What are the early warning signs of roof damage?
Early warning signs include a newly slipped tile, cracked mortar around ridge or chimney details, small stains in the loft, excessive granules or fragments in gutters, damaged flashing, unusual daylight through the roof covering and gutters overflowing where they previously drained normally. Catching these changes early can reduce the likelihood of more expensive water damage.
Where to look for early signs
Most early signs are visible without leaving the ground or the loft. From outside, look along the ridge and the courses of tiles or slates for anything that has slipped out of line, and check the areas around the chimney, valleys and roof windows where flashing details are concentrated.
From inside, a torch in the loft on a dry day after heavy rain is the most useful check you can do. Staining on timbers, damp felt or daylight where you would not expect it all point to a defect worth investigating.
- Tiles or slates out of line, cracked, or lying in the garden
- Cracked or crumbling mortar at ridge, hips and chimney
- Gutters overflowing where they previously drained
- Staining or damp patches on loft timbers and felt
What to do when you spot one
A single early sign is not a reason to panic, but it is a reason to look properly. Water that gets past the covering can travel a long way before it shows inside, so the visible symptom and the actual defect are often in different places.
Having the roof looked at while the problem is still one tile or one length of flashing usually keeps the work small. Leaving it until a ceiling is marked normally means dealing with the roof and the damage underneath it.