Roof Leak Repair in Swindon
Local roofers for repairs, new roofs & flat roofing. Free surveys, fixed written quotes, tidy workmanship.
Swindon Roofing Company traces and repairs leaking roofs across Swindon — chimney flashing, valleys, slipped tiles, split underlay and the condensation problems that get mistaken for leaks. One rule holds on nearly every call: the stain on your ceiling is almost never directly under the hole.
Water gets in at a fault, runs along the underlay, a batten or a rafter, and drops off wherever the timber stops sloping. Chase the stain and you patch the wrong tile. Trace the water and you fix it once.
Where leaks actually start
Flashing and chimney abutments
The most common source by a distance. Cement fillets crack and flashing tape lifts. Code 4 lead, dressed into a raked-out joint, is the repair that lasts.
Valleys
Debris dams the valley and water backs up under the tiles either side. Old lead-lined and cement-fibre valleys on 1960s–80s Swindon estates are frequent offenders.
Slipped and cracked tiles
One tile out of place exposes the underlay. Harmless on a modern breathable membrane; a leak within a season on brittle 50-year-old bitumen felt.
Perished underlay
Felt goes crisp at the eaves and around penetrations first. Once it has failed, tile work above it only buys time.
Condensation, not a leak
Damp that turns up in cold snaps rather than after rain is a loft ventilation problem. Cheaper to fix, and no amount of roof work touches it.
Symptom, source and cost
| What you see inside | Likely source | Typical fix | Cost band |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stain beside the chimney breast | Failed lead flashing or cracked cement fillet | Rake out and re-dress in code 4 lead | £300 – £850 |
| Wet patch only after wind-driven rain | Slipped tile or exposed underlay | Re-fix tiles, patch underlay beneath | £150 – £450 |
| Damp tracking down an internal wall | Valley or abutment leak further up the roof | Clear and re-line the valley | £400 – £1,200 |
| Drips at a roof window reveal | Wrong or failed flashing kit — often condensation | Correct EDW/EDL kit, or ventilation | £250 – £700 |
| Ceiling damp in cold weather, dry after rain | Loft condensation | Eaves and ridge ventilation reinstated | £180 – £600 |
Guide figures 2026. Every leak gets a photographed trace and a fixed written quote before anything is repaired.
How we trace it — and what a temporary fix is for
Tracing starts in the loft with the lights off: daylight through the covering, tide marks down rafters and dark staining on the underlay all point uphill to the entry. Then the outside — flashings, valleys, penetrations, verge and ridge mortar, and whether the covering is still fixed to BS 5534. A controlled hose test, run bottom-up in sections, settles the awkward ones.
If it is live and raining we make safe first, then price the permanent repair at the same visit. Temporary work is exactly that: sealant and tape over a lead failure buys a winter and hides the problem for whoever looks next. NFRC guidance on flashing and valley detailing is what the permanent repair follows, and we will show you the photographs that justify it.
General roof repairs
Tiles, ridges, valleys and flashing — the wider repair service.
Leaking right now?
Emergency make-safe and same-day response where it is safe to go up.
Frequently asked questions
Ready for a free, no-obligation quote?
Call 01793 569397