Lost roof tiles in a storm? What to do next

The first hour, in order

Keep people and cars away from the ground below the damage. Tiles come off in stages, and a loose one can drop hours after the wind has died.

Do not go up. Not on a ladder, and not out of a window to look.

Walk right round the house from the ground and look at every slope. Check the neighbours' gardens, because that is where tiles land.

Photograph it from the ground. One shot of the whole elevation, then the damage at full zoom.

Inside, put a bucket under any drip and move furniture and anything electrical clear.

If water is running near a light fitting, turn that circuit off at the consumer unit.

Ring 07477 536 273 and describe what you can see from the ground.

Why staying off the roof matters

A roof that has just lost tiles has nothing solid to stand on. Battens can be split and the fixings round the gap have already failed once.

Wet tiles are slick, and wind after a storm still gusts.

Ladders sink and slide on ground that has had a night of rain on it.

There is nothing at the top of a domestic roof to tie on to. That is the whole reason scaffolding exists.

What a missing tile actually does

The tile is the first line. The underlay beneath it is the second.

On a modern roof with sound breathable underlay, one missing tile may do nothing at all for weeks. Rain runs down the underlay to the gutter.

On an older roof with brittle felt, or no felt at all, one gap can wet a ceiling in a single night.

Wind is the real problem, not water. It gets under the edge of the tile next to the gap and takes that one too.

Sheeting and stop gaps

A sheet over a roof is a stop gap and nothing more. It buys time until the weather allows a proper repair.

It has to be fixed to something solid. A tarpaulin held down with bricks along a ridge is a hazard in the next gust.

Do not let anyone lift more tiles to get a sheet under them unless they can put those tiles back.

What to check once it is dry

Ridge tiles sitting proud of the line, or rocking in the wind.

Mortar missing along the gable edge, where the verge takes the worst of it.

Broken pieces of tile in the gutter, which say something above has come apart.

Lead or flashing lifted or rolled back at a chimney or a wall.

Torn underlay visible through the gap where the tile was.

Fence panels down on one side of the garden, which tells you which way the wind came from.