My Roof Is Leaking — What Should I Do? Derby Emergency Guide

Deal with electrics before anything else. If water is near a light fitting, ceiling rose, switch, or consumer unit, turn off the electricity at the mains immediately. Water and live wiring are a serious safety risk. Do not skip this step.

Once electrics are safe, move quickly through these steps:

• Catch the water. Place buckets, bowls, or large containers under any drip points. An old towel in the bottom reduces noise and splash.
• Relieve the ceiling. If your ceiling is bulging, water is pooling above the plasterboard. Carefully pierce the lowest point with a screwdriver to release it — a controlled drip is better than a ceiling collapse.
• Move your belongings. Get furniture, rugs, documents, and electronics clear of the wet area. Water travels further than you expect along joists.
• Photograph everything. Take clear photos of the leak point, any ceiling staining, and any visible damage. You will need these for an insurance claim.
• Do not go on the roof. Wet tiles are extremely dangerous, whether it's a pitched tile roof or a flat felt extension. Leave the external inspection to us.

Once you have done these five things, call Derby Roofers on 01332-529704. We cover Derby and the surrounding Derbyshire area and will get to you as fast as possible.

• Slipped or cracked tiles — very common on concrete tile roofs, particularly after freeze-thaw cycles in winter.
• Failed chimney flashing — the single most misdiagnosed roof leak in Derby. The lead seal around the base of the chimney stack fails silently and is routinely blamed on tiles.
• Cracked mortar on the chimney stack — allows water to soak into the pointing during prolonged rain and travel down inside the breast wall.
• A failed flat roof membrane — a common cause of leaks on bay window extensions and single-storey rear extensions.
• Blocked valleys or gutters — cause water to back up and find any weak point in the roof covering.

Quick guide to likely causes:

• Damp patch on your ceiling after rain — most likely a slipped or cracked tile.
• Damp appearing on your chimney breast wall — most likely failed flashing or cracked mortar.
• Leak only happens in heavy rain or high winds — look at the flashing, valley, or pointing.
• Wet patches but no recent rain — it may be condensation rather than a roof leak, see below.
• Flat roof extension leaking — most likely a split or blistered felt or GRP membrane.

We offer a free drone roof survey across Derby — no scaffolding, no ladders, a full written report with photographs. It is the fastest and safest way to find the source of a leak.

This catches a lot of Derby homeowners out. Paying for a roof repair when the problem is actually condensation wastes money and leaves the real issue unsolved. We see this regularly, particularly in older Victorian and Edwardian terraced properties with poor loft ventilation.

Signs it is a roof leak:

• Damp patches appear during or immediately after rainfall
• Staining is brown or yellow — mineral deposits from roof water
• The damp is concentrated in one area
• You can see daylight in the loft space
• There is visible damage to tiles or flashing

Signs it is condensation:

• Damp appears in cold weather, particularly on winter mornings
• Multiple areas affected at once
• The loft feels cold but the roof itself looks intact
• No obvious link to a rainfall event
• Mould growth on loft timbers or insulation

A simple ridge vent or improved loft ventilation can often solve a condensation problem without any tile work at all. We assess both possibilities on every inspection — we will not quote you for a repair you do not need. If you are unsure which you are dealing with, our free roof inspection will give you a clear answer. Call 01332-529704.

Not every roof leak needs a same-day response. But some do. Knowing the difference stops you from either panicking unnecessarily or leaving a serious problem until it gets much worse.

Call us immediately if:

• Water is near any electrical fitting, wiring, or the consumer unit
• Your ceiling is bulging or showing signs of collapse
• A large section of roof covering has been displaced by storm damage
• Water is entering at a rate you cannot contain
• You can see the sky through the roof from inside the loft

Urgent but not immediate — get it booked within 48 hours:

• A single tile has slipped or cracked
• There is a contained drip in one area with no electrical risk
• You have noticed a damp patch that is growing slowly

The reason the 48-hour window matters is timber. Water sitting on the same rafter through repeated rainfall events begins the process of rot. A minor repair that costs a few hundred pounds today can become a structural timber job costing significantly more if left for weeks — it is always cheaper to act early.

Derby Roofers offers emergency call-outs across Derby, Mickleover, Allestree, Alvaston, and the surrounding Derbyshire area. We aim to attend the same day wherever possible. Call now: 01332-529704

• Chimney flashing lifted at the edges — fine in light rain, but wind-driven rain forces water behind the lead and down into the roof space. Particularly common on Derby's older semi-detached and terraced properties with original chimney stacks.
• Saturated chimney mortar — the pointing soaks up water during prolonged rainfall and transfers it through the masonry. It dries out between showers, so the leak appears to come and go.
• Blocked or undersized valley — debris builds up and creates a dam. In heavy rain, water backs up past the tile edge and enters the roof.

If you have had repairs done and the leak returns every time it rains hard, the original cause was likely not correctly identified. We use drone surveys and detailed inspection to find the actual entry point — not just the visible damage.

• Single slipped or cracked tile — £80 to £200
• Chimney flashing repair or replacement — £300 to £800
• Chimney repointing — £300 to £800
• Flat roof repair (felt, GRP, EPDM) — from £100 per m²
• Ridge tile rebedding or repointing — £300 to £600
• Valley repair or replacement — £200 to £600
• Emergency out-of-hours surcharge — £100 to £300 additional on top of the repair cost

Why the range is wide: a slipped tile on a low single-storey extension costs far less than flashing work on a tall chimney stack requiring scaffolding. Access is always a cost factor, along with the size of the affected area, the roof material, and the time of year.

The cost of waiting: a minor leak left untreated allows water to reach roof timbers. Once rot sets into rafters or wall plates, the repair scope changes significantly. Acting on a small leak now is almost always cheaper than acting on the same leak after another winter.

We provide a full, itemised written quote before any work begins — no vague estimates, no surprise additions. Book a free inspection: call 01332-529704 or visit our Roof Repairs Derby page.

The short answer is: it depends on the cause.

Usually covered:

• Roof leak caused by a storm, high winds, or a fallen tree
• Sudden, unexpected damage from an insured event
• Damage to contents caused by an insured roof leak

Usually not covered:

• Wear and tear — tiles that have deteriorated over time
• Poor maintenance — a roof that has been neglected
• Gradual deterioration that could have been prevented
• Pre-existing damage that was not reported

The test your insurer applies is simple: was this sudden and unexpected, or was it foreseeable? An old tile roof that has not been inspected in a decade and develops a slow leak will not generally be covered. A tile blown off by a named storm the night before is a different matter.

What helps your claim:

• A professional roofer's written inspection report
• Photographs taken immediately after the damage
• Weather reports confirming storm conditions at the time
• Evidence that the roof was maintained before the event

We provide written inspection reports that can be used directly with insurers. If you are unsure whether your leak qualifies as an insured event, call us and we will give you an honest assessment. If storm damage is involved, read our dedicated guide on storm damage roof insurance claims in Derby.

• A free drone survey or physical inspection to find the actual entry point, not just the visible damage
• Diagnosis covering all five common causes: slipped or cracked tiles, chimney flashing, chimney mortar, flat roof membrane, and blocked valleys or gutters
• Temporary weatherproofing where needed to stop further water ingress while a permanent fix is arranged
• Like-for-like tile replacement, flashing repair or replacement, chimney repointing, valley repair, and flat roof (felt, GRP, EPDM) patch or section repair
• A full, itemised written quote before any work begins
• A written inspection report you can hand to your insurer if the leak is being claimed as storm or accidental damage

• Internal repairs such as ceiling plastering, redecoration, or replacing damaged plasterboard — this is a separate, follow-on job
• A full re-roof or structural timber replacement where rot has already set in — scoped and quoted separately once the extent is known
• The £100–£300 emergency out-of-hours surcharge, which applies on top of the standard repair cost for same-day and out-of-hours attendance
• Your insurance excess and any loss-adjuster process — we support the claim with evidence, but the claim itself sits between you and your insurer

1. Phone triage before anyone drives out. You describe what you're seeing — a stain spreading across the ceiling, water dripping near a light fitting, tiles on the lawn after wind. We give safety advice on the spot: isolate electrics if water is anywhere near wiring, catch what you can in a bucket, and keep out of the loft until there's daylight to see by. If the ceiling is bulging or a large area of covering has come away, the job gets flagged as same-day.
2. Tracing the leak to its actual source. A technician attends and uses our free drone roof survey or a direct inspection to follow the water back along the timbers and felt, checking the five usual culprits — slipped or cracked tiles, chimney flashing, chimney mortar, the flat roof membrane, and blocked valleys or gutters — rather than patching wherever the ceiling happens to be wet.
3. Making it watertight there and then, if the fix has to wait. Where the permanent repair can't be finished on the same visit — a part needs ordering, or the weather's against us — the vulnerable area gets covered or sealed before we leave, so the leak stops getting worse while the proper repair is scheduled in.
4. A written, itemised quote before anything's touched. You get a breakdown of what's causing the leak and what fixing it actually involves, priced line by line, before any tools come out — not a verbal estimate that changes once the job's underway.
5. The repair, carried out safely at height. Depending on the cause, this means tile replacement, chimney flashing or repointing, valley repair, or a flat roof membrane patch. Where a chimney stack or steep pitch is involved, IPAF and PASMA certification means the job is reached from a tower or platform rather than a ladder balanced on wet tiles.
6. Sign-off and paperwork. Once the repair's finished, you get a written record of what was done, and — if the leak might be an insured event — a written inspection report you can pass straight to your insurer.

Not every leak needs a same-day call-out, and we'd rather say so on the phone than send someone round at an emergency rate for a job that could safely be booked in within 48 hours. What decides it is what's actually happening: water near electrics or a ceiling starting to sag gets priority; a contained drip from one slipped tile gets scheduled in properly instead. Either way, nobody starts guessing at the cause — a free drone survey or direct inspection finds the actual entry point first, so the quote that follows pays for the repair that's needed rather than a general patch-up.

Chimney stacks and steep pitches account for a good share of the leaks we're called to, and that's where the team's IPAF and PASMA certification for powered access platforms and mobile towers earns its keep — reaching flashing and repointing work properly in wet, slippery conditions rather than working off a ladder in a hurry. Over 20 years of doing this across Derby and Derbyshire means the diagnosis is usually right first time, and every repair still finishes with an itemised written record and, where it's needed, an inspection report ready for your insurer.

Derby is home ground — we prioritise same-day attendance across Derby itself and the surrounding Derbyshire villages and suburbs, including Mickleover, Allestree, Normanton, Spondon, Chaddesden, Alvaston, Darley Abbey, Littleover, and Pear Tree. Beyond Derby and Derbyshire, we also take emergency and booked call-outs across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, Sheffield, Hull, Leeds, Manchester, Doncaster, Wakefield, Rotherham, York, Glasgow, Newcastle, Sunderland, Durham, and Liverpool.

A slipped tile or a lifted piece of flashing is usually a straightforward, affordable fix while it's still fresh. Left through another round of heavy rain, the same leak can reach the rafters and turn into a timber repair that costs far more and takes far longer.

• Free drone roof survey, no scaffolding or ladders needed
• Written, itemised quote before any work starts
• Insurer-ready inspection report if you need to claim

Call now for a free drone survey and a written, itemised quote — no obligation, no guesswork.