Sort your roof before winter, not during it. Spend twenty minutes checking from the ground: clear the gutters, look for slipped or cracked tiles, check the flashing around the chimney, and keep an eye on moss. A small fault found in October is a cheap repair. The same fault found in January is a soaked ceiling and a scramble to find a roofer in a storm.
Your roof takes its heaviest beating between November and March. Wind, driving rain, frost and the odd storm all land on it at once, and anything that was already a little loose tends to give way at the worst possible moment.
The good news is that most winter roof disasters start as small, obvious faults in autumn. Catch them now and you pay a repair bill. Miss them and you pay a repair bill plus the plasterer, the decorator and a few weeks of a bucket on the landing. Here is how to get your roof ready for winter, without climbing on it.
Why autumn is the right time
Autumn is the quiet window between the dry summer and the wet winter. The weather is still mild enough for a roofer to work safely, materials go on properly, and there is no queue of emergency call-outs ahead of you.
Leave it until the first big storm and everything changes. Half the street is ringing round for the same help, the weather makes a proper repair harder, and a quick patch in the rain is rarely the fix you actually needed. A little planning in October buys you a calm winter.
Your autumn roof checklist
You can do all of this from the ground, from an upstairs window, or with a pair of binoculars. None of it needs a ladder. If something looks wrong, that is the point to call a professional rather than go up yourself.
- Gutters and downpipes — are they clear, or sprouting weeds and sagging in the middle?
- Tiles and slates — any that have slipped, cracked, or gone missing since summer?
- The ridge line — does the mortar along the top of the roof look cracked or patchy?
- Flashing — the metal strips around the chimney and valleys. Any lifting, splitting or rust?
- Moss and debris — heavy green growth, or leaves and twigs piling up in the valleys?
- Inside the loft — on a bright day, any pinpricks of daylight, damp timber or a musty smell?
Clear your gutters first
If you only do one thing, do this one. Through autumn, leaves, moss and grit wash off the roof and settle in the gutters. Once they block, rainwater has nowhere to go, so it spills over the edge and runs straight down your walls and behind the fascia.
In a cold snap that trapped water freezes, expands, and can pull a gutter clean off its brackets. Clearing them now is a small job. Our guttering team can sort it in a morning, and it is worth knowing that blocked gutters do more damage than people think.
Look for slipped, cracked or missing tiles
One slipped tile is an open door. Wind-driven rain gets under the gap, soaks the felt and timber beneath, and works its way into the loft long before you see a mark on the ceiling.
Stand back from the house and scan each slope. You are looking for tiles out of line with their neighbours, a dark gap where one has gone, or broken pieces sitting in the gutter. A handful of replacements on a tiled roof is a quick, cheap roof repair now, and a far bigger one once the water has been getting in all winter.
Check the flashing and chimney
Flashing is the metal, usually lead, that seals the joins where your roof meets a chimney, a wall or a valley. It is one of the most common places for a roof to let water in, because those joins flex and the seal eventually tires.
Look for lead that has lifted at the edges, cracked, or slipped out of the mortar. Cracked mortar around the chimney counts too. This is skilled work, so good leadwork and flashing is worth paying for rather than patching with a tube of sealant that lasts one season.
Deal with moss before it traps water
A bit of moss looks harmless. The problem is that it holds water against the tiles like a sponge, and in a hard frost that water freezes and lifts the surface of the tile over time. Clumps also break off and wash down into the gutters you just cleared.
Moss can be managed, but go gently. Blasting a roof with a pressure washer strips the protective surface off the tiles and does more harm than the moss ever would. Be wary of cold callers too, as the NFRC warns against doorstep moss sellers who talk homeowners into unnecessary cleaning and coating.
Do not climb up to check it yourself
Every autumn, people go up a ladder to clear a gutter or nudge a tile and come down the hard way. A wet or frosty roof is lethal, and no gutter is worth a fall.
Keep both feet on the ground. If a storm is forecast, bring in loose garden items and keep clear of the roofline, as the Met Office storm advice for your home sets out. If something does come loose in bad weather, that is a job for emergency roof repairs, not a homeowner on a ladder in the wind.
Book a proper check if anything looks off
If your scan from the ground turns up anything you are not sure about, get a roofer to take a proper look while the weather is still kind. A professional can see the things you cannot from below, and tell you honestly whether it needs doing now or can wait.
Even with nothing obviously wrong, a quick look every autumn is sensible. We lay out a simple inspection schedule if you want to know how often is enough, and what to watch for are the common signs of a leaking roof.
Aim for September or October, while the weather is still mild. That gives a roofer time to do any repairs properly before the first storms, and means you are not competing for a call-out when everyone else needs one.
You can do a useful check from the ground, an upstairs window or with binoculars. Look for slipped tiles, blocked gutters, lifted flashing and heavy moss. Do not climb onto the roof yourself, especially once it is wet or frosty.
A straightforward inspection is usually modest, and many local roofers will take a look as part of a quote for any work found. The far larger cost is a leak left to run all winter, which can mean repairs to timber, plaster and decoration as well as the roof.
It can be. Moss holds water against the tiles, and repeated freezing can damage the tile surface over time. Broken clumps also block gutters. It can be managed, but avoid pressure washing and be cautious of cold callers pushing moss removal.
Stay off the roof and keep clear of anything hanging loose. Note the damage from the ground, move your car if a tile could fall on it, and call a roofer for an emergency repair. Take photos too, as they help with any insurance claim.
Talk to Weathered Roofing
We are a family-run roofing firm based in Deal, working across Deal, Dover, Sandwich, Kingsdown, Folkestone, Canterbury and the rest of East Kent since 1997. We handle flat roofs, tiled and slate roofs, repairs, leadwork and full re-roofs.
Call us on 07379 187815 for a free, no-pressure quote, or send us a message through our contact page.