Storm Damage to Your Roof in the North East: What to Do and Who to Call

The North East gets its fair share of storms. Winter gales off the North Sea batter the coastline from Berwick down to Hartlepool, and exposed areas like Consett, the Pennine villages, and the Durham Dales take a hammering too. If you wake up to missing tiles, a loose ridge, or water coming in after a storm, here is what to do.

Assess from the ground

Do not climb onto your roof. Walk around your property and look up. Can you see missing or displaced tiles? Is any lead flashing lifted or missing around the chimney? Are ridge tiles sitting at odd angles? Has anything blown off completely? Take photos from the ground. These will be useful for insurance claims and when getting quotes.

Check inside your loft space too. Look for daylight coming through the roof (a sign of missing tiles), wet insulation, or water stains on the timbers. If water is actively coming in, put a bucket underneath and contact a roofer as soon as possible.

Make it safe

If tiles or debris have fallen into your garden, path, or onto a shared area, clear them if it is safe to do so. If anything is hanging from the roof or guttering and could fall on someone, tape off the area below and warn your neighbours.

Do not attempt temporary repairs yourself. Getting on a damaged roof in wet, windy conditions is dangerous. A roofer with the right equipment and experience can make it safe quickly.

Contact your insurance company

If the damage is significant (more than just a couple of tiles), call your buildings insurance provider. Most home insurance policies cover storm damage. They will want to know when the storm happened, what damage has occurred, and whether you have taken reasonable steps to prevent further damage (like placing buckets under leaks). Get a reference number and ask what their process is for approving repairs.

Some insurers will want to send their own assessor. Others will accept quotes from your chosen roofer. Either way, do not wait for the insurance company before getting emergency repairs done. If you need a tarp over an exposed area to stop water damage, get it done and keep the receipt. Insurers expect you to mitigate further damage.

Getting a roofer after a storm

This is where it gets tricky. After a major storm, every roofer in the North East is busy. Wait times of one to two weeks are common. Be wary of anyone who knocks on your door offering to fix your roof. Storm chasers travel from area to area after bad weather, do cheap temporary repairs, charge high prices, and disappear. They are not insured, they are not local, and the work rarely lasts.

Instead, contact roofers who are established in your area. On North East Trades, you can search for rated roofers in your town and see their Google reviews. A roofer with a solid local reputation is worth waiting a few days for, compared to a stranger who turns up uninvited.

What storm repairs typically cost

Replacing a handful of blown-off tiles: £150 to £350. Re-bedding loose ridge tiles: £300 to £600. Replacing a section of lead flashing: £300 to £600. Emergency tarpaulin to make a roof watertight: £200 to £400. Full ridge repointing on a semi: £400 to £800.

If the storm has caused structural damage (a fallen tree on the roof, for example), costs are obviously higher and you should get your insurer involved immediately.

After the repair

Ask your roofer to do a full inspection while they are up there. Storms often reveal problems that were already developing. A cracked tile that was hanging on might have been leaking slowly for months. Catching these issues while the roofer is already on site saves money compared to a separate call-out later.