Keep your feet on the ground
Safe Work Australia says falls are the major cause of death and injury in roof work, and that the risk has to be managed even when a job only takes a few minutes. Wet tiles and metal are slippery, and tiles crack under a boot. If water is reaching light fittings or power points, switch off at the switchboard before anything else. If the house was built or renovated before 1990, parts of the roof could be asbestos cement, so nobody should drill, cut or walk on it until it's been checked.
What does fixing a leak actually involve?
| The repair that lasts | The patch that tends to fail | |
|---|---|---|
| Cracked or slipped tile | A matching tile swapped in, or the slipped one reseated | Sealant smeared over the crack |
| Cracked ridge mortar | Caps rebedded and repointed with flexible pointing | Paint or sealant over the cracks |
| Leaking screws on a metal roof | New screws with new washers | A dab of sealant on each screw head |
| Lifted or rusted flashing | Flashing refixed or replaced so it sheds water by itself | A bead of silicone along the edge |
| Blocked valley or gutter | Cleared, plus a fix for whatever keeps blocking it | Cleared once, and hoped for the best |
| Valley or sheet rusted through | That valley or sheet replaced | A patch stuck over thin, rusty metal |
Why a tube of sealant rarely does the job
Sealant has a proper place on a roof, at the laps of metal sheets and the joints in gutters. As the whole repair, it mostly buys time. Sun dries it out, the roof moves as it heats and cools, and water finds the edge of the bead.
The type matters on metal too. BlueScope says neutral cure sealants are the right choice for Colorbond steel, and that common sealants smelling of vinegar or ammonia as they cure can corrode the coating. A tube grabbed in a hurry from the hardware shop can leave the roof worse off.
Paint isn't a leak fix either. Tile maker Monier is blunt about it: a respray is for looks, and it doesn't repair anything. Leaks get fixed first, then paint goes on if you want the look.
How to get a leak fixed properly, start to finish
Protect the inside
Buckets under drips, furniture and rugs moved, power off at the switchboard if water is near fittings. If it's pouring in right now, our guide to the first hour of a roof leak comes first.
Start a leak log
Each time it leaks, write the date, whether the rain was light or heavy, and which way the wind was blowing. Photograph the stain from the same spot after each rain so you can see whether it's spreading.
Have a look from the yard
With binoculars from across the street or an upstairs window, look for a tile sitting out of line, ridge caps that have shifted, flashing standing away from a wall, or a gutter that's full. Our guide on how to find a roof leak goes further.
Book one roofer to find and fix it
Hand over your log. Ask whether the price covers finding the leak as well as fixing it, and whether a return visit is included if the first repair doesn't stop it.
Ask to see the cause
A photo of the cracked tile, the rusted valley or the lifted flashing, and another of the finished repair. If the answer is only sealant, ask how long they expect it to hold.
Check it in the next proper rain
Watch the old stain. If it gets wet again, call the same roofer back while the job is fresh. Stubborn leaks sometimes have a second way in.
Fix the ceiling last
Only once the roof is sorted and the plaster has dried right through. Our page on ceiling leaks covers that order.
Your share of the fix, and the roofer's
You can
- Catching water and protecting floors and furniture
- Switching power off at the switchboard if water is near fittings
- Keeping a dated log and photos of each leak
- Clearing a blocked downpipe outlet you can reach standing on the ground
- Telling the roofer about any trades who've been up there lately
Leave to a roofer
- Anything that means standing on the roof
- Swapping tiles, screws, flashing or valleys
- Rebedding and repointing ridge capping
- Temporary covers if bad weather is coming
- Any roof that may be asbestos cement
When a repair stops being the answer
If the roofer finds trouble across the whole roof, such as tiles cracking on every slope, rust through sheet after sheet, or ridge mortar failing along its length, fixing leaks one at a time gets expensive.
That's the point to ask for a price on a restoration or a new roof as well, and compare. Our restore or replace quiz helps you frame that conversation before anyone quotes.
If it were our roof
We'd leave the ladder in the shed, catch the water and write down when it leaks. Then we'd have one roofer find the cause and show us a photo of it before agreeing to the fix. A repair that replaces the failed part usually costs a bit more than a sealant patch, and you only pay for it once.
Want a roofer to take a look?
Tell us the job and your postcode. We match it with a Find My Roofer certified roofer who specialises in that kind of work, and they call you to quote. Your number goes to them alone.