Should I Fix A Leaky Roof Myself?

Just imagine – you’re cosy and warm indoors while the rain is pouring down outside, and you notice a dark stain on your celling. Upon closer inspection, you see the paint looks like it might be starting to bubble – chances are there’s a leak in your roof somewhere. Your roof is your most valuable property asset – if you really think about it, it’s responsible for protecting everything else you own from the elements. When it springs a leak, it’s vital to get it dealt with straight away, before it gets any worse.

But can you save money by doing it yourself? Kiwis love to be hands-on when it comes to DIY projects, but it’s also important to know when specialist knowledge is required. Letting it develop unchecked could end up with disastrous results, including electrical damage, mould, rot infesting your roof or framing, and compromised insulation. Trying to ignore a small leak can be far costlier than you might predict.

Finding a leak

Before you know how bad the leak is, you have to find it. If you do decide to investigate your attic, make sure that you don’t only look where you noticed the leak on your ceiling – it’s possible for the leak to be higher up in the roof, with water sliding down the beams before it touches the ceiling. If you don’t have an attic, or can’t get into it, the only way to find the leak is to check the roof exterior. This isn’t recommended by anyone in the roofing business, due to the dangers associated with falling from a rooftop – especially one that may be damaged. The last thing you want is to be in bed with a broken leg while your roof is leaking.

If your roof is made of slate, clay tile or concrete tile, you shouldn’t consider going onto it at all, as pressure in the wrong places can crack a tile, if you’re not careful.

If you do decide to inspect your roof exterior, make sure you do it on a day with dry weather. Look first at the areas where leaks are most common. This includes chimneys, vents, skylights, or intersections like between shingles, flashing, and in valleys. Some suggest using a water hose on your roof to test for leaks if you can’t see any, but you don’t want to make a leak worse if you can avoid it.

This entire process is generally best left to the experts, so if you feel uncomfortable climbing on your roof, it’s a good idea to make a call instead.

Judging a leak

If you are able to find an obvious cause for a leak, you may be able to caulk it yourself if you’ve had prior experience in the trade. Unfortunately, most leaks develop slowly, and this means that much more damage than you’d expect has been done by the time you see any interior indications of a leak. The chances of finding an obvious leak that appears to run straight through, in a straight line, and doesn’t seem to have damaged surrounding sections of roof, is slim at best. Overall, it’s best to leave it to a professional.

Call the experts

Thankfully, the team at Paul Milne Roofing are leak repair specialists. We know that leaks can appear anywhere, anytime, in both old and new roofing. Roof leaks can strike suddenly without warning, or appear after a building has been left unchecked for years – no matter your situation, Paul Milne Roofing takes your roof leak seriously, as we know how quickly they can gain momentum. Time and again, we attend to leaks other businesses have failed to fix and failed to return to, but Paul Milne Roofing has your best interests at heart, and won’t leave until the leak is fixed.

To find out more, download our leaky roofing checklist here! Fixing leaks is what we do all day, every day, and we’re not half bad at it.