Missing or slipped tiles: how urgent is it really?
We would rather tell you something can wait than sell you a callout. Here is how we judge urgency on the same visit.
Water coming in right now? We prioritise active leaks across Hampton, Twickenham, Teddington and the wider TW and KT postcodes.
Call 07748 750711One slipped tile on a roof with sound underlay is not an emergency, but it should be booked within a few weeks. A missing tile with visible daylight or perished underlay beneath it is urgent, because every shower is now going straight onto the timber.
What is actually underneath the tile
Tiles are the first layer, not the only one. Below them the underlay is the real waterproof barrier. On a roof from the last 25 years the underlay is usually intact, so one gap is a low risk. On a 1930s roof with brittle bitumen felt, the same gap is an active leak.
Signs it needs doing now
Daylight visible from inside the loft, damp timber under the gap, several tiles slipped in the same area, a gap near a valley or a chimney, or a slipped tile perched where it could fall onto a path or car.
Signs it can wait a few weeks
One tile, mid slope, on a roof with visibly good underlay, and no damp inside. We will still recommend fixing it before the winter storms, because wind gets under the edge of neighbouring tiles once the run is broken.
Why one tile becomes ten
The exposed edge of the next tile catches the wind. Once one goes the ones around it start lifting, and a twenty minute job becomes a slope of scattered failures with soft battens underneath.
Nail fatigue and when patching stops paying
If tiles are slipping in different places every few months, the nails are corroding across the whole roof. At that point repeated repairs cost more over five years than a re roof, and we will show you both numbers rather than keep coming back.
FAQs
Often yes, where the tile is reachable safely from a roof ladder. Where it is not, we say so and price the access honestly rather than take a risk.
We match common concrete and clay profiles easily. Hand made plain tiles, reclaimed pantiles and Welsh slate sometimes need sourcing, which adds a few days.
Sometimes, if it is undamaged. More often it has chipped on the way down, and we will fit a sound matching tile instead.
Related reading
More on repairs & problems and the jobs that usually come with it.
- Storm damage: what insurance covers and what it does notRepairs & problems
- Roof moss removal: when it matters and when it doesn't
- Roof repair cost: typical prices for common fixes
- How to choose a roofer without getting stungProcess & paperwork
Looking for something specific? See our roofing services, cost guides, common roof problems or the areas we cover.
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Family-run and Hampton-based. Tell us what you're seeing on the roof and we'll come and look properly before quoting.