Roof Leaking at Night: What Can Wait Until Morning?

When water is dripping through at night, start with the room, not the roof. Move furniture, rugs and anything electrical out from under the drip. Stand a large pan or bowl under the drip, with a folded towel in the bottom so the sound does not keep you awake and the water does not splash.

What if the water is running down a wall?

Put a sheet of plastic or a tray against the floor and lay towels along the skirting. Rolled towels at the foot of the wall will slow the spread. If a ceiling is sagging, place the bucket under the lowest point and keep people out of the room.

Do not stand directly under a stained or bulging ceiling. A patch that holds water can fail all at once, bringing down plaster and the water above it. Our page on a bulging ceiling with a water leak explains the risk. Open a loft hatch only if the ladder is steady, the area is dry and you can see clearly with a torch, and never go into the loft if you smell burning or hear crackling.

Water and mains power must be kept apart. If water is close to a ceiling light, a socket or a smoke alarm cable, switch off that circuit at the consumer unit, the fuse board in the hall or under the stairs.

When should I turn off the whole house?

If you cannot tell which circuit serves the wet area, if a wall holding sockets is wet, or if the consumer unit itself is damp, it is safer to turn off the main switch. If you would have to wade through water to reach the unit, stay away and phone your network operator or 999.

An electrician needs to check any fitting that has had water on it before it is used again. Our answer on a roof leak near a light fitting goes through that sequence in more detail. Use torches or battery lights overnight, rather than a lamp plugged in beside the wet area.

Leave the repair of the fitting itself to an electrician, and wait for the all clear before the lights go back on. A night without the lights is a nuisance, and a fault in damp wiring is much worse.

This takes five minutes and it helps whoever comes to look at the roof, and the insurer if there is a claim. Take photographs of the stain, the drip, the buckets, any damaged items and the outside of the house if it is safe to see from the ground. The dates are stored with the pictures. Add a note of when the leak started, how hard it was raining and which way the wind was blowing.

Who should I tell about a night leak?

If the leak followed a storm, tell your home insurer, because policies set their own conditions on reporting and temporary repairs. Keep receipts for anything you buy to make the house safe. Which? notes that most insurers have emergency helplines, and IStructE says photographs are vital for a claim. Our answer on home insurance and a leaking roof covers the steps.

Do not throw away damaged materials, such as a wet piece of carpet or a stained ceiling tile, until the insurer has said it may be done. Keep the damaged item, or a clear photograph of it, and write down what it is worth.

Some night leaks need a call straight away. They are those where there is a danger to people, or where the roof is so damaged that daylight will only bring more harm.

Which problems are emergencies?

Call at once if water is coming through near electrics and you cannot reach the consumer unit safely, if a ceiling is bulging or sagging with water, if slates, tiles or a chimney have come down, or if a patch of roof has gone completely. Call, too, if a tree has fallen onto the house. In each case, keep everyone out of the affected room and, if there is any danger to life, ring 999.

For the rest, a steady drip into a bucket can wait for daylight. Our guide to when a roof problem is an emergency goes further into the difference. The make-safe comes first and the permanent repair follows the survey.

In the morning, send the photographs and say where the water showed. A survey follows, with photographs from your own roof and a total in writing. See our emergency roof repairs page for how the process runs.