Emergency Roof Repairs in Reading
Roof repairs, re-roofing and flat roofs across Reading and the Thames valley. Free surveys, fixed written quotes, tidy workmanship.
Reading Roofing Company handles roofing emergencies across Reading — water coming through a ceiling, slates stripped off in a gale, a flat roof membrane lifted, or masonry sitting loose above a public footpath. If it is happening right now, phone rather than fill in a form.
Emergencies run in two stages here. Make it safe and dry today. Fix it properly on a dry day, at a normal price, once we can see what actually failed.
What we treat as urgent
Anything hanging over a pavement
A loose slate on a three-storey terrace is a public safety job before it is a roofing one. Those go to the front of the queue, whatever else is booked.
Water reaching a ceiling
Once plaster is holding water it will come down. We get the ingress stopped and, where it is safe, drain the ceiling in a controlled spot rather than letting it collapse across a room.
Storm-stripped coverings
Missing tiles, lifted ridges and peeled flat roof membranes after a south-westerly. The valley funnels wind and the exposed rear slopes catch it worst.
Blocked parapet and box gutters
In heavy rain a blocked outlet turns a parapet gutter into a tank. Clearing it is often the whole emergency, and it is the cheapest visit on this page.
Call-out prices, agreed before we set off
| Emergency visit | Guide price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Make-safe inspection and minor fix | £220 – £550 | Loose material secured, obvious ingress point sealed, photos |
| Temporary sheeting, battened down | £300 – £800 | Reinforced sheet fixed to hold through the next front, not a flapping tarpaulin |
| Blocked outlet or gutter cleared in the wet | £150 – £400 | Outlet rodded, gutter run cleared, downpipe checked |
| Loose slates or masonry made safe over a footpath | £250 – £600 | Material removed to ground, area cleared, debris taken away |
The make-safe price is agreed on the phone before we travel. No night-time surcharge theatre, and the permanent repair is quoted separately like any other job.
While you are waiting
Put a bucket under it and move what matters out of the way. If water is anywhere near a light fitting or a socket, switch that circuit off at the consumer unit. Do not go up a ladder in wind, and do not go on a wet slate roof at all — slate at 35 degrees in the rain is one of the least forgiving surfaces in the country. Photograph everything as it happens, including the tiles on the lawn and the timestamped mess indoors; it costs nothing and insurers ask for exactly that.
For a claim we can provide photographs from the roof, a written note of cause and scope, and an itemised repair quote. Storm damage is generally covered where the roof was in reasonable order beforehand; long-term wear generally is not. We will tell you honestly which one your roof looks like before you spend an excess finding out.
One more thing worth knowing: a temporary sheet is temporary. Fixed properly it will hold for weeks, but it is battened over an open roof and it wants checking after every gale until the real repair happens. We book that repair in at the same visit so the sheet does not quietly become the roof.
The permanent repair
What the proper fix involves once the weather allows.
Cannot find the source?
Leak tracing on roofs where the water travels before it shows.
Frequently asked questions
Ready for a free, no-obligation quote?
Call 0118 230 9278