Getting a tiled roof ready for winter

Roof faults are patient. A slipped tile, a cracked ridge or a gap in a lead flashing can sit unnoticed for months and then admit a lot of rain during one night of wind. Finding it in October costs a visit. Finding it in January costs a visit, a temporary cover and, quite often, a ceiling to dry out and redecorate.

Weather on this coast

Bognor Regis and the towns around it sit low and close to the Channel, so wind-driven rain is part of a normal winter here. A roof that is slightly loose in the dry will move in a gale, and inland roofs on exposed ground are not exempt either.

Safety comes first

Please do not go on the roof yourself. Tiles are slippery when damp, and a fall from a roof or ladder is a more serious problem than any leak. The checks in this guide are all made from the ground or the loft. If you find something, a roofer can inspect it from a ladder or scaffold, take photographs and say whether the roof needs a proper repair, a temporary fix until spring, or new tiles.

It also helps to know that autumn is when roofers get busy. Scaffold licences take time when poles go on the footway. West Sussex County Council asks for at least 10 working days' notice, and Hampshire County Council's rule is ten clear working days between applying and starting. Starting early gives you a choice of dates.

Choose a dry, bright afternoon and walk round the house with binoculars. Look at the roof from every side you can reach, and from the road if the garden does not give a view. Work methodically from the lowest edge up to the ridge, and take a few photographs as you go.

Tiles

Look for tiles that have slipped down the slope, left a gap, or sit at a different angle from their neighbours. Cracked tiles show as a dark line across the face. A group of slipped tiles often means the nails or battens have given up, and the battens are the small cross-timbers that carry each row of tiles. Our page on slipped roof tiles explains the causes.

Ridge, hips and verges

These edges meet the wind head-on. Check that the ridge tiles run straight and that no mortar is crumbling from the joints or lying on the ground below. Since BS 5534 was revised in 2014, a mortar bed by itself is no longer treated as sufficient on ridge or hip tiles. A ridge with nothing else holding it may be due for attention. Look along each verge for tiles that have crept outwards.

Chimneys and flashings

Stacks have their own weak points: cracked flaunching, the mortar fillet that holds the pots in place, loose pots and cowls, and lead flashings that have lifted off the brick. A line of lead standing proud of the wall deserves a closer look. Our guide to chimney flaunching describes what to look for.

What you cannot see from outside, the loft often shows. Climb up on a bright day with a torch, switch it off once you are inside and look for thin lines of light coming through the covering. Light means a gap, and a gap that lets in light will let in rain. Check around the chimney, at the valleys and along the eaves.

Signs of water

Study the underside of the roof for dark staining on the timber, damp patches and drips. The insulation should be dry and springy, not flattened and wet. From above, the ceiling plasterboard may show brown rings. If a damp patch sits beneath the chimney, a valley or a tile you spotted missing, you have your answer. Our guide to the loft check for a roof leak goes through it step by step.

Condensation or a leak

Moisture in the loft is not always a leak. Warm, damp air from the house can condense on cold timbers, which looks like a leak but calls for more ventilation, not a repair. Marley's guidance, which draws on BS 5250, gives 25 mm of eaves ventilation for pitches up to 15 degrees and 10 mm above that, assuming a high-resistance underlay. Check whether insulation has been pushed hard into the eaves, because that closes off the air path. The page on underlay and ventilation covers the design in more detail.

What to leave alone

Do not disturb old boards or lagging that might contain asbestos. HSE guidance for properties from before 2000 is to assume that asbestos is present.

A tiled slope is judged on how well it gets rid of water. In winter the gutters, downpipes and valleys do most of that work, and a blockage anywhere in the chain pushes water into the one place that cannot cope.

Gutters and downpipes

Leaves, moss and silt gather in gutters over the autumn. A blocked gutter spills over the back, soaks the fascia and the wall, and can push water up beneath the lowest tiles. Clear the gutters once the trees are bare, and watch for sagging runs, leaking joints and a downpipe that does not run freely. Brett Martin's fitting instructions call for a fall of 1 mm for every 600 mm, with brackets no more than 900 mm apart, so a gutter that holds standing water has probably dropped. Our pages on gutter cleaning and the usual interval between cleans help you plan.

Valleys

A valley collects the run-off of two slopes, so a heap of leaves or a split in its lining has an immediate effect. Look down each one from a window or from the ground for debris, weeds and gaps. Valleys are often lined in lead, and a cracked lining is a job for a roofer. Our guide to valley repair shows what is involved.

Moss and growth

Moss sponges up water and can lift tile edges. A light covering is no emergency, but thick growth on the lowest courses, or moss choking a valley, is best dealt with before winter. Our page on whether moss causes roof leaks explains when it matters. Overhanging branches deserve a look as well, since they scrape the tiles and drop leaves into the gutters.

When a gale lifts a tile, what keeps it from leaving the roof is a nail or clip as well as the weight of the tile. Modern roofs have both. Older roofs often rely on less, and that is where autumn repairs repay the cost.

Nails, clips and battens

Wienerberger states that every single-lap tile, an interlocking tile that overlaps its neighbour sideways, needs at least one mechanical fixing. On exposed edges, clips add a second hold. Where nails have corroded or battens have decayed, tiles slide down in a group, the pattern described on our page about roof tile clips. If a run of tiles has dropped, assume the fixings behind it have let go.

Pitch and suction

Marley explains that a slope below 30 degrees can see strong suction on its windward side. Low-pitched roofs on bungalows and extensions therefore deserve a close look. The fixing recommendations in BS 5534 depend on the site, including its location and exposure, and BSI notes that they may not suit some old roofs, particularly those with reclaimed or traditional materials.

Dry-fix systems

Dry systems for ridge, hip and verge are tested to BS 8612:2018, and they use screws and clips in place of a bed of mortar. They rely on the fixings being sound, so those are what a roofer checks. A neat ridge or verge finish is not just about looks. It shows that the lines and the fixings have been done properly, and that is what stops wind getting under the tiles.

For the broader storm-readiness picture, see preparing a roof for storms.

If your checks turn up something, the next step is a roofer's visit. Photographs of the fault come with our quote, which is a single price in writing. Before any price you get a plain verdict: repair, patch for the winter, or replace. Repairs booked in autumn can be planned around dry spells, which suits lead and mortar work as well as the people on the scaffold. Our pitched roofing page lists the work we do.

What the national guides say

Checkatrade gives about £260 for a roof inspection and around £210 for a drone survey, plus VAT. Its roof repair table, last updated June 2026, gives tile repairs at £90 to £160 per m². Checkatrade's June 2026 table lists concrete tile repairs at £90 to £120 per m² and clay at £110 to £160, excluding VAT, with ridge tile repairs at £50 to £70 per metre.

If a storm gets in first

Which? and the structural engineers' professional body give much the same advice. Make the building safe, ring your insurer promptly, take pictures of the damage and file the receipts for any temporary work. Which? cites Financial Conduct Authority data showing only 32% of storm-related claims made in 2024 ended with a payout, and it treats rain entering through a neglected roof as wear and tear, not storm damage. Dated photographs from an autumn check can therefore be useful. If you disagree with an insurer's decision, the Financial Ombudsman Service is free.

A leak or storm damage moves up our list, and the first job is making the roof safe. Our page on storm damage and wear and tear explains how the two are told apart.