How worried would you be about this?

[Hhousee]

It goes dark when it rains heavily but then seems to dry and shrink. It’s got a small circle of black mould in the middle. Has been this big for a while so isn’t getting bigger at the moment. I’m broke and very worried, homeowner. It’s in my bedroom.

Just to add hoping to sell next year, house in good nick generally but wanted to avoid substantial work before moving.

Is this a top floor room (below the loft space) if so I would assume the roof or guttering otherwise. that doesn't necessarily mean the whole roof needs replacing but it could be anything from blocked guttering to a slipped tile to anything upwards in severity.

I appreciate you may not have the funds for repair necessarily but I'd have thought the sensible thing to do would be to get a roofer/builder over to diagnose and quote. It's not like that will cost you anything and at least you will then know what the issue is. If you are able to get the work done then obtain several quotes.

When I moved into my home the bedroom ceilings had been damaged by rain water. The water had been getting in due to damage to the flashing round the chimney. The previous owner had had the problem sorted - i saw the tradesman invoices and receipts.

I can't get up my loft either OP and i worry greatly about the roof, even though I had the roof replaced when I moved in. I send my son up there every few months when he visits, generally after we have had rain, just to check on things.

I agree with pp its a problem that you need to get sorted.

Not necessarily. It could be raising damp from blocked gutter. When did you last have yours cleaned?

It could be a gutter or a few tiles. Can you see the gutter from the ground and see if it overflows or leaks when it rains? Or if any of the tiles look wonky or missing? I assume that is an outside corner not an internal wall corner. The worst thing is if the timbers in that corner of the roof start to rot so I would get someone to get up there and have a look if you can't yourself. You will have to do something about it to sell the house.

I had this and it was because my gutters were blocked and backing up when it rained, forcing the water under the edge of the roof. It was a simple fix and once the ceiling had dried out properly it was repainted and no one would ever know. I would get a roofer out to have a look but it could be quite simple

The gutters should be immediately below the edge of the roof so they catch the runoff from the roof, how do you mean they are lower? Or is that a room in the roof so there is the tiled roof above, which would presumably mean no access from below and it must be a roof issue.

Get gutters cleaned. Check for overhanging trees . Get flashing checked on any exterior. If it’s rain related it’s probably a leaky roof. Remember water runs to the lowest point so it might not be above your damp corner. Number 1 is your gutters though because water pooling over a weak spot will exacerbate it. Good luck, hope it’s not too expensive!

We recently had a lot of work done on our house and several persistent leaks were identified and sorted out. None of them were very significant, a missing tile her and there, some flashing that needed replacing.

I would ask for recommendation of a good local builder and get him round to look. He will need to get into the loft to look, and he may bring a ladder to go onto the roof.

I have had a look and from what I can see it seems the corner of that bedroom is just under where the chimney is or close to it. So it could be that I suppose. I’ve asked someone to come and take a look. Feel so anxious and a bit vulnerable as I have no knowledge of these things.

Given I’ve already left it a while is it likely to have already caused significant damage?

Can you get into the loft yourself and have a good look around in that area. You might find that by now there's a load of soggy insulation which should be removed or the ceiling will take much longer to dry out.

It doesn't look too bad at the moment, not at the significant damage level at all and once the leak's fixed you should be able to just clean the mould and repaint. Use stain stopper paint to cover the water mark once you've treated the mould. Come winter and more rain, it will get worse so worth doing now whether your moving or not, eventually you will need to replace the plasterboard ceiling if it stays wet.

OP a builder won't charge to go up and have a look, that is what they have to do in order to find out the problem and tell you how much it will be to fix it. They may take a photo on their phone to show you the problem.

I had multiple roof leaks in my old house and all it was, was a single cracked tile and a bit of missing pointing. Dont panic. Get someone to have a look.
Can you see anytging obvious from the road, i could see one of my tiles was cracked when I looked.

A common thing around chimneys is the lead flashing needing replacing. So one of my leaks was that my chimney needed a bit of lead flashing replaced and a bit of repainting.
Once fixed you can get some zinzer and put a coat on to stop the water mark coming through and rhen paint it as normal.

Look up leaks on Google.
Leaks onto walls and ceilings can happen due to blocked gutters. Leaves etc bunging them all up. Moss. Or damaged tiles here and there.
You do need to find the source of the problem to get it sorted.
Try your local Council website for a Trusted Trader and look for a handyman to do an initial check for you. He or she will not be free but a first port of call.

@Hhousee Call your insurance company - claim on your contents / building being damaged by a leak. They’ll send someone to assess the damage and tell you if you’re covered or not.

This happened to us many moons ago and our insurance paid for the leak to be fixed and for our bedroom to be redecorated.

You have a leak in your roof, gutters or brickwork. Just get it looked at, OP – leave it and the more penetrating damp will get in and it will get more expensive to fix.

OP, can I suggest that you take a look at this website, all you need to do is enter the type of trade you're looking for, and your postcode, and it comes up with a list of tradespeople that is vetted by Trading Standards.

https://www.buywithconfidence.gov.uk

It looks like you have a leak. You need to get it looked at before it gets worse.

It might just be a cracked or missing tile. You definitely need to get someone to look at it before it becomes a big problem. A roofer would get up on the roof and check the tiles and gutters and probably wouldn't charge for coming to look at it. It will cost you less to get it fixed than you will lose if people drop their offer price to fix an unknown problem.

@JustGotToKeepOnKeepingOn I am
worried that this has been a constant issue when it’s rained over the last few years and now panicking that something huge is going on or masses of damage

Wait until it's raining hard then get up into the loft and see what is happening. It might just be a broken or lose tile but it needs sorting before it causes a ton of damage. If you can get a dehumidifier to dry it out you could use special damp paint then paint over it once it's dry. You must sort leek out first though.

It's one of those 'a stitch in time saves nine'. If you get it sorted now before the winter it will be far cheaper than if you leave it to get worse and still have to get it done. 200 or 300 might sort it.

Could just be a steamy point in your room where wet warm air hits a cold wall/ceiling. Open the windows, use a mould killer and scrub it all back, paint it with mould stuff and then paint with barrier paint then repaint the ceiling.

Might just be a missing/slipped tile, blocked gutter or a bit of reppinting. Don't automatically assume the worst!

Get someone up there you can trust and ask for video evidence if they are quoting you to fix it. I learned how to do most of these kinds of jobs on my home, as tradies are so expensive, take the utter piss and are total fucking letches 80% of the time. Good luck!

Honestly OP if you don't sort it now then it's going to cost potentially a whole lot more after the winter. Don't bury your head in the sand any longer - it won't go away on its own.

Do you have a local facebook group? People can be super helpful and someone may just be able to pop round for you and see what the issue is. Explain the problem and share a pic and explain that you're worried and on low income etc. It is going to cost you though to get it fixed but it will cost you way more in the future if you don't get it fixed now.