Fix a Leak – Leak Repairs NZ Wide!

There are a few basic reasons why roofs leak.

No matter how well built your home is, the roof will leak at some point in its life. Your roof was most likely designed with the best intentions by the builder, but one or two shortcuts taken, coupled with lack a of roof maintenance, can become a real headache for you… sometimes long term! If a roof fails early on in its life, common sense win point towards ‘shonky’ building practices… or a complete design failure.

What can you do if a roof leak does occur? Firstly, a leak in a pitched roof is usually nothing to worry about, because there are only so many places it could be coming it. A flat roof leak is alittle more scary to deal with due to the lack of access in the ceiling space.

Step 1 with any leak is find the leak source. Depending on the source of the leak will depend on the next step that needs to be taken. E.G. If the leak is coming through a chimney, then you would need to find a roofer who is experienced in fixing and repairing these types of chimney leaks… as is could be flashing detail, through the top etc etc.

If you don’t know how to fix a roof leak yourself, then another thing to consider is getting into the ceiling space asap and removing any insulation that could be getting wet… or anything else up there that could get water damaged.

Please make sure that you don’t scale the roof if you don’t know what you’re doing… it’s a high risk exercise for multiple reasons, such as; the roof will be wet at the time of leak, there may be moss and grime build up on the roof that could be slippery, you may damage the roof if you step in the wrong spot… and, if you slip and fall it could get real serious. Hire a professional roof repair company for your own safety!

Roof leaks that cause damage are usually covered by insurance, so the more proof you can get during the course of the leak, the better. If your home has a master builders guarantee, then check the fine print on your contract as the builder may be obligated to repair the issue.

Not all roof leaks are caused by cracked roof tiles, flashing failures, rusted iron etc, it can be something as simple as a blocked gutter or downpipe. There have been plenty of cases where a the soffit on a house has a negative pitch (or no soffit – with internal gutters), and the water has tracked across the ceiling and dripping out through a light or low point.

Not all ceiling leaks are caused by a roof problem… it could be due to a plumbing leak. How to you find a leak in your plumbing system?

At the end of the day, if you keep your roof maintained on a regular basis, then you should suffer any leaking problems unless extreme weather conditions have occured.