UK roofs fail in small, local ways before they fail as a whole: a slipped slate, a cracked tile at a valley, a blocked gutter that soaks the fascia, flashing that has lifted at a chimney. A homeowner check is about noticing those signs early enough to describe them on the phone. It is not a survey, and it is not a reason to climb a wet pitch with a phone camera.
This piece stays on the ground and at the hatch. If you already have water coming through a ceiling, skip the seasonal list and open roofing on the directory.
What you can see from the garden
Stand far enough back that you can see the ridge, both pitches if the house allows it, and the line of the gutter. Do this in daylight. A torch after dark only shows glare on wet slate.
- Gaps in the covering: a rectangular hole, a tile sitting in the gutter, or a ridge that is no longer straight.
- Moss and debris piled at the valley or behind a chimney — that is where water sits.
- Guttering pulled away from the fascia, or a downpipe that ends in a splash on the wall rather than a gully.
- Flat-roof areas you can see from an upstairs window: standing water, splits in the felt, or a skylight with stained reveals.
Binoculars help. A drone does not make you a roofer, and flying one over a neighbour’s garden has its own rules. If you cannot see the rear pitch, say so on the call. A listing that mentions a survey or a drone survey is still a quote after someone has been, not a price this site can honour. Use the cost notes only as a briefing.
What the loft hatch can tell you
If you have a loft, look from the hatch or from the boards if they are already there. Do not step off the joists onto insulation. You are looking for daylight through the covering, dark streaks on the underside of felt or rafters, and insulation that is compressed and stained. A single old stain that is dry and dusty is not the same as a cold wet patch after last night’s rain.
Smell matters. A loft that smells like a wet dog after every front is telling you water is still getting in. A loft that is dry but full of old tanks and no boards is not a place to hunt for a leak in socks.
Do not go onto the outer covering. Wet slate and tile are a fall. So is a flat roof you have never walked. If the only way to see the damage is from above, that is the roofer’s visit, not yours.
The morning after heavy rain
Walk the rooms under the eaves and under any valley. Look at ceilings for a new tea-coloured ring, and at chimney breasts for a streak that was not there in summer. Check the airing cupboard if a tank sat in the loft — overflow traces can look like a roof leak and are a plumbing job instead.
Outside, see whether the gully at the foot of the downpipe is clear. A roof that is sound will still wet a wall if the gutter has overflowed for a season. Clearing leaves from a ladder is only a good idea if the ladder is stable, the ground is firm, and you are not stretching over a conservatory. If any of that is doubtful, leave the gutter on the call list.
The roof-area calculator is for a later quote, when someone asks for lengths. It does not tell you whether last night’s stain is urgent.
When the check is over and you should phone
Call a roofer when any of these are true. You do not need to finish a seasonal checklist first.
- Water is active — dripping, running, or a ceiling that is bowing.
- Covering is on the ground, in the gutter, or obviously missing from the pitch.
- The loft is wet now, not just stained from a winter five years ago.
- A chimney, valley or flat roof is the only place the water can be coming from and you cannot see it safely.
Say what you saw: pitch or flat, front or rear, after which weather, whether the loft is wet, whether the gutter is full. Ask whether the first visit is a survey or a repair, and whether access equipment is extra. A free-quote line on a card is not a price.
Open the directory for roofing in Manchester or roofing in London and use the number printed there. This site does not email the business for you.
What this check is not
It is not a mortgage survey, not insurance evidence on its own, and not a reason to start stripping tiles. If a builder is already in for an extension, roof work at the junction still needs someone who will name the covering and the flashing, not a general “we will sort the roof” on a day rate. For larger work, the renovation budget tool can sit beside a written quote. It does not replace one.
Need a roofer after the check?
Open roofing on the directory, pick the city, and contact the business yourself.