A storm does not damage a roof evenly. Wind finds the weak edges first: the ridge, the verge, the lead around a chimney, the bottom row of tiles. Rain then finds whatever the wind has opened. By the next morning you may be looking at a handful of slipped tiles, a flapping strip of felt or a gap where a ridge tile used to be, and the question is what each of those needs.
The answer depends on which part of the roof has failed, so this guide is organised by fault. For each one you will find how it shows itself from the ground and the loft, why the storm did it and what the repair involves when a roofer has safe access. Some of these jobs are quick once the weather clears. Others reveal that the damage ran deeper than it looked, and we tell you plainly when that happens. None of the work below is for you to do from a ladder: the point is to recognise what you are seeing, so you can describe it accurately and recognise a straight answer when you get one.
Start with a safe look at what has happened
Storm damage looks dramatic on the ground and ambiguous from the garden. Broken tile on the lawn cannot confirm that the roof is open to rain, and a quiet slope can hide a failure that only shows on the next wet day. A careful look from safe positions gives a roofer a head start.
Which signs of storm damage show up without climbing anything?
Take a slow lap of the house in daylight and look along every slope. Count the pieces on the ground and see which part of the roof they fell from. Look for tiles that have shifted out of line, a dip or gap along the ridge, lead that has lifted around a chimney and felt hanging from the eaves. Binoculars help, and so does a phone with a zoom lens. Keep clear of any area under loose material, and keep children and pets indoors until you know what is still hanging. Note whether the damage sits on the side facing the wind, which is usually where a storm hits first, and whether neighbours have lost tiles too.
What does the loft tell you?
If you can reach the loft safely, look for daylight, wet insulation and drips. Wet patches show where the covering has opened. A single stain after a storm can point to a single fault, while several wet areas on one slope suggest the wind has worked on the whole run of tiles.
Tell your insurer and take photographs before anything is moved; our guide to storm damage roof insurance claims explains the order. Then ring a roofer with a clear description. A simple summary such as "three tiles missing on the left of the front slope, felt loose at the eaves, wet patch in the back bedroom" saves a surveyor from guessing.
Slipped, cracked and blown-off tiles
Tiles are the most common storm casualty because there are so many of them and each one relies on its fixings and its neighbours. Wind lifts the lower edge of a tile and, if the nail has rusted or the clip has weakened, takes it away. Debris can hit others and crack them.
What happens when one tile is swapped?
On a concrete interlocking roof, the roofer lifts the tiles that overlap the damaged one, slides it out, hooks the new tile over the batten and secures it. Plain clay or concrete tiles are smaller and lap over two courses below, so the technique differs, and slates are often refixed with a narrow metal strip called a tingle. A roofer will often carry a few spares, and many concrete profiles are still made. On older roofs a reclaimed tile may be needed, which can take a little longer to source, and the first job is to stop the gap letting rain in. Where nothing matches, sound tiles from a hidden slope can be used on the front.
What does it cost?
Checkatrade's October 2026 guide to roof tile replacement puts a typical UK range at £170 to £500 for as many as five tiles: the low figure is a simple job from a ladder, the high one includes scaffolding. Our written quote after a survey is a single total, and you should check any quote you collect for VAT.
When is it more than a few tiles?
If tiles keep coming loose in the same area, the battens or fixings underneath may have failed. Our page on roof tiles blown off goes into the signs. Replacing the odd tile is a repair, but a slope full of loose tiles might call for a bigger decision, and a roofer should show you photographs so you can see why.
Ridge and hip tiles lifted by the wind
The ridge is the top line of the roof, at the point where opposing slopes meet, and hips are the sloping lines at the corners of a hipped roof. Both are capped with ridge or hip tiles, and both stand proud in the wind, so they are often the first thing to go.
Why do ridge tiles come loose?
Traditionally they were bedded in mortar, which weathers, cracks and loses its grip over time. Marley, in guidance updated in February 2026, explains that the 2014 revision of BS 5534 stopped treating mortar alone as a sound way of fixing ridge and hip tiles, and asked for mechanical fixings on every bedded piece. Marley adds that following BS 5534 is not demanded by law, though it sets the benchmark roofers work to. A rocking tile after a storm often means the bed has gone.
How are ridges repaired?
The loose tiles are lifted, the old bed is cleaned away and the tiles are rebedded with mechanical fixings, or the run is replaced with a dry-fix system. Dry ridge uses clips and fixings in place of most of the mortar, and a dry hip works the same way. The test specification for these systems is BS 8612. In Checkatrade's June 2026 guide, repairing dry ridge runs at £50 to £70 per metre and dry hip at £70 to £100 per metre.
If tiles lifted along a long run of ridge, ask the roofer to check the whole length, not just the gap. A loose section often means its neighbours are close to failing too. Our emergency and general roof repairs service covers both.
Flashing, lead and the chimney
Flashing is a metal strip, usually lead, that closes the gap where the roof meets something rising through it or standing beside it, for example a chimney, a side wall, a dormer or a rooflight. Storm wind lifts the edge of a flashing, and rain driven under it finds an easy way in.
How can you tell flashing has failed?
From the ground, look at the lead around the chimney stack and at the line where a lower roof meets a higher wall. Flashing that stands away from the brickwork, has curled at the edge or has slipped down is a likely culprit. Indoors, a mark beside the chimney breast or along a party wall often traces back to the flashing and not to the tiles at all.
What does the repair involve?
A small lift may only need the lead to be dressed back and re-secured, with the mortar joint where it enters the wall repointed. Where the lead has split or been stretched, the section is renewed. Checkatrade's June 2026 table lists lead flashing repair at £50 to £70 per metre while stepped flashing in Code 5 lead sits at £80 to £120 per metre. Each lead sheet carries a code number that reflects its thickness, and your roofer should tell you which code they plan to use.
What about the chimney itself?
Storm wind can shake chimney pots loose, crack the flaunching, which is the sloping mortar collar around the pots where the stack ends, and break up the pointing. Rain then gets into the brickwork and runs down inside the chimney breast, so a stain in a bedroom can start at the very top of the house. If you see a pot leaning or mortar on the ground, keep clear and call a roofer. Our lead work service covers flashings and chimney leadwork in full.
Felt, underlay and the layers below the tiles
Beneath the tiles lies the underlay, either old-style felt or a modern breathable membrane, which collects wind-driven rain and leads it down to the gutter. When a storm removes tiles, it exposes the underlay, and that is when its condition matters.
Why does felt flap in the wind?
Old felt gets brittle, tears at the nails and loses its hold along the battens. Once a corner lifts, each gust works it further. It flaps in the loft, sometimes with a sound like a slow drum, and may rip free of the eaves. Our page on roof felt flapping in wind explains what to look for.
Can torn felt be repaired?
Small tears can sometimes be patched where tiles are already off. Felt cannot be properly renewed from inside the loft, so a larger fault means lifting the tiles and battens from that area, laying new underlay and putting the covering back. Along the eaves, a rigid eaves tray slid beneath the first row of tiles can guide water into the gutter when the old felt has rotted back.
What if the damage runs deeper?
Exposed battens that are soft or split have to be renewed before the tiles go back. If the roof was already ageing, a storm can reveal a slope with tired felt and corroded nails throughout. In that case a roofer should explain, with photographs, whether renewing the slope is the better buy than repeating small repairs. Ask for one total price, and ask to see the survey photographs for yourself.
Making safe, then repairing in the right order
After a storm, the order of jobs counts for more than rushing. A good roofer secures the roof first, then repairs, and does not mix the two.
What does a make-safe cover?
Stopping further water getting in: clearing loose material, closing gaps and, where it is the right answer, fixing a protective sheet from safe access. It buys time for a proper repair to be priced. We do the make-safe first on a leaking roof, and we price the lasting repair when the survey is done.
Should every storm repair be done at once?
Not always. A few blown tiles are a quick repair, but extensive damage may need scaffolding, which affects the cost and the timing. Where scaffolding will occupy the public highway, the highway authority must grant a scaffold licence, so ask who arranges it with the scaffolder. None is needed on private land. Check whether the written price includes the scaffold.
What should you settle before the work starts?
Ask the roofer to name which parts of the roof have failed, to show photographs of each and to put the whole job in one written total price. Ask whether the work will match the existing covering and whether the repair will be tested in rain. Check how they plan to keep your garden and the neighbours' property clear. If your insurer is paying, ask them how they want quotes presented before you accept anything.
Part of our Emergency & General Roof Repairs in Crawley
Storm repair questions
Which storm damage is the most urgent?
Anything letting rain into the house comes first: missing tiles over a bedroom, torn felt exposed to rain, lifted flashing around a chimney. A loose ridge tile or leaning chimney pot is urgent for safety, since it may fall. Tell a roofer exactly what you see, and keep clear of anything above paths and doors.
Is a storm-damaged roof a repair or a replacement?
Most storm faults are local, such as tiles, ridge sections and flashing, and a repair fixes them. Replacement comes into the discussion when the wind has exposed soft battens, rotten felt or fixings that have corroded across a whole slope. A survey with photographs of your own roof should make clear which applies.
Do I need to tell the council about storm repairs?
Matching repairs normally need no permission, since planning law treats work that does not materially change the outside appearance of a building as outside development. Larger re-roofs can involve Building Regulations, so check with your building control body. Listed buildings need listed building consent for work that affects their character. Ask your roofer to raise these points at the survey.
