Roof Repairs in Mundford - What to Do While You Wait and What Not to Do Yourself

Expert Roof Repairs
in Mundford

Roof Repairs in Mundford

Brandon Roofers carry out pitched roof repairs across Mundford and the surrounding villages. We repair slipped tiles, cracked ridge caps, failed flashings, blocked valleys and chimney defects on all types of pitched roof. When you call about an urgent problem, it is worth asking how soon someone can attend - but there is a window of time between your call and arrival, and this page is about using that time well.

What to Do Inside the Property Right Now

If water is coming in through the ceiling or via a light fitting, your first priority is protecting the inside of the property, not the roof. Here is what helps:

• Put containers down to catch drips. Buckets, bowls, towels - anything that stops water spreading across the floor or soaking into carpets. Move furniture away from the area.
• If water is pooling above a ceiling, keep everyone out of the room and do not poke, prod or pierce it. A ceiling that is bulging under the weight of trapped water can collapse suddenly.
• Turn off electricity in the affected area if water is near fittings. Wet electrics are dangerous. If you are unsure, turn off the circuit at the consumer unit and leave it off until the area is dry.
• Photograph everything. Take pictures of the ceiling, the water, any drips and any visible damage before you start mopping up. Your insurer will want evidence of the damage as it was found, not after you have cleared it.

What to Do in the Loft

If you can access your loft safely, go up with a torch and find where the water is entering. In most cases you will see daylight through the roof covering, or you will see wet patches on the felt or rafters that point towards the source. Note where the wet area is relative to the roof above - is it near the chimney stack, near a valley, along the ridge line, or just beneath a particular area of tiles?

This information is genuinely useful to pass on when you call. Passing it on can help whoever attends to bring the right materials and access equipment.

If you can see that a tile has slipped and is leaving a gap in the underlay, you can place a container under the wet spot and lay down old towels around the base of the chimney stack or around any lead flashing tray to absorb overflow. Do not try to move or reposition the tile from inside the loft.

What You Should Not Do Yourself

This is the section that matters most. The instinct to get up on the roof and fix the problem is understandable, but it causes accidents every year - some of them fatal. Working at height without the right equipment and training is not a sensible risk.

• Do not go onto the roof. A pitched roof is a slippery, unstable surface, especially when wet or frost-covered. Roof tiles are not designed to be walked on without care, and even an experienced roofer uses proper access equipment - crawling boards, scaffolding or a tower. A domestic ladder propped against the gutter is not sufficient access for roof work.
• Do not apply roof sealant or bitumen paint to a wet or dirty surface. Sealant products sold in DIY stores need a dry, prepared surface to bond effectively. Applied over wet or moss-covered tiles they simply peel away and can mask the real problem, making it harder to diagnose and repair properly when a roofer does arrive.
• Do not remove or reposition ridge tiles yourself. Ridge tiles and caps are heavy. Moving them without the correct mortar and technique leaves the joint open to water and can displace adjacent tiles in the process.
• Do not try to re-fix a flashing with household sealant or tape. Lead flashings that have pulled away from the mortar joint in a chimney or wall need the joint to be raked out and properly repointed. Silicone applied over the top will last a matter of months at best and makes the eventual repair more involved.

Temporary Protection That Actually Helps

If you have a large tarpaulin, it can be used to cover a vulnerable area of roof when there is no other option - particularly overnight or ahead of forecast rain when a roofer cannot reach you immediately. To be effective, a tarp needs to be large enough to cover the damaged area with significant overlap on all sides, and it needs to be secured so that wind cannot lift it. Use sandbags, heavy timbers or tie-down straps fixed to something solid at ground level. A tarp that blows off in the night achieves nothing and can cause additional damage.

Be realistic about what a tarp can do. It is a short-term measure to slow water entry, not a repair. It does not address the structural cause of the problem and will need to come off before the roofer can work.

Types of Pitched Roof Repair We Cover in Mundford

We carry out the full range of pitched roof repairs for homeowners in Mundford, Cranwich, Ickburgh, Feltwell, Elveden and the wider Brandon area:

• Slipped, cracked and missing tiles and slates
• Ridge cap and hip tile re-bedding and repointing
• Lead flashing repairs and replacement
• Valley repairs and relining
• Chimney haunching, repointing and flashing
• Wind and storm damage to pitched roofs
• Felt flat roof repairs and EPDM rubber for garages and outbuildings

What to Tell Us When You Call

The more information you can give us when you call, the better prepared we can be. Useful details include: where the water is entering (which room, which area of ceiling), whether you have been in the loft and what you could see from there, when the problem started, whether it follows rain or is continuous, and whether there was recent wind or storm activity. If tiles are visibly displaced from the ground, a rough count helps too.

None of this is essential - we will assess the roof ourselves when we arrive - but it helps us bring the right materials first time.

What Happens When We Arrive

We access the roof properly and inspect the reported fault along with the surrounding area. After every inspection we provide a written report covering what was found, what needs doing and the recommended approach. Photographs are taken before and after. You will have a clear record of the work regardless of what you decide to do next.

Call Brandon Roofers for Roof Repairs in Mundford

If your roof is leaking or damaged, call Brandon Roofers. We cover Mundford, Cranwich, Ickburgh, Hockwold cum Wilton, Methwold, Feltwell and the surrounding area. Call us to arrange a roof survey and get the problem properly diagnosed and fixed.