Damp patch on bedroom wall - please help (with pic)

[AchillesLastStand]

I had ‘roofers’ out this week to replace a faulty drainpipe and clean out and replace a gutter. They had a look over my roof, were sitting on it and filmed videos, and unsurprisingly found lots of repairs that needed attention to the tune of £6k. I paid them for the work carried our and sent them on their way. There was one part of the wall in my bedroom, not an external wall, but near the roofline adjacent to the window where a damp patch has appeared when it started to rain within hours after they left. I’m furious because it looks like they’ve deliberately damaged my roof so they can get more trade from me (that’s not happening). They were up a ladder ‘rummaging’ in that part of the roof telling me how it wouldn’t hold out for long.

I have posted a photo from yesterday. I have a reputable roofer coming out tomorrow afternoon. He thinks it’s likely a broken tile where they’ve put their foot through the roof. I would appreciate any input/ideas, thank you.

Input about the cause or input about whether we think your roofers caused it?

You have my sympathy, we hired roofers to fit new gutters when we moved into our house. The gutters were fitted appallingly, water poured over the top in some places and flooded the path, and they stood on our single story extension to fit higher up guttering cracking several tiles there.

Maybe yours were incompetent like mine rather than malicious? fingers crossed it’s just a slipped or cracked tile and the roofer can do a simple -and not too costly-fix when he assesses tomorrow. Good luck!

You paid them 6 thousand pounds ?

I think the roofers definitely caused it, whether by accident or not I don’t know. I hope the gutters they installed are okay. I’m sorry to hear you’ve had issues too. As a first time homeowner I’m finding it very stressful trying to find decent tradesmen.

I just really wanted opinion of whether the leak was definitely coming from the roof. It’s leaking down on the wall in adjoining room now so it looks like it’s the case. I’m hoping the new roofer can sort it out tomorrow because there’s lots of rain forecast.

No I definitely didn’t. I paid them for two gutters, facias, soffits and one drainpipe on my 4 bed detached house, that was £3.5k. They went onto my roof and found lots of other ‘work’ which urgently needed doing totalling £6.5k and I told them no. To be fair, they new facias and soffits do look good and they stripped and removed all the old original wood from the 1970s, but then they started getting pushy about having the other work done. Then they were up the ladder meddling with the roof where the leak now is, then left, then it started to rain heavily, now I have a damp wall. I don’t think it’s a coincidence.

Eugh so annoying OP! Definitely don’t use them again.

So now it’s damp on 2 walls? That’s awful.
I hope this new roofer is recommended by someone, it’s horrible not knowing who to trust.
I hope it can be sorted asap.🤞🏻

You poor thing. if it’s water ingress where the source can be correctly identified it’ll be fine once dried out and a stain block applied and repainted so don’t worry. Water finds the route of least resistance so your new more competent roofer should be able to correctly identify where it’s coming in and sort. My guess would be a failed gutter join/crap in the gutter or a slipped tile assuming that the damp is not near a chimney breast.

This won’t necessarily explain damp on the walls but do you have water tanks in the attic for central heating and hot water cylinder?
you would have overflow pipes.
What happened to us was when they routed the pipes when installing the S & F they caused a drip leak at the water tank.
6 weeks later the insulation is fully sodden and the ceiling collapsed over the stairs!

Ask on local Facebook page for recommendations, use sites like checkatrade or look for members of a professional association.

Thanks for the input everyone. No it’s not near a chimney breast thankfully, that’s the first thing my new roofer who’s coming this afternoon asked me. He said that was a good thing. We don’t have a hot water tank in the loft or any pipes located near the leak. I do have insurance for plumbing leaks but I’m certain it’s coming from the roof.

The ‘roofers’ who did this damage are on Checkatrade and My Builder but when I paid them for the work they did via bank transfer they wanted to be paid as an individual and not goods and services, and when I questioned whether they were a business started getting aggressive. I’m now vetting anyone who comes through my front door.

Not all builders have a ln account in a business name and if by bank transfer, they can't hide the money

Do you know anyone niece/ nephews , friends who has a drone?
they can take pictures or film the roof in the area you think might be affected.

That’s good to know, thanks. My dad was a self employed carpenter and had a business account that’s why I questioned it.

Unfortunately not. The surveyor said the roof was in an okay condition when we bought the house but obviously he didn’t get onto the roof.

My roofer once said to me that for the most part if the damp is on the ceiling, then it is the roof, if the damp is on the wall (but close to the ceiling) then it will be the gutters.

Well there is a gutter and a drainpipe right next to where the damp patch is, so it sounds like it could be.