The problem with roof leaks is that … they are problematic. You often don’t even know that your roof is leaking, as the area that’s letting the rainwater in is often just a slight crack or a tiny hole and the amount of water getting through may not be making itself visible for a while. But when it does, you need to act fast and get a repair effected quickly. You also need to find out just how much damage your leaking roof has caused and make sure your insurance claim covers all bases when it comes to that damage.
Under the terms of your insurance policy, you will be expected to prevent as much further damage as possible, the moment you know it’s occurring. The problem with leaking roofs, however, is that they do not offer any signposting when it comes to where the leak’s source may be and the issue with water is that it can travel quite some distance along beams and pipes, before dropping on to a ceiling or down a wall.
One place to start, could be the loft, as your leaking roof issue could be down to missing tiles, perhaps blown off the roof during a storm. If you shine a torch inside the roof, whenever it’s raining, you should be able to spot the water coming in. You can also become your own rainmaker, of course, with the use of a hosepipe but you will need an inside person, to spot the water, as you spray (or get them to play firefighter instead!). Make sure you only wet one area of the roof or chimney stack at once and provide some time for any issue to emerge inside.
Another good tactic, when trying to find the source of a leaking roof, is to try to see if you can spot any missing shingles from outside. Other problems that could cause a roof leak would be nails coming loose, or problems with the flashing around intersections in roofs, the chimney, or skylights.
Dormer walls also provide lots of opportunities for water to get in and dribble, entering the roof space when they do.
Sometimes, you will only find water coming in to your home or commercial property when the wind is in a certain direction, which can be particularly frustrating when it comes to roof leaks. Calling in a professional to help you resolve the issue is advisable. If you are working with your own loss assessor from Aspray, they should be able to suggest who could help you and what measures can be taken.
Often, a roof repair itself is not hard to achieve but the damage that can have occurred inside your house is the harder thing to fix. When handling your home insurance claim, you really need to make sure you have covered all the possible repairs that will be needed. Don’t be lured into accepting an insurance settlement that is purely focusing on the cosmetic, unless you are absolutely sure there is no longer term or non-visible damage as well.
Similarly, do not accept an offer to partially decorate a room or replace fixtures and fittings if your policy should be providing more than that. The issue here is that, as a layperson, you may have no idea what it should and should not provide. That’s why the law gives you the right to appoint your own loss assessor, to be in your corner during an insurance claim and argue your case with the insurer’s loss adjuster. It’s a right you would be well worth taking up, particularly when the Aspray service could cost you nothing at all, if Aspray’s trusted contractors handle the schedule of works for the repair.
The moral of the tale is to use your head when it comes to roof leaks. Do that and a drip should not become a deluge and an insurance claim should not turn into a disaster.