There’s nothing worse than noticing there’s water coming through the ceiling. Whether you have just noticed the leak when you come home from work, or you were already at home when the leak started, you need to limit the damage to your property by acting quickly.
You Need to Contain the Leak
Have you spotted a bulge in your ceiling with water dripping from it? How about a discoloured patch in your ceiling? If you’ve noticed any of these in your ceiling, it’s very likely that there’s water pooling behind that bulge or discoloured spot in your ceiling.
You need to find a bowl or a bucket (or even a bin) and put it on the floor directly under the bulging ceiling or discoloured patch. The bowl, bucket or bin will catch any water dripping from the ceiling and prevent further damage to your property.
The dripping noise can get annoying after a while, so it’s a good idea to place a board or piece of wood inside the bucket on an angle. The drips will land on the board and not splash directly into the accumulating water, which will eliminate the annoying dripping sound.
The next step you need to take is to find a screwdriver (or a knitting needle will do) and pierce the centre of the bulge in the ceiling. I know it sounds like a strange thing to do, but it will relieve the pressure on your ceiling by allowing the water to drain easily. If the water keeps accumulating and pooling behind the bulge in your ceiling, there is a good chance the ceiling will collapse.
If you have experience with working safely at heights and you think you know where the leak is coming from, you can use a large tarpaulin to cover the suspected area on your roof.
If you have no way of accessing the roof or you would prefer not to do it yourself, you could call an emergency roofer to do it for you. However, emergency roofing services are usually expensive, and you could get hit with an expensive bill.
If your roof leaks in heavy rain then calling an emergency roofer will be your best option in this situation. An emergency roofer will not be able to repair a leaking roof until the rain has stopped.
If it’s not raining and the weather forecast looks pretty good for the next few days you have more options available to you.
Please read my article explaining how you can get cheap roofing quotes and follow the instructions carefully. The information in this article could save you a substantial amount of money.
If You Keep Putting Off Having that Leaking Roof Repaired it’s Only Going to Cost You a lot More Money
Whatever you do, do not keep putting off having a leaking roof repaired. A leaking roof will never fix itself and will only get worse over time. You need to get it fixed now. You wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve heard people say how much they regretted not having that small bulge or discoloured patch in the ceiling looked at sooner.
Famous last words after the ceiling collapsed. It happens all the time and ends up costing a lot more money. Not to mention all of the water damage rotting away timbers and ruining carpets and plaster.
Seriously, it’s just not worth leaving it to deteriorate any further. Here are a few early warning signs to look out for before it turns into an expensive nightmare:
Look for any of these warning signs on the outside of your property:
- Blocked gutters and downspouts
- missing mortar or lead flashing around the chimney and vents
- missing or broken roof tiles, slates or ridge tiles
Look for any of these warning signs on the inside of your property:
- Ceiling sagging
- dark spots
- daylight shining through from outside
If your roof has been leaking and it is less than 15 years old, I wouldn’t worry too much about you needing a full roof replacement. Just keep in mind that a small leak won’t fix itself. At some point, you’re going to have to address the problem and the sooner, the better.
A leaking roof is usually a warning sign of a much bigger problem. If you aren’t sure about how old your roof is, it would be wise to have a professional roofing company carry out the repairs on your roof and have them thoroughly inspect the roof to make sure there are no structural issues.
If you would like to get a few roof repair quotes from trustworthy, local roofing companies near where you live, simply enter your details into this contact form.
It saves you time by having to call around different roofing companies and having to explain over and over again what is wrong with your roof.
Besides, you don’t know who you are calling.
Have you read my article about rogue traders?
Good Luck!
Jim Ardale – Roof Advisor