Emergency Roof Repair in Leeds
Ring us on the number at the top of this page. While you wait, move what you can out of the way, put a bucket under the drip and pierce any bulging ceiling to let the water out in one place. We aim to attend the same day during a storm to make the roof safe, then price a permanent repair once the weather allows a proper look.
Stop the damage inside first
While you wait for us, the priority is the water already in the house.
Move furniture, electricals and anything absorbent out from under the drip. Lift carpet where you can rather than letting it soak, because a wet underlay takes weeks to dry and usually ends up being replaced.
Put a bucket or a washing up bowl under the drip with a towel in the bottom to stop it splashing.
If a ceiling is bulging, deal with it. That bulge is a pocket of water sitting on the plasterboard, and a full pocket can bring the whole board down. Put a container underneath, then push one small hole through the lowest point of the bulge with a screwdriver and let it drain into the bucket. One controlled hole is far better than a collapsed ceiling.
Turn off the electricity at the consumer unit for any circuit where water is running near a light fitting or a socket. Water tracks along joists and finds ceiling roses.
Take photographs of everything before you clear up. Your insurer will want them.
If you can get into the loft safely, put a bucket under the drip up there and slide a tray or a sheet of plastic under the wet area to direct the water into it. Pull loft insulation back from the wet patch so it can dry out.
What we do when we arrive
The first visit is about stopping the water, and what that looks like depends on where it is getting in.
Blocked outlets and gutters are the easiest and a surprising share of storm callouts. Clearing a silted valley or a blocked gully can end the leak on the spot.
A slipped slate or a small hole gets sheeted or temporarily refixed so the slope sheds water again. Where a wider area has failed we fit a tarpaulin, battened and weighted properly so it stays put in the next gust. Loose sheeting on a Leeds roof in a westerly is worse than useless.
A displaced ridge tile, a loose pot or a section of flashing hanging off is a safety job before it is a leak job. Anything that could fall onto a pavement or a neighbour comes down or gets secured first.
We photograph everything while we are up there, so you have a record for your insurer and a starting point for the permanent repair.
When a scaffold is needed and when it is not
Temporary work on a two storey terrace, reachable from a ladder or a tower, can usually be done without scaffold. That covers most slipped slates, gutter clearing and small sheeted areas.
A scaffold becomes necessary for chimney work, steep stone slopes, three storey terraces around Headingley and Hyde Park, anything over a conservatory or a flat roof, and any job where a worker needs both hands and a stable platform for more than a few minutes. The Work at Height Regulations are clear about that and so are we.
Scaffold takes a day or two to book and erect, so on a bad night the sequence is nearly always make safe first, scaffold second, repair third.
Response times and what we can promise
During working hours we aim to attend an active leak the same day. After a named storm we answer the phone outside those hours and work through the calls, taking the ones where water is entering the house before the ones where a ridge tile has landed in an empty garden.
We will give you a realistic window when you ring rather than a promise we cannot keep. If the wind is too high to go up, we will say so and tell you when we expect to get there.
Permanent repairs get quoted in writing like any other job, with photographs of what failed. Nothing gets carried out beyond the make safe without your agreement on price.
Common questions
How quickly can you get to an active leak?
Same day where we can during working hours, and we answer the phone through storms and overnight after high winds. Make safe comes first. A permanent repair needs dry weather and often a scaffold, so that gets booked separately once we have stopped the water.
What does an emergency callout cost?
An out of hours attendance to make the roof safe is £120 to £250, and temporary sheeting is £150 to £350 depending on the area covered and the access. If you go ahead with the permanent repair we offset the callout against it. Prices reviewed September 2026.
Should I pierce a bulging ceiling?
Yes, carefully. A bulge is a pocket of water sitting on top of the plasterboard, and a plasterboard ceiling full of water can come down all at once. Put a bucket underneath, then make one small hole in the lowest point of the bulge with a screwdriver so it drains in one controlled place.
Will my insurance cover it?
Storm damage is usually covered. Gradual wear and failed maintenance usually is not. Our photographs and written report give your insurer what they need either way. Take your own photos before anything is moved and keep receipts for any temporary work.
Can you work on the roof in the middle of a storm?
No responsible roofer goes up in high wind, and we will tell you that rather than take a risk. In those conditions we deal with what can be done from inside and from ground level, then attend the roof as soon as the wind drops enough to be safe.
Do you need a scaffold for temporary work?
For a small sheeted area on a two storey house reachable from a ladder, no. For anything on a steep slope, a chimney, a third storey or where the sheeting has to be fixed over a wide area, yes. We will tell you which applies before anything is booked.