A roof that still leaks after the repair was done

2 days ago
3 min read

Introduction

You repaired a leak three weeks ago. The customer rings after the first proper storm to say water is coming in again, in roughly the same place, and would like to know what they paid for.

Leak tracing is genuinely difficult work. Water enters at one point, travels along a batten or a rafter, and appears somewhere else entirely. A repair that correctly fixed one entry point can be followed by a second leak from a different cause, and from the ceiling below both look identical. The customer cannot tell them apart.

1. A roof that still leaks after the repair is often a second defect

That distinction matters and it is hard to explain persuasively after the fact. Which is why you say it first.

Water travels before it appears

The stain on a ceiling is rarely below the hole. This is why a repair can be correct and the ceiling can still get wet. Explain it with the timber.

Old roofs have multiple failure points

A covering at the end of its life will leak repeatedly in different places. Patch repairs on such a roof are a holding action, not a solution. Say that at the quote.

2. Say all of that before the first repair, not after

This is the whole of the prevention. Everything else is recovery.

Explain what a patch repair can and cannot do

Written on the quote: this addresses the defect found at this location, and an aged covering may develop others. Nobody argues with that in advance. One sentence on the quote.

Recommend the real fix even if they will not buy it

If a roof needs replacing, say so in writing and quote it. Then the patch is a decision the customer made with full information. Keep a copy of both.

3. Go back promptly and without charging

Attendance is the whole reputation. Refusing to return is fatal.

Return quickly, especially after weather

Same week. A roofer who comes back after a storm without invoicing is a roofer people recommend. Go up and look.

Investigate properly rather than patching hopefully

Get into the loft in the wet if you can. Guessing a second time damages your credibility far more than the first leak did. Trace it properly.

4. Show the customer what you find

Evidence resolves what argument cannot. Show, do not tell.

Photograph and explain the new defect

From the roof and from the loft. Somebody who can see a cracked tile two metres from the first repair understands immediately. Send the pictures.

Explain the travel path

Showing where water enters and where it emerges is what makes the difference between an excuse and an explanation.

5. Be clear about what is guaranteed

Ambiguity here creates every dispute. Define the scope in writing.

Guarantee the specific repair, in writing

What is covered, for how long, and that it applies to the defect repaired rather than to the whole roof.

Honour it without argument when it applies

If your repair failed, redo it immediately and free. That is the cheapest advertising available and the alternative is a review that mentions the roof and the attitude. Attitude is what gets quoted.

Conclusion

A ceiling that gets wet again is often a second defect rather than a failed repair, because water travels along battens and rafters before it appears, and an aged covering will fail repeatedly in different places.

The problem is that this is unpersuasive after the fact, so say it before the first repair: put on the quote that you are addressing the defect found at this location and that an old covering may develop others, and recommend the real fix in writing even if they decline it. Then go back promptly and without charging, investigate properly rather than patching hopefully, photograph the new defect and explain the travel path, and guarantee the specific repair clearly.