ground with binoculars, or from an upstairs window that opens safely. Keep to your own garden and do not lean out over a drop. Never ask a neighbour or a relative to go up for you.
Why does a tarpaulin need a roofer?
Covering a slope sounds simple, but fixing a sheet over a ridge in the wind takes at least two people, ropes, battens and a safe way on and off the roof. A loosely fixed sheet flaps, tears and can strip more tiles as it goes. If a tarpaulin is the right answer, we fit it with the access set up properly, and our page on the emergency roof tarpaulin explains what a tarpaulin can and cannot achieve.
If a tile or chimney piece is hanging loose above a path, a door or a car, keep people away from that area and tell a roofer. Do not try to knock it down yourself.
Deal with the water inside first
The quickest way to reduce damage is to control what is already coming through. Water behaves in predictable ways: it follows the lowest route, pools on insulation and ceiling boards, and finds the cable or fitting nearest the stain. Treat the inside of the house as the working area.
What should you do the moment water appears?
Set a bucket or washing-up bowl under the drip, with a folded cloth in the bottom so it does not splash. Shift furniture, rugs and anything electrical away, and lift valuables off the floor. A ceiling that is bulging with trapped water is best released on your terms: put a bucket beneath, then pierce the lowest point of the bulge with a screwdriver, standing to one side, so the water leaves in a single stream instead of bringing the whole board down. Boards and plaster that have already soaked through will need replacing later, and acting early keeps that area small.
When is it an electrical problem?
If water is near a ceiling light, a socket or a switch, switch that circuit off at the consumer unit and leave the fitting alone until an electrician has checked it. Water and wiring is the one part of a roof leak that can hurt you indoors. Our page on a roof leak near a light fitting goes into the steps.
Open a window in the affected room once the dripping eases, so the plaster and boards begin to dry, and take wet insulation or sodden belongings out of the way where you can reach them without climbing.
Work out where the water is coming in
Once the immediate mess is under control, work out roughly where the water is getting in. You do not need to be precise. You need enough to tell a roofer which part of the house to look at, and to avoid sending them to the wrong end of the roof.
What shows from ground level?
Stand back and look along each slope. Slipped or missing tiles show as dark gaps or tiles sitting lower than their neighbours. A ridge that dips, mortar crumbling at a gable edge or a chimney with its lead lifted are all visible from below. Look at the gutters for tiles, moss or fragments that have fallen. Binoculars turn a guess into a clear view, and a phone with a zoom lens lets you photograph what you find without leaning out of a window. Check the lead around chimneys and where a lower roof meets a wall, since storm wind often lifts those edges first, and note any soil pipe vent or satellite dish that has moved.
What should you look for in the loft?
Go up only if the hatch and the boards are safe to stand on, and never step between joists onto the ceiling below. Switch off the light and let your eyes adjust: daylight showing between tiles points to a gap. Then use a torch to look for dark patches on rafters and battens, wet or flattened insulation, and felt that hangs loose or torn. A drip often runs several feet along a timber before it falls, so note where the wet starts, not just where it lands.
Mark what you find on a rough sketch of the house, with the wettest spot circled and the direction of the slope. A sketch like that saves a surveyor a good deal of searching, and it helps you describe the problem clearly if you ring several firms for a written quote. Compare what each one says about the cause as well as the price, because a roofer who has looked properly will name a specific part of the roof.
Temporary measures you can take safely
Safe temporary measures are mostly about keeping water off things you care about. They buy time. They do not repair the roof, and a roofer will still need to find and cure the cause.
What can you do about drips inside?
If you can reach the area without stretching or stepping on the ceiling, a sheet of heavy polythene draped over the rafters under the leak, with its lower edge running into a bucket, will channel a steady drip away from the insulation and the ceiling. Move any stored boxes out of the wet area. Do not press insulation into a wet space, because wet insulation loses its value and holds moisture against the timbers.
What about gutters and outside drainage?
If rainwater is spilling over a blocked gutter and soaking a wall, tell a roofer rather than tackling it from a ladder. Ground-level jobs are fine: clear a blocked gully at the foot of a downpipe, move a water butt that is overflowing against the wall, and sweep leaves away from the base of the house.
When is a gap in the wall or ceiling worth covering?
Where water is running down inside a wall or through a cracked ceiling, lay plastic sheeting against the floor and skirting to protect the room, and keep the area ventilated. That is protection, not repair. Hold off on redecorating until a roofer has found and fixed the cause and the plaster has dried through.
What not to try: sealants, foam and DIY patching
Hardware shops sell a lot of products that promise to seal a roof from a tube or a can. Most of them are meant for specific materials, and they behave badly on the wrong one. They also hide the clue a roofer needs, because a smear of sealant over a crack covers the crack and not the reason the water got in.
Does roof sealant work as a temporary fix?
Sometimes, on a small, dry, accessible area, as a short-term holding measure. On a wet slope, in wind, it will not stick, and getting to the spot is the dangerous part anyway. Where it does hold, it only delays a proper repair, and the next storm tests it again. Treat any tube of sealant as a way of buying a few dry days, and say so to the roofer so they know what they are looking at.
Should you spray foam onto a leak?
No. The Energy Saving Trust advises against using foam as a cover for a roof that is still leaking. Foam seals moisture in, hides the source and can leave the timbers rotting out of sight, and a roofer then has to cut it away before the real fault can be seen.
Is it safe to move or replace tiles yourself?
A tile that looks loose is held by its neighbours and by its own weight, and lifting one can release a run of others. Replacing a tile means getting onto the roof. If a tile has fallen into the garden, keep it and any pieces for the roofer, who can match it, and leave the replacement to them.
Never go onto a roof to make a repair in the dark, in wind or in rain. Wait for a dry, still spell and for someone with the right access.
Record the damage and ring in the right order
Where a storm or sudden event caused the damage, what you do next affects any claim. The order that works is simple: make it safe, take your photographs, tell your insurer, then arrange the repair.
What should you photograph?
Take pictures of the damage inside the house first: the stain, the bucket, the wet insulation and the affected belongings. Then photograph the outside from the ground, including fallen tiles, debris in the garden and any damage to guttering. Structural engineers advise homeowners that photographs are the visual evidence a claim rests on, so take them before you move or clear anything, and keep a receipt for every emergency cost.
Who do you ring first?
Ring your insurer before anyone else and follow what it asks, particularly before permanent work begins. Which? has reported that most insurers operate emergency helplines, so look up the number in your policy papers. When a roofer makes the roof safe, ask them to pass on the photographs of your own roof. We share these with every customer after the survey, so you hold a record that matches what the written price covers.
Our step-by-step guide to storm damage roof insurance claims covers the claim itself. For the repair side, see our emergency and general roof repairs service.
Part of our Emergency & General Roof Repairs in Crawley
Temporary roof fixes: common questions
Is it ever safe to go up a ladder to cover a hole?
A small number of people do it, but the risk is high and the benefit is low. Ladders slip on wet ground, tiles break underfoot and wind catches sheeting. Stay at ground level, cover and protect what is inside, and leave the roof to someone who has proper access and a safe way on and off.
What can I use inside to stop a roof leak getting worse?
Use buckets, towels and polythene sheeting to catch and channel the water, and move belongings and electrical items clear. Release a bulging ceiling in one controlled spot if you can do so safely. None of this fixes the roof, but it limits damage until a roofer can find the cause.
Should I tell my insurer before I get a roofer in?
Yes. Ring your insurer, follow its instructions and keep photographs and receipts. A temporary make-safe to stop further damage is normally expected, but permanent work should wait until the insurer has said what it needs. Read your policy wording, because wear and tear is often excluded.
