Inside the house
The most obvious sign is a damp patch or discolouration on a ceiling or upper wall, but it's rarely the first sign. Before that, look for a musty smell in the loft or top-floor rooms, small dark spots of mould around ceilings or loft hatches, and paint or wallpaper that's started to bubble or peel for no obvious reason. If you have loft access, a torch and five minutes is worth it — look for damp timber, dark staining on the underside of the roof, or daylight showing through where it shouldn't.
Outside the house
From ground level, binoculars are more useful than a ladder. Look for tiles or slates that are cracked, slipped out of alignment, or missing altogether — even one missing tile is enough to let water in. Check the valleys where two roof slopes meet, the flashing around chimneys and where the roof meets a wall, and the guttering itself — sagging, overflowing or plant growth in the gutter are all signs something needs attention.
After a storm
High winds are the single biggest cause of sudden leaks. If you've had a bad night of weather, a quick visual check afterwards — even just from your garden or the street — can catch a slipped tile or damaged flashing before the next rainfall gets in. This is exactly the kind of thing our emergency roof repair team deals with most.
What to do if you spot something
Don't wait. A missing tile or a small area of failed flashing is a quick, inexpensive fix. Left for a few months, the same problem can mean replaced timber, damaged insulation, or a plasterboard ceiling that needs redoing — all because water found a way in and nobody caught it early. If you're not sure whether what you're looking at is a problem, a free assessment costs you nothing and settles the question either way.