Roof leak repairs Dublin

The short answer

A leak is a tracing job first and a repair second. Fix the wrong thing and the stain comes back with the next storm.

We trace and repair roof leaks on slate and tile roofs across Dublin: failed flashings, blocked or split valleys, slipped slates, cracked tiles, loose ridges, and the perished felt behind them.

If water is coming in now, ring and say so. We fit leaks in first, same day where we have a slot and the next working day at the latest, and we can make it watertight before the full repair if the weather is against us.

Where Dublin roofs leak

Water gets into a pitched roof at the places where something meets something else. The lead flashing where the chimney comes through the slates is the biggest one on Dublin's older housing: the lead cracks with age, the mortar it was chased into falls out, or the soakers underneath were never there in the first place. A valley where two slopes meet is the second, either blocked with moss so water backs up under the slates, or with the lead or GRP liner split along a fold.

Then the covering itself. A slipped slate on a natural slate roof leaves a gap the width of a hand. A cracked concrete tile lets water through onto felt that, on a house from the seventies, has long since gone brittle and torn. A ridge tile with the mortar gone lets wind-driven rain straight in along the top. And on the newer estates, the felt lap at the eaves has often rotted where it sat in the gutter, so water tracks back along the batten instead of dropping into the gutter.

The stain on the ceiling is rarely under the hole. Water runs down the felt, along a batten or a rafter, and drops where it meets a nail or a joint, which can be a couple of metres from where it came in. That is why we trace from the roof and the loft, not from the bedroom.

How we find the leak

It starts with your description: which room, which wall, whether it comes in with every rain or only in wind from one direction, whether it is worse after a dry spell. Then the loft, with a torch, looking for the wet timber, the water tracks and the daylight. Then the roof, working back up from the wet spot to the covering above it, checking every junction on the way.

Everything found is photographed from the ladder or the loft before a quote goes out, so the quote describes the actual entry point and the actual fix rather than a guess. If we cannot find it dry we come back in rain; a leak that only shows in a south-westerly needs to be seen in a south-westerly.

Leak repairs we carry out

Priced as a repair, with the cause and the fix written on the quote.

• Lead flashing renewed at chimneys, abutment walls, dormers and pipe penetrations, in Code 4 or Code 5 milled lead
• Valleys cleared of moss and debris, patched, or relined in lead or GRP
• Slipped, cracked and missing slates and tiles replaced and matched
• Ridge and hip tiles rebedded and pointed, or fixed on a dry ridge system
• Torn or perished felt replaced in the affected area and the battens renewed where they have rotted
• Eaves felt trays fitted where the felt has rotted into the gutter
• Cracked or displaced tiles around vents, skylights and aerials made good
• Emergency cover fitted where the full repair has to wait for dry weather

What a proper leak repair looks like

It is not a tube of sealant. Mastic smeared along a flashing or into a valley holds for a season and then fails, usually taking the next repair with it because the lead now has to be cleaned before it can be worked. A leak repair means the failed material comes out and new material goes in: new lead, dressed and chased into the wall; a new tile bedded where the old one cracked; a new length of felt lapped under the course above.

When the repair is done you get photos from the same spot before and after. If the leak has soaked the ceiling or the insulation we will tell you what we saw in the loft so you can deal with the inside once the outside is dry.

How it goes

1. Ring, and tell us if it is coming in now. Active leaks go to the front of the week. A photo of the stain and one of the roof from the road, plus which way the wall faces, help us arrive with the right materials.
2. Trace it from the loft and the roof. Same-week visit on most calls. We photograph the entry point and anything else on the way out, and the written quote follows within 48 hours.
3. The repair. Most flashing, valley, slate and ridge repairs are a half day to a day. If the weather will not allow the full repair, we make it watertight first and come back.
4. Photos and sign-off. Before and after photos the same day, and a note of anything in the loft you should know about.

What we do not do

We repair leaks on pitched slate and tile roofs. We do not replace whole roofs, and if what we find is felt and battens gone across the entire roof we will show you the photos and say a repair is not the honest answer. Flat felt roofs: ask, and we will tell you whether it is one we can take on. Inside repairs to ceilings and plaster are a separate trade once the roof is dry.

Common questions

How quickly can you fix a leaking roof in Dublin?

Ring and say it is active. We fit leaks in first, same day where we have a slot and the next working day at the latest. If a full repair has to wait for dry weather we make the roof watertight in the meantime.

Can you find a leak that only happens in certain weather?

Yes, but it may take two visits. A leak that only shows in wind from one direction has to be seen in that weather, so if we cannot find it dry we come back when it rains rather than guess.

Why is the stain on my ceiling nowhere near the chimney?

Water runs. It comes in at the flashing, travels down the felt or along a rafter and drops where it meets a nail or a joint. The stain tells you which side of the house, not where the hole is. We trace it back from the loft and the roof.

Will you seal it with mastic to save money?

No. Sealant over a failed flashing or valley lasts a season and makes the proper repair harder. We replace what failed. If money is tight we will tell you the smallest proper repair that stops the water and leave the rest for later.

Get a free quote

Call 085 781 4603 or request a quote. Free site visit, written quote within 48 hours.