If your roof in Barnham Broom is failing and a replacement is on the way, the period between noticing the problem and getting the work done raises a lot of practical questions - here is what actually helps and what to leave well alone.
Finding out that your roof needs a full replacement is stressful, not least because the process from first inspection to scaffold-down completion takes time. There is the survey, the quotation process, the materials to order, and then the scheduling - all before a single tile comes off. During that window, the roof is still your roof, and protecting your home in the meantime is worth thinking about carefully.
The good news is that most failing roofs give you some time. A roof that is showing signs of deterioration - failing felt, widespread moss, a handful of displaced tiles - is not the same as a roof that is actively pouring water into your bedroom. Understanding the difference helps you make sensible decisions about urgency and interim measures.
The loft is where you get the earliest warning of what a failing roof is actually doing. Take a torch up there after any period of rain and look at the felt and the rafters. If you can see daylight through gaps in the felt or tiles, that is a problem. If the rafters are wet or stained, water has been getting in. If the felt is sagging between battens but dry, it has broken down but is still holding some water back for now.
Knowing what the roof is doing from inside helps you describe the situation clearly to a roofer, and it helps you judge how urgently an interim fix is needed before the full replacement can go ahead. A small damp patch on a rafter is very different from water dripping onto insulation with every shower of rain.
If tiles are missing and the roof is actively leaking, a temporary repair to keep water out while the full job is planned is a reasonable step. This typically means a roofer going up to cover the exposed area with a heavy-duty tarpaulin or fitting temporary tile replacements to close the gap. This is work for someone with proper access - not a homeowner on a ladder.
Inside the house, if water is getting through to ceilings or walls, the practical priority is limiting damage to the structure and contents below. Placing a container to catch drips is obvious, but also consider the ceiling itself. A ceiling that is holding a pool of water in a bubble of paint or plaster can come down suddenly under the weight. If you can safely puncture the lowest point of a bulging ceiling with a screwdriver to let the water drain in a controlled way, that is better than waiting for it to collapse.
Moving furniture, electronics, and anything else that water could damage away from the affected area is straightforward but worth stating plainly. Water follows unexpected paths once it gets into a roof space, so a drip in one area may track along a joist and appear somewhere else entirely.
Homeowners attempting to fix roof problems themselves is one of the more common causes of additional damage and, more seriously, of accidents. The following are jobs that should be left to someone with proper access equipment and roofing experience:
If the replacement is a few weeks away and there is an active leak, think about the wider impact on the interior. Damp that gets into wall cavities and insulation does not always dry out quickly, and prolonged moisture in a loft space can start affecting roof timbers even in the short term. Running a dehumidifier in the loft during wet weather can help limit moisture build-up if the leak is minor and you are waiting on a booked job.
Check your home contents and buildings insurance policy. Water damage from a known and unrepaired defect can sometimes complicate a claim, so it is worth reading the small print and, if in doubt, speaking to your insurer about the situation. Some policies include emergency temporary repair cover, which may apply if a storm has caused sudden acute damage.
While you are waiting, there are practical things you can do to make the replacement go smoothly. Scaffolding will need to be erected, and the scaffolders will need clear access around the perimeter of the house. Moving garden furniture, planters, bins, and anything else stored against the walls before they arrive saves time and reduces the risk of anything being damaged.
If you have a particularly valued plant or shrub against the house, mention it to the contractor in advance. A good team will take care, but it is better to flag it than to discover after the fact that it has been crushed under a bundle of tiles.
Think about parking too. A scaffold lorry and then a roofing van or two will need to access and ideally park near the property during the job. Letting neighbours know in advance is courteous and avoids the kind of friction that can make an already disruptive week harder.
Understanding the sequence of a replacement helps you know what to expect day by day. Scaffold goes up first. Once the platform is in place, the existing covering is stripped, usually starting at the ridge and working down to the eaves. The exposed structure is inspected for rotten or damaged timbers, and any that need attention are dealt with before anything new is laid. New breathable felt is then fixed from eaves to ridge with the correct overlaps, battens are fixed at the gauge specified for the tile type being used, and the tiles or slates go on from the bottom up.
Ridge and hip tiles are fixed last, flashings are dressed, and the whole roof is checked before the scaffold comes down. The job creates a significant amount of waste - old tiles, broken battens, used felt - so a skip or equivalent removal should be part of the arrangement from the start.
If you are in Barnham Broom and facing a failing roof, call Dereham Roofers to arrange a survey and talk through the options before you start worrying about what to tackle yourself.
No obligation · We usually respond within 2 hours
Storm damage, active leak, damaged ridge - we aim to be on-site within 24 hours.
