If you’ve discovered a roof leak but want to avoid the risks of climbing onto the roof, you’re in luck. Fixing a roof leak from the inside, such as from your attic or loft, is often a safer and simpler option. Roof work can be dangerous, and even a fall from a single-story building can cause serious injuries. That’s why this interior method could be a great solution in many cases.
This approach works best if the leak is caused by:
If your issue is just a hairline crack or small hole, you can often stop the leak from the inside using this method, (explained below). However, if the damage is more extensive, like a large hole. You may still be able to apply a temporary fix from the attic by placing a piece of slate, tile, or waterproof material over the gap.
While an interior fix can stop the water intrusion with cracks, small holes and windblown rain. It’s important to understand that this is not a permanent solution for missing slates or larger holes. Replacing a cracked roof tile or slate from the outside, is always the most reliable and durable repair method. But if the weather is bad, or you need an emergency fix before calling a professional roofer, this method may be a great stop-gap for larger holes. And can provide a permanent fix for the smaller issues.
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Finding a roof leak should be straight forward, as it’s usually identified by a wet patch somewhere. Gravity would normally have a hand in indicating where a leak may have come from.
But, water doesn’t always go straight down. It can soak into things, so a wet patch may never appear. Damage may be caused by the mere presence of the water soaking into roof timbers, causing rot, decay and other issues.
Water can also track away from the source of the leak, and then fall to the ground. This can give a false idea of where the leak originated.
It sounds obvious, but finding a roof leak is best done when it’s raining… You can still find a leak on a dry day, (looking for stains and water damage). But, you may not find the source of the leak if the water is tracking across the roof. You usually need to find the highest point where water has entered.
Wind has a horrible habit of making leaks appear where they’ve never been seen before! Plus some leaks only appear when there is sufficient wind speed, a specific wind direction and the correct volume of water. Wind blown rain can produce ‘one off’ leaks too!
Hopefully you’ll have an easily identifiable leak. Then a repair of the roof can commence. Otherwise it’s a waiting game for a day when the wind speed and rain are blowing in the right direction…
The aim is to trace the leak to its highest point, which would usually indicate that the source is nearby.
There can be a number of causes:
One of those things, it just happens…
Roofs can get very hot and cold over the different seasons. Some materials such as lead flashing can expand and contract a fair amount. If this movement is restricted (sometimes caused by over nailing, or nailing in the wrong place, etc), the material can crack letting in water. This process can happen with other materials on the roof, lead is just a good example.
Things can hit your roof. Branches, stones, balls, general windblown debris, (…and hopefully no aeroplane or satellite parts!). All can have an effect, making holes, dislodging or loosening.
I like birds, but they can do damage to your roof… Unfortunately my next door neighbor loves to feed crows and seagulls. The worst it got was when there was over 200+ crows and over 45+ seagulls. All at once, in one big food fight.
The issue is… The crows will hang around on our roof, waiting to be fed. They get bored. This is when they start attacking the roof. Their beaks are like little pointed hammers, chipping away looking for bugs! Normally crows aren’t a problem, but whilst they’re waiting to be fed, boredom sets in. You can hear little bits that have broken off, rolling down the roof!
Birds also love to nest, so they may make a hole or two whilst searching for the perfect nesting spot.
The wear & tear and expansion & contraction issues are often caused by the weather.
When built, parts of the roof may not have been installed correctly. Lead flashing may not have been installed correctly, or there has been a component failure. For example, a defect in the lead sheet, a cracked slate, roof tile, etc.
There are occasions when you get condensation on the inside of a roof. This is when there is a temperature difference between the inside and outside and condensation can form on the underside of the roof.
This is nothing to worry about, as long as you have good ventilation in your roof. There must be a good airflow. This will allow the moisture to evaporate and for the roof to quickly dry out.
If you have a roof underlay installed and it is in good condition, then you shouldn’t suffer from any leaks, This is as long as there’s no huge great gaping hole in the roof and the underlay is in good condition.
Water can sometimes get past the roof covering. This usually occurs when there’s a strong wind (and it’s blowing in the wrong direction). The wind can force the water under the slates or tiles and through any gaps. These type of leaks are usually small and are often random. The underlay directs any of these small leaks away into an external gutter.
How to Fix a Roof Leak from the Inside… (Opens in a new tab)
Faults should be fixed using the correct method. If a part needs to be replaced, it should be replaced with the correct replacement. However:
This article describes how to make a repair from the inside of the roof. This should be a much cheaper, easier and safer method…
Topics:
Prerequisites:
Materials:
For this type of repair:
Tools:
Notes:
The Video:
How to Fix a Roof Leak (From the Inside): This takes you back up to the video…
Notes:
The following table gives examples of the glue, gloves and vapour mask you can buy to fix your roof. If you’re not sure what you need, sometime it’s worth having a look? The list below may give you an idea of what’s what’s available, what to look for and how much it costs…
Ordering Materials – Examples of What You Can Buy:
Leaking Roof Materials (How Much Do They Cost?) |
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Location | Items | ||
Polyurethane Glue | Gloves | Vapour (Vapor) Mask | |
Polyurethane Glue | Gloves | Vapour (Vapor) Mask | |
Polyurethane Glue | Gloves | Vapour (Vapor) Mask | |
Polyurethane Glue | Gloves | Vapour (Vapor) Mask | |
Polyurethane Glue | Gloves | Vapour (Vapor) Mask |
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