Maintenance

A tile that looks out of place after the wind.

A tile, ridge or gutter you can see out of line is a reason to phone once the wind has dropped. While it is still blowing, stay inside. If you may claim on the buildings policy, the insurer comes before any repair.

Checked 14 October 2026. For homes in England. The Malta directory is a separate list, and it does not use the electricity number below.

This note does not inspect the roof, and it does not describe a way onto it. The visit is one you arrange. Local Trades UK does not pass the job on and does not promise a reply.

While the wind is still up

On 13 October 2026 the Met Office described a changeable week: rain and strong winds, then cooler air. For Wednesday it expected gales in the northwest, with gusts that could reach 50 to 60 mph and perhaps 70 mph in the far northwest, and a yellow severe weather warning for wind. Elsewhere it expected wind across central and northern areas. Much of England and Wales was forecast to stay drier through Wednesday, with the wind strengthening from the west, then rain reaching northern England and west Wales on Thursday. By Friday, temperatures across parts of England and Wales could be around six degrees lower than earlier in the week.

That warning covers the northwest. A tile you can already see out of line on your own roof is a separate reason to phone, including where the warning did not apply. The rain behind this week's wind is what turns a gap into a stain on the ceiling.

The Met Office page on staying safe in a storm says to stay indoors as much as possible, and not to go outside to repair damage while the storm is in progress. If you do go out, keep away from buildings and trees, and from the sheltered side of boundary walls and fences, because that is the side they fall towards. After the wind, keep clear of cables that are down or still hanging, and stay back from walls, buildings and trees the wind may have weakened.

What you can see from the ground

Once it is safe to look, from a window or from the pavement, these are reasons to phone a roofer:

  • A tile or slate sitting proud of its neighbours, cracked, or missing.
  • A ridge tile twisted, lifted, or gone.
  • A length of gutter hanging, or a downpipe pulled away from the wall.
  • A piece of tile, slate or flashing on the ground.
  • A branch now lying across the tiles.
  • Daylight in the loft that you have not seen there before.

For a gutter that is still fixed and pouring onto the wall, read water sitting against the house after the rain. Leaves in a gutter that is still fixed, before water is on the wall, are leaves sitting in the gutter now the wind has eased.

Photograph what you can see from that safe place before anything is moved. If the tree is not on your land, the Association of British Insurers says to contact the owner. The person who goes onto the roof is the roofer, on a visit you book.

Open the roofing list, including London and Manchester. You phone, email, or use the website on the record. TrustMark on a card is shown only when that record already has it.

A slipped tile is a repair visit. A price for a whole new covering is a later conversation, after someone has looked. What that larger price is usually made of sits in what sits inside a price for a new roof covering. This page has no call-out figure.

A blown fence or gate is a separate note: a fence that is already loose before the wind. The ABI says gates and fences are generally outside standard buildings policies. A shed panel is a question for the insurer, because cover differs by policy. The roofing list is for the covering, the gutter and the flashing.

If you may claim, phone the insurer first

The ABI says that if the building or the contents are damaged, contact the insurer as soon as possible. Most have a 24-hour emergency helpline. Have the policy number to hand. Do nothing that puts anyone in the household at risk, and go back only when it is safe.

A temporary repair, to stop the damage spreading, comes after that call. Tell the insurer, keep the photographs, and keep an itemised invoice and the receipts. Keep damaged pieces as well, unless they are a danger to health, because the insurer may want to see them.

Whether the weather counts as a storm is the insurer's decision, from the policy and from local records. The ABI's note for that assessment describes a storm as gusts of at least 55 mph, or torrential rain of at least 25 mm in an hour, or snow to a depth of 30 cm in 24 hours, or hail that damages hard surfaces or breaks glass. A weather station may not match your street, and insurers can look at nearby properties as well. They also ask whether the fault was already there. Tiles loosen when the fixings corrode, and wind can reveal that. Cover for sudden damage is a different question from paying for maintenance. This page cannot say that a claim will be paid.

Home emergency cover, where a policy includes it, is a separate option and can include a roof that has lost tiles. It is not part of every buildings policy. The insurer is who confirms that. If the insurer appoints a contractor, follow that process. If you are choosing a business yourself, use the list and phone them.

A cable on the ground

A cable the wind has brought down, or that is still hanging, is a call to the electricity network. The Energy Networks Association says to keep as far away as you can, and to keep other people away, without putting yourself in danger. In England, Scotland and Wales the free number is 105. It connects you to the local network operator, which is the company that looks after the lines, not the company that sends the bill. If someone is in immediate danger, call 999.

This note is for homes in England. Northern Ireland uses a different electricity number. A roofer is the call for the covering, after the line is safe.

When the ceiling is already wet

Water on a top-floor ceiling, or a stain that darkens when it rains, is the pattern in a damp patch that appears after rain. Phone the roofer about the covering, and use that note to separate a leak from a damp-course job.

Sources

Questions on this fault

The wind is still up and a tile looks out of line. Do I go outside and fix it?

Stay inside while the wind is still up. The Met Office says to stay indoors as much as possible during a storm, and not to go outside to repair damage while the storm is in progress. Phone a roofer once it is safe to look from a window or the pavement. If you may claim on the buildings policy, phone the insurer first. Most insurers have a 24-hour emergency helpline.

The yellow warning was for the northwest. Do I still phone about a tile I can see?

Phone when you can see the fault, including on a street that was only windy. The Met Office, on 13 October 2026, put the gales and the yellow wind warning in the northwest. Much of England and Wales was expected to see strengthening wind, with rain reaching northern England and west Wales on Thursday. A tile, ridge or gutter out of line is a reason to phone a roofer. If you may claim, phone the insurer first. The insurer decides whether the weather meets the policy.