Storm Damage to Your Roof: What to Do First

Keep everyone away from the area below the damage. Slipped tiles that have not yet fallen are the real hazard, and they come down without warning when the wind gets under them again.

If tiles or debris have landed on a path, drive or shared access, cordon it off. If a chimney or a large section of covering looks unstable and there is a risk to the public or a neighbouring property, that is a call to the council's emergency line or the fire service, not something to sort out yourself.

Do not go on the roof. More people are hurt inspecting storm damage than by the storm. Everything you need to know can be seen from the ground, from a window, or with a camera on a pole.

Water coming through a ceiling collects above the plasterboard before it appears. If you see a bulge, put a bucket underneath and pierce the centre of it with a screwdriver to let it drain in a controlled way. A bulging ceiling that lets go at once causes far more damage.

Move furniture, electricals and anything absorbent out of the affected room. Lift carpets if you can, because underlay holds water and rots.

Turn off electrics to the affected area at the consumer unit if water is anywhere near a light fitting or a socket.

Photograph the damage from the ground from several angles, including a wide shot that shows the whole property so the pictures are clearly of your house. Photograph fallen tiles where they landed before you tidy them up.

Photograph the inside damage too: ceilings, walls, flooring, and any contents affected. Video is useful because it shows scale and context.

Note the date and the storm. If it was a named storm, say so. Met Office wind records for the date support the claim and insurers accept them as evidence that the event was genuinely severe.

Buildings insurance covers sudden damage caused by a storm. That means tiles ripped off, a fence-line of ridge tiles blown down, a chimney toppled, or water ingress from a genuinely storm-caused breach.

It does not cover gradual deterioration. If the underlay was already perished and the mortar had crumbled away years ago, an insurer can and often will argue the storm exposed a maintenance problem rather than caused new damage. That is why regular inspection matters.

Emergency temporary repairs to prevent further damage are usually covered and are usually expected of you. Keep the invoice. Most policies specifically require you to take reasonable steps to limit the loss.

A temporary repair is about stopping water. That might be a tarpaulin battened over the breach, a sheet dressed over a stripped section, or a slipped tile refixed to close a hole. It buys time until conditions and scaffolding allow proper work.

Do not accept a permanent-price job done as a temporary fix in bad weather. Mortar will not cure in a gale, and a proper flashing repair needs the surfaces dry.

Permanent repair follows the assessment. Sometimes it is a dozen tiles and a length of ridge. Sometimes the storm has revealed that the covering has reached the end of its life, in which case you have a decision to make about repair versus replacement.

Be careful with anyone who knocks on the door after a storm offering to fix your roof there and then. Storms bring out doorstep traders, and the pattern is always the same: cash up front, work half done, nobody answering the phone in a fortnight.

Use a firm you can check. Look for a real local address, verified reviews, and a written quote. Our Checkatrade score is 9.86 across genuine North East jobs, and everything we quote is in writing before we start.

We attend emergency call-outs across Sunderland, Newcastle, South Shields, Washington and the surrounding areas, make the roof safe, and provide the photographs and written report your insurer will want.