The first hour matters more than the first phone call
Before anyone gets on the roof, the goal is to limit what the water does inside the house.
- Isolate the power to the affected area at the switchboard if water is near a light fitting, a downlight or a fan.
- Keep clear of a bulging ceiling. A plasterboard sheet holding water is heavy and comes down without warning.
- Move and cover furniture, electronics and anything that stains.
- Catch and contain. A bucket under the drip, and a small relief hole in a bulging ceiling at the lowest point is sometimes the lesser damage, though that is a judgement call.
- Photograph everything before you start cleaning up. Wide shots and close shots, inside and out.
- Then call. (02) 8000 1949. Tell us the suburb, what you can see, and whether water is still coming in.
Nobody should be on a ladder in gusting wind, in the dark, or on wet tiles. If the roof has lost material and the weather has not passed, the correct answer is to protect the inside and wait for a safe window.
Make-safe first, permanent repair second
Storm work runs in two stages for good reason.
Stage one, the make-safe. Temporary cover fitted and tied down properly rather than weighted with a brick, loose and broken material removed so it cannot become airborne again, debris cleared off the roof and out of gutters and valleys so drainage works, and the entry point closed as well as a temporary fix can close it. The purpose is a dry house, not a finished roof.
Stage two, the permanent repair. Once the weather has passed and the full extent is visible, the actual scope gets written up: replacement tiles or sheets, re-formed and re-fixed flashings, new ridge capping and bedding, repaired valleys, gutter and downpipe work, and an assessment of anything structural that has been wet. That is the stage with the written quote and the workmanship warranty attached.
Pushing stage two forward into bad weather is how people end up paying for the same repair twice.
What the weather here actually does to a roof
The Northern Beaches sits side-on to the weather that matters. Two patterns do most of the damage.
Strong onshore wind with rain. Wind arriving off the water carries both force and salt, and it drives rain horizontally into every lap, flashing and joint. A detail that sheds water in vertical rain can take water uphill under that pressure. Roofs that have been quietly leaking a little for years will leak properly during one of these. The exposed ocean-facing streets through Freshwater, Curl Curl, Collaroy, Newport, Whale Beach and Palm Beach feel this first, and so do the ridge-top streets at Beacon Hill and Elanora Heights where there is nothing upwind to slow the gusts.
Southerly change with debris. A fast change through heavy canopy brings limbs down. On the bush-edge streets at Belrose, Forestville, Frenchs Forest, Allambie Heights and Church Point, the common storm damage is not wind lift but impact: a limb through tiles, a broken valley, a gutter torn off its brackets, and then a blocked roof drainage system right when it is needed most.
Add the drainage geography. Runoff off the Collaroy escarpment and the slopes around Narrabeen Lagoon arrives quickly on the flats, so a gutter or valley fault that was tolerable in ordinary rain becomes a ceiling leak in a downpour.
After the wind drops: what you cannot see from the ground
Walk around the house and look for these, then get it inspected properly:
- Tiles out of alignment, or a tile on the lawn or in the gutter
- Ridge caps that look slightly out of line, or pointing lying on the roof surface
- A flashing with a lifted edge at a chimney, skylight or wall junction
- Sheet ends that have lifted and settled back down, often with a visible wave in the profile
- Gutter sagging, pulled brackets, or a downpipe separated at a joint
- Grit, leaf and debris piled against one side of the roof, which tells you where the wind drove water
- Any damp patch in the roof space, even if the ceiling below is still dry
A hidden lifted sheet or displaced cap will not leak in light rain. It will leak in the next real one.
Insurance: what genuinely helps a claim
- Your own photographs, taken before the clean-up and before the make-safe.
- A written report with photographs describing what failed and why, not just that there is damage. This is where a proper roof inspection and report earns its keep.
- The make-safe documentation, showing the steps taken to prevent further loss.
- A clear separation of pre-existing wear from storm damage. Assessors look for this, and an honest report that distinguishes the two is more credible than one that claims everything.
- Prompt notification to your insurer, with the policy number and the date the damage occurred.
We will not tell you what your policy covers, because that is between you and your insurer. What we will do is document the roof accurately.
Costs and call-out
Make-safe cost depends on the area needing cover, the height and pitch of the roof, access and the hour. The permanent repair is quoted after inspection, in writing, itemised. Where insurance is involved, the report and quote are written so an assessor can follow them.
Work is carried out by established, licensed and insured roofing contractors working to NSW Fair Trading requirements, and completed repairs carry a written workmanship warranty.
Call now if water is coming in
(02) 8000 1949. Active water through a ceiling gets priority. If it can wait, send the form and we will book an inspection. We respond across the full service area, ocean side and bush side, and once the house is dry the next question is usually whether you need a repair or a replacement.