How to prepare your roof for heavy rain and wind
What are the Best Steps on How to Prepare Your Roof for Heavy Rain and Wind
To prepare your roof for heavy rain and wind, the essentials are straightforward. Clear your gutters and downpipes, check for slipped or cracked tiles, look over the ridge line and flashing for anything loose, cut back branches hanging over the roof, and deal with small faults before the weather arrives rather than after it. Most of this can be assessed from the ground with a pair of binoculars, and anything that needs a closer look is worth booking a roofer for while conditions are still calm.
The reason this matters is that storm damage almost never starts from nothing. A roof in good order shrugs off a gale, while the roofs that fail are nearly always the ones already carrying a small, unnoticed fault that the wind and rain then exploit. From working on coastal roofs across Worthing, Lancing and the wider West Sussex area, we’ve found this to be the single biggest factor in whether a home comes through a storm dry. The salt-laden winds and driving rain coming off the Channel are unforgiving, and they find every weak point. The good news is that a short pre-season check, the same one we would run ourselves, catches most of those weak points before they cost you anything.
Start with the gutters and drainage
Blocked gutters are the most common reason heavy rain causes damage, and the easiest thing to put right. When gutters and downpipes are clogged with leaves, grit and moss, water backs up, spills over the edge and runs down the walls, soaking fascias and finding its way into the roof structure. Before the wet season, clear everything out and run water through to check it drains freely.
While you are there, look at the surrounding roofline. Cracked or sagging fascias and soffits let water and wind get behind the edge of the roof, so worn soffits and fascias are worth sorting now rather than mid-storm. Heavy moss is another one to deal with early, because it holds water against the tiles and washes down into the gutters every time it rains, blocking them again.
Check the tiles, slates and ridge
Slipped, cracked or missing tiles are the obvious vulnerability, since a single gap lets wind get under the covering and lifts more tiles in a chain reaction. Scan the whole roof from the ground and note anything sitting unevenly, and look in the loft on a bright day for any chinks of daylight coming through.
Pay particular attention to the ridge, the line along the very top of the roof, because it takes the full force of the wind and is one of the first things to go in a gale. Loose or crumbling mortar here is a serious risk, which is why ridge pointing is worth checking before the season rather than discovering the problem when a ridge tile comes down. We’ve found that failed ridge work is behind a large share of the emergency calls we get after the first big blow of the autumn.
Inspect the flashing, chimneys and joints
The places where the roof meets something else are where most leaks begin. Lead flashing seals the joints around chimneys, valleys and abutments, and when it splits, lifts or pulls away, water gets straight in. Check that it still sits flush and that the mortar holding it is sound.
Chimneys deserve their own look, since they are tall, exposed and often the oldest part of the roof. Cracked flaunching, eroded pointing or a leaning stack all become more dangerous in high wind, so chimney repairs are better handled before a storm than after one has loosened things further.
Clear what is around the roof
Not every risk is on the roof itself. Overhanging branches whip against tiles in the wind and can tear a covering open in seconds, so cut them back before the season. Check that nearby trees are healthy and unlikely to drop a limb, and on the day a storm is forecast, move or secure loose items in the garden that could be thrown against the roof or windows.
Do not forget flat roofs
Flat roofs on extensions, garages and porches need their own attention, because they manage water differently and standing water is their enemy. Before heavy rain, clear any debris so the roof can drain, and check the seams and edges where most failures begin. If a flat roof is already showing blisters, splits or pooling, that is a sign to get it looked at before the wet weather tests it properly.
Book a professional inspection before the season
There is a limit to what is safe and sensible to check yourself from the ground, and climbing onto a wet or windy roof is not worth the risk. A professional inspection picks up the faults that are invisible from below, the lifted flashing, the hairline cracks, the nail fatigue, and these are exactly the faults that turn a routine storm into an expensive one.
In our experience, a planned inspection before the storm season works better than waiting to see what the first big storm dislodges, because the faults that cause the worst damage are usually small, cheap to fix and almost impossible to spot from the ground until water is already coming through the ceiling. Catching them in calm weather costs a fraction of the repair bill once the damage is done. Where something does go wrong in the middle of a storm, our 24-hour emergency callout is there to make the roof safe and watertight quickly, but the aim of preparing your roof properly is to avoid needing it. Any faults the check turns up are usually a quick roof repair rather than anything major.
Be ready before the weather turns
Preparing your roof is mostly about timing. The work is small and cheap when done in advance, and large and disruptive when left until water is already getting in. Keep an eye on the Met Office weather warnings through the autumn and winter so you know when serious weather is coming, and get any niggles dealt with before it does.
With over 20 years working on exposed coastal roofs across West Sussex, fully insured and vetted through Approved Roofers, the Roofing Register and Checkatrade, rated roofers know exactly what local roofs need before a storm. If you would like your roof checked over before the next spell of heavy weather, get in touch for a free, no-obligation quote.
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