Spotted possible leak on the upstairs ceiling, who should we call?

[DaffyDil0]

I’ve just spotted this on my upstairs ceiling. We have a loft but haven’t ever been in it since moving in (no ladder access).
First time homeowners, haven’t a clue what to do/who to call to help us to check. We’ve had a couple of days of heavy rain which is making me think a leak.
The survey was done about just under 2 years ago and the roof was checked and fine at that point.
Who do I contact to help?

A roofer.

I would suggest a roofer, although having no access at all from inside is a worry, in case it's a leaking pipe or such. We used to have an occasional wet patch on our ceiling and it was from a very small missed seal in the roof that only failed when the wind blew the rain in a particular direction.

Someone who can lend you a ladder so you can have a quick look

I presume you have checked that those spots are wet?

Is there really no access at all to your loft?

Borrow a ladder from a neighbour or friend/family and have a look in the loft. Consider having a loft ladder installed, for future.

I can’t reach to check at the minute but I’m 99 percent certain it wasn’t like that before!

Nope, we haven’t yet had a ladder installed.

In that case, the first thing to do is to borrow a ladder from someone so you have can a closer look.

Agree you need to get a ladder and go up and look. I would think it's more likely to be a leaky pipe than a hole in the roof.

Borrow a step ladder (a middle aged neighbour is a good option if you don’t have friends or family locally, they might also help you with getting up there, my dh helped our young neighbours!)

Do not just call a roofer, very bad advice, you could call someone unscrupulous and end up with a very large unnecessary bill. You need to check yourself. Are either of your parents local? As homeowners you will need to deal with issues like this. It’s not criticism at all, its all new, but you will learn how to deal with issues as they arise.

Speaking as someone who’s dealt with more than her fair share of leaking ceilings, that doesn’t look like a leak to me. Leaks tend to pool rather than come out in individual spots. This looks more like something from below - like someone’s opened a very fizzy can of coke or something. But yes, you need to get a ladder up to the loft and take a look before you call any trades. Also, take a look from the outside. Are there any slipped/cracked roof tiles? Anything obvious loose around the chimney stack?

To answer some questions:

• no parents local who would be physically able to help
• can’t see that anything would have splashed up there
• roof looks okay from outside

On the hunt for a ladder!

I also think it doesn't look immediately like a water leak, which is why I think that you need to check out if it is one before calling any professionals.

Yeah it looks to me as if it is mark on the ceiling and not a leak - but you need to get into the loft really.

Borrow a step ladder - or better still, buy one as the need for one won't go away, not just for loft access, but for decorating and pruning and all kinds of other jobs.

in the longer term, having a fixed loft ladder installed is a good investment. There might be all kinds of reasons you need to access your loft quickly and easily.

You really need your own ladder. Get a second hand one from gumtree for under 50 quid. Its weird you've not wanted to see in the loft for nearly 2 years living there!

Only stand on the beams do not stand between them.unless the floor of the loft is properly boarded. Take a good torch up

I can tell you who NOT to call and that is your insurance, unless you are certain you want to claim on it. We learnt this to our massive peril in a similar situation, though we had water coming through the ceiling. We called the insurance just to find out what a claim would involve and about our excess. In the end, we didn't claim as our builder rectified it (it had been his error). However, little did we know that that initial enquiry with our insurer was actually counted as a claim (even though we didn't actually claim!), and has counted against us as we unknowingly didn't declare it on a future insurance policy we took out.

Just a warning really! Hope you can get it sorted.

@DaffyDil0 you need to buy a stepladder. If you own a home you need one. My advice is a combination ladder like this:
https://www.screwfix.com/p/werner-aluminium-3-51m-combination-ladder/503kh?ref=SFAppShare

Is it wet to the touch? It doesn’t look like a leak to me tbh- more like some beauty product that’s been squeezed out or maybe a fizzy drink?? Go and see if any of the neighbours have a step ladder you can borrow and investigate the loft before you call anyone.

This is what we’ve found! The timber doesn’t look wet and nothing looks obviously wet on the insulation.