Roof Tiles Blown Off in a Storm: What to Do

A tile that has landed on the lawn is only part of the story. Tiles above the gap may be loosened and ready to slide in the next gust, so keep children, pets and yourself away from the eaves and out from under the damaged slope. Never climb a ladder onto a wet, windy roof to look. Wind catches ladders, and tiles break under a boot. The ground, a bedroom window or a pair of binoculars will show you what you need.

Fallen tiles and slates have sharp edges. If you need to move them off a path, wear thick gloves and stack them somewhere out of the way rather than binning them. They are useful evidence, and a roofer may want the broken pieces to identify the profile.

Pay attention to what the broken pieces are made of. HSE guidance tells owners to treat a building from before 2000, or one refurbished before then, as likely to contain asbestos. Old corrugated cement sheeting on a garage or outbuilding is a common place to find it, and HSE guidance adds that you should never trust an asbestos cement roof to bear weight. If sheets have cracked or blown off, leave the pieces where they lie, keep people away, and ask a professional to assess them before anyone sweeps, bags or carries them.

Photographs do most of the work in any storm claim. Photographs are central to a storm claim, according to the Institution of Structural Engineers. Take wide shots of the whole elevation, closer shots of the bare patch of battens and underlay, and pictures of each tile or slate lying on the ground, showing where it landed. Photograph any damage inside too, such as drips, stained ceilings or wet insulation, and note the date and the weather.

Tell your insurer first, before arranging anything beyond emergency work. Ask what temporary repairs they expect, keep every receipt, and write down who you spoke to and when. Which? reported in November 2025 that Financial Conduct Authority figures show only 32% of storm-related claims made in 2024 resulted in a payout, so tidy records matter, and no roofer can promise how a claim will go. Complaints about the handling of a claim can go to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

When we survey a storm-hit roof we take our own photos of the bare patch, the battens and the surrounding tiles and share them with you, which gives you a clear set to send on alongside your own.

Water will find a gap in the roof within the first proper shower, so temporary cover is the priority. This is work for a roofer with proper access, not a tarpaulin thrown over from a ladder. A sheet that is not fixed properly will flap in the wind, tear the underlay and take more tiles with it. Our job on a leaking roof is to make it safe first: refit anything loose, battens and a tarpaulin or sheeting over exposed boards, so the house stays dry until the permanent work is priced and booked.

Inside, move belongings out from under the damaged part of the loft, lay plastic sheeting and put a bucket under any drip. Where a ceiling is holding water, our page on water coming through the ceiling explains what to do next. If the question is whether one missing tile counts as urgent at all, see is a slipped tile an emergency.

Ask your roofer how temporary cover will be held on. Scaffold may be needed to reach the damaged area safely, so ask about it before the day starts.

Replacement tiles must match the profile and size of those that blew off, and the battens beneath have to be sound. Strong wind often strips a patch because the old fixings were already tired, so a good repair checks the battens, the underlay and the nails or clips around the gap, not just the hole itself. Our answer on replacing individual roof tiles shows how a single tile is swapped.

For fixings, BS 5534 covers how slates and tiles are laid and held down. Marley notes that the 2014 revision of BS 5534 stopped treating mortar as sufficient by itself on ridges and hips, and asks for mechanical fixings on every bedded tile and fitting. Marley also notes that installing to BS 5534 is not required by law, so ask your roofer which fixings they will use and why.

On cost, Checkatrade's October 2026 table puts putting back up to five tiles at £170 to £500 across the UK, and the top figure is the one that includes scaffold. Treat that as a yardstick. Your own written price follows the survey. Replacing a small patch rarely raises building control questions, but the Planning Portal sets thresholds for larger re-roofs, so ask your building control body if the work spreads. Our emergency roof repairs page covers the wider picture.