Roof Leaking? What To Do Right Now

If Your Roof Is Actively Leaking Right Now

Step 1: Protect the Interior — First 10 Minutes

Before anything else, protect your belongings and your structure. Move furniture and electronics away from the wet area. Place buckets under any drip points. If the ceiling is bulging with trapped water — which sometimes happens when flat roof membrane water pools above plasterboard — carefully pierce the lowest point with a screwdriver to allow controlled drainage rather than a sudden ceiling collapse. This sounds counterintuitive but prevents worse structural damage.

Step 2: Find the Source — If You Can Do So Safely

Water travels before it drips. A drip in your bedroom doesn't necessarily mean the roof is failing directly above it — water can run along a rafter or joist for a metre before finding a gap to drop through. If you have safe loft access, go up and look for wet felt, staining on the timbers, or daylight. Don't walk on the joists without boards — your foot through the ceiling won't help the situation.

Don't go onto the roof yourself. Wet roofs in West Sussex conditions are extremely slippery, scaffolding isn't in place, and a fall from a Horsham semi adds a hospital visit to an already bad day.

Step 3: Document the Damage

If you have home insurance, photograph everything before you clear up. Photo evidence of the water damage as found — ceiling staining, wet insulation, damaged belongings — is essential for any subsequent claim. If we attend and carry out emergency work, ask us for a written damage report while we're there. Insurers require this for storm damage claims.

Step 4: Temporary Measures

If we can't reach you immediately, or if the leak is minor, temporary measures can slow ingress while you wait for proper repair. Heavy-duty tarpaulins weighted and secured over the affected area will reduce water entry. Don't use lightweight sheeting — it won't survive West Sussex winds. We carry tarpaulins on our vans and can deploy them as part of an emergency call-out visit.

The Most Common Causes of Emergency Roof Leaks in Horsham

Storm Damage

South-westerly storms crossing the Low Weald are the most common cause of emergency calls from Horsham. Wind strips ridge tiles, dislodges slates and tiles, and bends lead flashings. After any storm that reaches 40mph+, check your roof visually from ground level — binoculars are useful — before assuming everything is fine.

Failed Flashings

The lead or mortar seals around chimneys, dormers, rooflights and abutments fail over time. Flashing failure is insidious — it often develops slowly, and the resulting leak only becomes obvious after a period of sustained heavy rain rather than immediately. Victorian and Edwardian chimneys in the Horsham town centre are the most frequent source of flashing-related emergency calls we attend.

Flat Roof Membrane Failure

A puncture, split or failed joint in a flat roof membrane allows water to pool above the membrane and eventually find its way into the structure. This often presents as a slow stain rather than an active drip, but during heavy rain it becomes acute. Many of the 1970s rear extensions on Horsham properties are on their second flat roof covering and approaching end of life again.

Blocked Valleys and Gutters

Leaf fall from the Low Weald woodland surrounding Horsham blocks valleys and gutters every autumn. A blocked valley causes water to back up and overflow into the roof structure rather than running off cleanly. This is one of the most common calls we receive between October and January, and one of the most preventable with an annual gutter clear.

When Is It an Emergency?

• Water actively dripping inside the property
• Ceiling bulging or bowing with trapped water
• Structural elements visibly damaged or displaced
• Large sections of tile or ridge displaced after storm
• Water near electrical fittings (turn off power to that circuit immediately)

If any of these apply, call us on 0140 358 1272 immediately. We attend Horsham emergencies around the clock.

Trace the Source — Not Just the Symptom

The stain on the ceiling is the symptom, not the source. Water entering a roof at one point can travel along rafters, felt or ceiling joists for several metres before dripping through at a lower point. We approach leak diagnosis by working backwards from the internal evidence — the position, shape and spread of the stain, the direction of travel indicated by tide marks — to identify the likely entry zone on the roof above. We then access from the roof to confirm and identify the specific fault. Treating the symptom without finding the source results in multiple repair visits and eventual frustration.

The most common sources of residential roof leaks in Horsham are: failed valley liners (usually felt that has cracked or moved); lead flashing failure at chimney bases; nail-sick tiles that have displaced enough to allow water between the tiles but not enough to be visible from the ground; and deteriorated felt at the eaves where water is backing up from a blocked gutter.

Last reviewed: July 2026 by Horsham Roofing Experts.