7 Signs Your Roof Needs Attention

The clearest signs your roof needs attention are slipped or missing tiles, damp patches or stains on upstairs ceilings, granules from felt or shingles in the gutters, daylight visible in the loft, failed or cracked pointing, sagging, and rising energy bills. Most are cheap to fix if caught early. Left alone, a small fault can let water into the timbers and turn into a far bigger repair.

A roof is easy to ignore right up until the moment it leaks. The trouble is that by the time water is dripping onto your ceiling, the damage has usually been going on quietly for a while. The good news is that a roof almost always gives you warning signs first. Catch them early and you are looking at a quick, cheap repair. Leave them and you are looking at wet timbers, damaged plaster, and a much bigger bill. Here are the signs worth keeping an eye on.

Slipped or Missing Tiles

This is the most obvious one and the easiest to spot from the ground. After a windy spell, take a look up at your roof from across the road. A tile that has slipped out of line, or a gap where one has gone altogether, leaves the felt underneath exposed to the weather. Felt is a backstop, not a finished surface, so it will not last long once it is doing the job the tile should be doing.

• One or two tiles: usually a quick repair, often done in a single visit.
• Tiles slipping in several places: often a sign the fixings or battens are failing, which is worth a proper look.
• After a storm: check sooner rather than later, because an exposed area lets water straight in.

Damp Patches and Stains

Brown or yellow stains on an upstairs ceiling, or damp patches on the walls near the roofline, are a clear sign water is getting in. Water rarely drips straight down, though. It runs along the timbers and joists and shows up some distance from the actual leak, which is why tracking the real source matters. A guessed repair often just moves the problem along the roof.

Granules and Debris in the Gutters

If you clean your gutters and find a build-up of grit, sand-like granules, or bits of felt and mortar, that material has come off your roof. On a felt or shingle roof, losing the surface granules means the covering is wearing thin. A scattering of mortar usually points to failing pointing on the ridges or verges. Either way, the roof is telling you it needs a look.

Daylight in the Loft

On a dry, bright day, go up into the loft and turn the light off. If you can see daylight coming through the roof, water can get through the same gaps. While you are up there, feel for damp on the timbers and look for dark staining, which is a sign water has been getting in for a while. A torch and ten minutes can save you a lot of money.

Failed Pointing and Flashing

The mortar on your ridges, verges, and chimney does not last forever. Frost, rain, and the natural movement of the building crack it over 10 to 20 years, and once it goes, water gets straight into the roof and brickwork. The lead flashing where a roof meets a chimney or wall is the other classic weak point. If the pointing looks crumbly or the lead has lifted, it is worth sorting before it lets water in.

Sagging and Rising Bills

A roofline that dips or sags is a more serious sign and usually means a problem with the structure underneath, such as rotten timbers or a failing support. That is one to get looked at promptly. And if your heating bills have crept up without your usage changing, an under-insulated or damaged roof letting heat escape can be part of the reason.

None of these signs means you definitely need a whole new roof. Most of the time they point to a straightforward repair, and catching them early is exactly what keeps a repair small. If you are not sure, we are always happy to come out, take an honest look, and tell you what your roof actually needs.

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