Repairing Storm Damage to Roof Tiles

Safety First: Never Chase a Leak onto a Wet Roof

Storm damage is stressful, and the instinct to climb up and fix it immediately is strong. Please resist it. Falls from height remain the single biggest cause of serious injury in and around UK homes, and a wet, wind-blown roof with lifted tiles is about as unforgiving a surface as you will find. Tiles that look sound can be cracked, dislodged or barely held by tired battens, and you cannot see that from a ladder.

Stick to what you can do safely from the ground:

• Keep everyone clear of the area below the damaged section, including parked cars, garden furniture and bins.
• Move valuables and furniture away from the drips, lay down old towels or buckets, and lift anything sitting on the loft floor.
• Isolate electrics if water is anywhere near light fittings, sockets or the consumer unit, and call a qualified electrician rather than investigating yourself.
• Clear what you can reach — blocked gutters and downpipes at ground level are fair game with a ladder on firm, level ground and a second person footing it.
• Leave the roof itself alone. Ladder access to a pitched roof should only ever be for inspection at ground-floor eaves level, never for walking about on the covering.

Document the Damage Properly for Your Insurer

Most UK home policies cover storm damage to roofs, but the claim goes far more smoothly when you have evidence in order before anyone touches anything. Do this within the first day or two, while the damage is still fresh and the weather is memorable.

• Take wide shots of the affected elevation and close-ups of missing, slipped or broken tiles, cracked mortar, or a displaced ridge or hip tile. Use your phone's zoom from the ground rather than getting closer.
• Photograph the inside damage too — stained ceilings, damp patches, ruined bedding or flooring — and note the date and time.
• Write down what happened: the date of the storm, wind direction if you know it, and roughly when you first noticed the leak.
• Do not bin broken tiles or damaged items until a loss adjuster has seen them. Keep a few of the broken tiles — you may need them for matching later.
• Keep every receipt for emergency materials, tarpaulins, heaters or dehumidifier hire.

Ring your insurer as soon as you reasonably can. Many have a 24-hour claims line and will tell you what they need before you spend anything. If the estimated repair is close to your excess, it may be simpler to pay for it yourself and avoid a claim on your record.

Temporary Repairs You Can Sensibly Attempt

A temporary fix has one job: keep the rain out until a roofer arrives. It does not have to be pretty, and it should not involve you on the roof.

• Heavy-duty tarpaulin laid over the affected slope and secured with ropes or sandbags at ground level is the classic approach. Weight it down rather than nailing it through the covering, which creates more holes.
• Roofing tape or self-adhesive flashing can seal a small crack in mortar or around a chimney flashing if it is genuinely within reach from a ladder, but only in calm, dry conditions with someone steadying the ladder.
• Interior containment matters as much as exterior work: a plastic sheet stapled under a dripping ceiling and a bucket beneath it stops water tracking along joists and soaking insulation.
• Ventilation reduces mould. Open windows when the rain stops and run a dehumidifier if you have one.

Photograph any temporary repair before and after, so your insurer can see it was reasonable and necessary.

Booking a Roofer for the Lasting Fix

Temporary cover buys you weeks, not months, and a loose tarpaulin in the next gale can do more harm than good. Ring roofers immediately — after a widespread storm, good ones are booked solid for a fortnight or more.

When you get quotes, insist on three written estimates that itemise labour, materials, scaffolding and VAT. Ask specifically about:

• Whether scaffolding or a tower is included, and who arranges it.
• Whether replacement tiles can be matched to your existing ones — older clay, slate and concrete profiles are often obsolete, so blending salvaged tiles may be the practical answer.
• Whether the fixings and battens under the damaged area are sound, since a 20-year-old roof may need more than tiles.
• Their public liability insurance and, ideally, membership of a recognised trade body you can verify yourself.

Never pay a large deposit up front, and be wary of anyone knocking on the door offering to "just finished a job up the road". Storm-chasing traders are a fixture after every named weather event.

What a Proper Repair Involves

A competent roofer will check the whole slope, not just the hole. Expect them to replace broken tiles, re-seat slipped ones on their nibs or with new fixings, re-bed or replace loose ridge and hip tiles with mortar or modern dry-fix systems, and re-point any perished mortar around chimney stacks and verges. If the underlay has torn, that needs attention too, because the tiles alone are not the waterproof layer.

Costs vary hugely by region, height and access, but as a rough guide a handful of tiles replaced with a ladder can be a modest job, while anything needing scaffold access will add several hundred pounds before materials.

Reducing the Risk Next Time

Once the repair is done, a little routine maintenance goes a long way. Have the roof inspected every couple of years, particularly after a hard winter, and keep gutters clear so water cannot back up under the eaves. Trim branches that overhang the roof, since they act as battering rams in high winds. If you are re-roofing in future, ask for mechanically fixed ridge tiles and extra clips or storm straps on the exposed elevations — it is a modest extra cost for considerably more peace of mind when the next storm arrives.