Leaking roof help
Who is the best person to fix a leaking roof?
The short answer
Call a roofer who will go up, trace where the water really gets in and tell you in writing what the fix is, before talking about a price. For an active leak, that means someone who makes it safe first, then repairs it properly. If a storm did the damage, ring your insurer too. If the ceiling is bulging or water is near wiring, keep well clear.
How to pick the right person for a leak, what to ask them, and the few cases where the first call is somebody else.
Start with whoever can find the source
A leak has a source, and the best person to fix it is the one who can find it. Water that stains a bedroom ceiling often enters the roof some distance away, because it runs along rafters and felt before it drips. So the right caller is a roofer who goes up, or into the loft, and traces the route instead of quoting for a whole new covering from the pavement.
A good roofer starts by looking. The loft shows stained timbers, dark underlay and damp insulation. The outside shows slipped or cracked tiles, split lead, a blocked valley or a gutter that has overflowed behind the fascia. Only then does a price make sense. On a pitched roof the fault is frequently small, and a small fault deserves a small repair. Our rule at JJ Roofing is to recommend the least work that genuinely stops the water, and to show you pictures of your roof that prove the case.
Roofer, builder, handyman or surveyor
Each of these has a place, but they are not interchangeable when water is coming in. A roofer works at height every week and knows how a lead flashing, a valley or a ridge actually fails. A general builder may be excellent at the extension below and still treat the roof as a side job. A handyman can refix a loose tile, but a leak at a chimney or a hidden valley usually needs trade skills and the right access.
A building surveyor is the person to hire when you want an independent report on the whole structure, for instance before a purchase or in a dispute. A surveyor does not repair anything. For a leak that is dripping now, you want somebody who can stop it and fix it. Our page on when to call an emergency roofer sets out the signs that justify an urgent visit, and the hub on emergency roof repairs shows what that visit involves.
Questions that tell you who you are dealing with
Before anybody climbs a ladder, a few questions sort a reliable caller from a risky one. Ask for the firm's name, a number you can ring back and an address for letters. Ask whether they will photograph the fault and send you the pictures. Ask whether the price will arrive in writing, and whether VAT and scaffolding sit inside it or on top.
Treat pressure as the warning sign, not the weather. Someone who knocks after a gale and announces your roof is dangerous, who wants cash up front for materials, or who cannot explain what they found without a hard sell, deserves a polite refusal. Ask also what happens if the repair does not hold, and get the answer on paper. A decent roofer will happily explain the work in plain words, because a customer who understands it is a customer who is not worried. Our guide to making a roof safe shows what a sound first visit looks like.
When the first call is not a roofer
Sometimes the order matters. Water coming through a light fitting, near a socket or down a wall with cables in it means you should stay away from that area and, if you can reach the consumer unit safely, switch the circuit off before anybody works there. If a ceiling is sagging with trapped water, do not stand underneath it.
If part of the building looks unsafe, such as a chimney leaning or a section of roof lifted by wind, the Institution of Structural Engineers advises passing news of a dangerous structure to the building control team at your council. And where a gale did the damage, Which? advises contacting the insurer early, because most insurers run emergency helplines. Neither call stops you getting a roofer out to make the roof safe in the meantime. Our guide to calling a roofer or your insurer first covers the order in more detail.
What a good visit leaves you with
When the roofer has gone, you should know four things. First, where the water got in. Second, why it got in: age, a storm, a failed detail or a blockage. Third, if the fix is a patch, a repair or a full replacement. Fourth, what it will cost as a single written total.
Photographs of the fault make that conversation easy. They let you see the cracked slate or the lifted lead for yourself, and they are what an insurer will ask for if a claim is involved. At JJ Roofing the water is stopped first and the plain verdict follows. If the fix is a few tiles and a length of new flashing, the quote says exactly that. If the covering is exhausted across the whole slope, the pictures show you why, and you choose the next step knowing what the pictures show rather than on trust alone.
Related questions
More on leaks and callers
Should I wait for the rain to stop before ringing anyone?
No. Rain is when the leak shows itself, so describing it while it is happening helps. A roofer can often advise how to limit damage inside, and the dry spell afterwards is when the repair is done. Moving belongings and putting a bucket under the drip costs nothing meanwhile.
Can the person who made the leak worse be asked to put it right?
If a recent job caused it, go back to whoever did that work first and ask them to inspect it. Keep their written quote and any guarantee. If they will not respond, a second roofer can document the fault with photographs, which gives you evidence for any complaint.