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Alex Shepherd Roofing
Roofing service

Emergency roof repairs when water is coming in

Ring 07840 031508. If water's coming into the house, ringing is faster than filling in a form. We'll tell you straight away when we can get to you.

Covering
East Lancashire & Craven
Quotes
Free, no pressure
Ring or text
07840 031508

What to do before we arrive

A few things genuinely help, and none of them involve going outside or up a ladder.

  1. 1Move what you can.Furniture, electricals and anything that matters, out from under the leak.
  2. 2Catch the water.A bucket, and a towel in the bucket to stop it splashing.
  3. 3If the ceiling is bulging, think before you pierce it.A bulging ceiling is holding a lot of water. Piercing it and catching the water in a bucket is usually better than letting the whole ceiling come down, but stand to one side.
  4. 4Turn off the electrics to that roomif water is anywhere near a light fitting or socket.
  5. 5Don't go on the roof.More people are hurt going up to look at a leak than by the leak itself.

Photograph everything before you clear up. Your insurer will want it.

What we do

We make it safe and watertight first. That's a different job from repairing it properly, and doing it in that order is deliberate. A temporary cover stops the damage getting worse while the roof dries out enough to be repaired correctly.

Rushing a permanent repair onto a soaking roof is how you end up doing it twice.

What counts as an emergency

  • Water actively coming into the house
  • A ceiling that's bulging or has come down
  • Slates or ridge tiles that have come off and could fall into a garden or street
  • Storm damage that's left part of the roof open
  • A chimney or stack that looks unstable

Something that's been leaking slowly for six months isn't an emergency, and you'll pay less if we treat it as an ordinary repair. We'll tell you which you've got rather than charging you emergency rates for a job that can wait until Tuesday.

Storm damage and insurance

After a storm, tiles and ridges come off across a whole area at once and every roofer locally is busy. Ring early rather than waiting to see if it gets worse.

Most home insurance covers storm damage but not gradual wear, and the argument is usually about which one it was. What helps your case:

  • Photographs, taken from the ground, before anything is touched
  • Keeping any broken slates or tiles that came down
  • A written account of what failed and why
Common questions

The things people ask us

No. Making a roof watertight quickly nearly always reduces the total cost, because most of the expense of a leak is what the water does inside the house.

Ring and we'll tell you honestly. It depends where you are and what's already booked, and a straight answer is more use to you than an optimistic one.

If water's getting into the house, it's worth a phone call. We'll tell you whether it needs doing today or whether it can wait, and there's no charge for that conversation.

Reviews

What people said about the work

Read the reviews, then ring us and see if we match up.

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