Common Roof Repairs on the Garden Route

Roofs here fail in a predictable order. Salt takes the fixings, wind finds the flashings, and the Outeniqua winter finds anything the first two left open. These are the repairs we do most, and roughly what each involves.

Common Roof Repairs on the Garden Route — practical guidance from the team running roof repairs on the Garden Route. If you are still weighing up whether to repair at all, read repair or replace a roof first. This is the catalogue of what a repair usually turns out to be.

Fixings and sealing washers on steel roofs

The most common repair we do on this coast, and the one most often mistaken for a failed roof.

Steel sheeting is fixed with screws carrying a neoprene or EPDM sealing washer. The washer perishes long before the sheet does — UV degrades it, thermal movement works it loose, and salt air corrodes the fastener head around it. Water then tracks down the shank of the screw and appears on the ceiling somewhere unrelated.

The repair is re-fixing with new fasteners and fresh sealing washers, usually one size up so the new screw bites fresh metal rather than spinning in the old hole. On a roof where the sheet is otherwise sound, this buys many years for a fraction of a re-roof.

The tell is rust bleeding in small circles around each screw while the sheet between them looks fine. That is a fixing problem, not a sheet problem.

Valley and wall flashings

Valleys carry more water than any other part of a roof, and on a tiled roof they are also where debris collects. A rusted or lifted valley flashing produces a leak that runs well away from the actual entry point.

Wall abutment flashings — where a roof plane meets a vertical wall, usually at a step or a chimney — are the other frequent culprit. Wind-driven rain gets behind a flashing that has lifted or was never properly chased and sealed into the wall.

Both are replaceable without touching the rest of the roof. On tile, that means lifting the courses either side, replacing the flashing in the correct material, and re-bedding. On steel, it is a matter of removing, re-forming and re-fixing with the correct upstand.

The failure mode we see most is a flashing that was face-sealed with mastic instead of chased in. Mastic is a maintenance item, not a detail — it lasts a few years and then the leak returns.

Ridge and hip re-bedding

On tiled roofs, the ridge and hip tiles are traditionally bedded in mortar. That mortar cracks with thermal movement and eventually drops out in pieces, leaving the ridge tiles loose and the roof open along its highest line.

You can usually see it from the ground: gaps in the mortar bed, or a ridge tile sitting visibly proud. After a strong wind you sometimes find pieces of it in the gutter.

Re-bedding is straightforward — lift the ridge tiles, clean off the old mortar, re-bed and point. Dry ridge systems, which use a mechanically fixed batten and ventilated closure instead of mortar, are worth considering on exposed roofs because they do not crack in the first place and they let the roof space breathe.

Left long enough, a failed ridge lets water into the roof space along the whole length of the ridge, and that is when battens and underlay start suffering.

Broken, slipped and delaminating tiles

Individual cracked or slipped tiles are the simplest repair there is, provided the profile can still be matched. Concrete tiles crack from foot traffic — often from a previous contractor walking the roof carelessly — and clay tiles can shatter from impact.

Delamination is different and more serious. When concrete tiles start flaking in layers across the whole roof, that is the tile reaching the end of its service life, and replacing individuals is chasing the problem.

Slipped tiles usually mean a failed fixing nail or a broken batten underneath, so the tile itself may be fine. Just re-seating it without checking the batten puts it back in the same position to slip again.

Gutters, fascias and the water you cannot see

Blocked gutters cause more internal damp than most people credit. Water backs up over the rear edge of the gutter, runs down behind the fascia, and gets into the eaves and the wall head. Nothing on the roof has failed, but the ceiling is wet.

On this coast, the volume matters too. A gutter and downpipe sized for average rainfall can be overwhelmed in a serious front, and once the gutter overflows at the back rather than the front, the water goes inside.

Fascia and barge boards take the weather directly and are often the first visible sign of neglect. Rotten timber fascia also means the gutter brackets have nothing sound to fix into, so gutters start pulling away.

Clearing, re-aligning to proper falls, replacing perished brackets and dealing with rotten fascia is unglamorous and it prevents a surprising share of the damp we get called to.

Storm damage and what insurers ask for

After a serious front we get called to lifted sheets, displaced ridge tiles and torn flashings. The immediate priority is making it watertight — temporary covering, then a proper repair once the weather allows.

For an insurance claim, photographs of the damage in place before anything is removed are worth more than any description afterwards. We photograph before we touch anything, and we itemise the repair so the assessor can see what was replaced and why.

Repeat storm damage in the same place usually means the original detail was marginal rather than the storm exceptional. Re-fixing to the same specification just schedules the next claim, so we will normally recommend upgrading the fixing pattern or the flashing detail at the affected area.

Frequently asked questions

What are the most common roof repairs?

On this coast: replacing perished sealing washers and fasteners on steel roofs, replacing rusted or lifted valley and wall flashings, re-bedding cracked ridge and hip mortar, replacing individual broken or slipped tiles, and clearing or realigning gutters. Fixings and flashings account for the large majority of leaks we trace.

Why is my roof leaking around the screws?

The neoprene sealing washers on the fasteners have perished, or the fasteners have loosened with thermal movement and salt corrosion. Water then tracks down the screw shank. The repair is re-fixing with new fasteners and fresh washers, usually one size larger so they bite into fresh metal.

How much of a roof repair is urgent?

Anything letting water into the roof space is urgent, because the damage compounds — underlay perishes, battens rot, and eventually truss timber is affected. Cosmetic issues such as weathered coating or a slightly bowed fascia can wait. If water is reaching the ceiling, the clock is running.

Can you repair a roof in winter?

Yes, and much of our repair work happens in winter because that is when leaks announce themselves. Some work needs a dry window — bedding mortar and coatings in particular — so for active leaks in bad weather we get a temporary cover on first and complete the proper repair when conditions allow.

Why does the leak show up in a different place to the damage?

Water entering at a valley, upstand or fixing runs along battens, purlins or the underside of the sheeting before it drips. It commonly appears metres from where it got in. That is exactly why tracing the source matters more than patching the stain — patching where the ceiling is wet usually fixes nothing.

Should I re-bed my ridge or fit a dry ridge system?

Re-bedding is cheaper and matches the existing roof. A dry ridge system costs more but does not crack with thermal movement and ventilates the roof space, which is worth considering on exposed roofs or where the mortar has already failed twice.

Do I need to report storm damage before repairs?

For an insurance claim, photograph the damage in place before anything is moved or removed, and notify the insurer before permanent repairs begin. Emergency work to make the roof watertight is normally acceptable and expected — just document what you did.

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