Emergency Roofing: What to Do When Your Roof Fails

A roof failure is one of the most stressful property events a homeowner can face. Water coming in through the ceiling, an exposed roof structure, an unstable chimney — these situations require immediate action and calm judgment simultaneously. This guide tells you exactly what to do when your roof fails in Chichester, step by step, so that when it happens you know what to do rather than having to work it out under pressure.

Step 1: Assess the Immediate Risk

Before you do anything else, assess whether there is an immediate safety risk. Water dripping through a ceiling is a problem but not a safety emergency. A ceiling that is bowed, bulging or heavily saturated may collapse under the weight of water — leave the room immediately and do not re-enter until the ceiling has been assessed. A chimney stack that has moved, tilted or partially collapsed is a structural safety issue — keep people away from the area below and call us immediately.

Most roof emergencies in Chichester are water ingress events rather than structural failures. A missing section of tiles, a failed flashing or a displaced ridge tile is a serious problem but not an immediate safety risk to occupants. Stay calm, note the time the symptoms started and where the water is appearing, and proceed to step 2.

Working at height on a domestic roof without training or equipment is a leading cause of serious injury; the HSE advises using competent contractors.

— Health and Safety Executive (HSE) working at height guidance

Step 2: Limit Internal Damage

While you are waiting for us to arrive, take steps to limit the internal damage from water ingress. Move furniture, electronics and valuables away from any wet area. Place buckets, bowls or plastic sheeting under active drips. If water is running down a wall, place towels or sheeting against the base of the wall to protect the floor. Do not attempt to puncture a bulging ceiling to relieve the water — this can cause a much larger section to fail. If a ceiling is clearly about to fail, place sheeting on the floor below it and stay out of the room.

Do not attempt to go on the roof yourself. A wet, potentially damaged roof surface is dangerous. Attempting a DIY repair without proper access equipment, on a potentially compromised structure, in wet conditions, is how people are seriously injured. Leave the roof work to us.

Step 3: Call Us

Call 01243 278085 immediately. We answer around the clock for genuine emergencies. Tell us: your address, what symptoms you are seeing inside the property, whether there is active water coming in, and whether you can see any obvious roof damage from the outside. We will triage the call, confirm an attendance time, and talk you through any further immediate steps you can take.

Step 4: The Make-Safe Visit

We arrive with temporary sheeting materials on every emergency vehicle — roofing felt, heavy-duty polythene, timber and fixings. The first priority on arrival is to make the roof safe: covering any exposed structure, securing any loose tiles that are at risk of falling, and providing a temporary weather barrier that will hold through further rain events. This make-safe installation is not a cosmetic fix — it is designed to protect the property for several weeks if needed while materials are sourced and weather allows permanent repair.

Once the make-safe is in place, we carry out a full condition assessment in daylight: photographing all damage, identifying the cause of the failure, and assessing the condition of adjacent elements that may have been affected. We provide a written quote for the permanent repair before leaving, with clear explanation of what failed and why.

Step 5: Insurance Documentation

If the damage is likely to be an insurance claim, tell us when you call. We provide a written damage assessment with photographs as standard on emergency visits at no additional charge. This assessment distinguishes clearly between sudden storm damage — which is typically covered by buildings insurance — and pre-existing deterioration — which is not. Loss adjusters from all major insurers accept our written assessments. We can also provide the detailed repair quote in the format required by your insurer.

After the Emergency: The Full Picture

Emergency call-outs frequently reveal pre-existing deterioration that contributed to the failure. A nail-sick roof that lost tiles in a storm would not have lost them if the nails had been sound. Open ridge bedding that created the weak point where wind uplift concentrated. Failed lead that had been channelling water for months before the storm triggered the visible internal leak. We include a full roof condition assessment in every emergency visit. Understanding what caused the failure — not just what failed — is what prevents the next emergency call.

Being Prepared Before an Emergency Happens

The best position to be in when a roofing emergency happens is to already have our number saved. Save 01243 278085 in your phone now, before you need it. If you are reading this after an emergency has already started, call that number immediately.

The second most useful preparation is a current condition survey. A roof that has been surveyed in the past 18 months is a roof where the known risks have been assessed. If the survey found widespread nail sickness, you know that a storm event that removes multiple tiles is a nail sickness event, not a surprise. If the survey found sound ridge mortar and intact flashings, you know that a post-storm leak is likely a specific failure rather than a systemic one. Preparedness starts with knowledge. We carry out free surveys across all Chichester postcodes — call us to arrange one before you need the emergency line.

Chichester is not a benign roofing environment. The combination of south-westerly gales, harbour moisture and seasonal storm events means roof failures in this area are regular events, not rare edge cases. Being prepared — our number saved, a recently surveyed roof, knowledge of what to do — transforms a potential emergency into a managed event. Call 01243 278085 for a free survey so you are not making decisions under pressure when it happens.

One practical note on documentation: take photographs on your phone immediately after noticing the damage, before anything is moved or cleared up. Photographs with timestamps are useful for insurance purposes and for establishing the timing and cause of the damage. Even if you do not end up making an insurance claim, having the photographic record is costless and may prove valuable.

Save our number — 01243 278085 — before you need it. We answer around the clock for genuine emergencies and aim to attend within 2 to 4 hours during daylight. Being prepared costs nothing. Not being prepared when a roof fails in a January storm costs significantly more, in every sense.