The end-of-winter roof and gutter check

The end of winter is the most useful time of year to get on a ladder. Months of driving rain, wind and leaf fall have just tested every junction on your roof, and spring storms are close behind. What you find now is still cheap to fix.

Three checks, one for each turn of the year. Autumn — before winter. Late winter — after the wet, which is this one. Spring — before summer. If it is not the season you are in, go to whichever comes next.

Most serious water damage in Australian houses does not start with a hole in the roof. It starts at a junction — a flashing, a valley, a gutter joint — that worked fine until it was asked to handle water at volume from an unusual direction. Winter does exactly that.

Start from the ground

Before anyone gets on a ladder, walk the perimeter and look up.

• Gutter line. Sagging sections, visible plant growth, or a line that no longer runs straight to the downpipe.
• Staining down the fascia or wall. Dark streaks below a gutter joint mean it has been overflowing or leaking.
• Displaced tiles or lifted sheets. Visible from the ground with binoculars on most single-storey homes.
• Ground below downpipes. Scouring, moss, or a puddle that stays for days after rain says the water is not getting away.

That last one matters more than people expect. Water discharging at the base of a wall does not stay outside — it moves through the ground and into the subfloor or the slab edge.

The gutter check

Clear the debris first, then look at what is underneath it.

• Standing water after clearing. Water that sits rather than draining means the fall is wrong or the gutter has sagged. Left alone, standing water corrodes the gutter from the inside.
• Rust at joints and internal corners. These fail first because debris packs into them and stays wet.
• The gap behind the gutter. Where the roof sheet or tile meets the gutter, water should not be able to run behind. This is a common cause of rotted fascia that only shows up years later.
• Downpipe flow. Run a hose. If water backs up, the downpipe or the stormwater line below is partly blocked.

The roof itself

If you are not confident on a roof, this is worth paying someone for — both for safety and because tiles crack under foot traffic.

Tiled roofs. Look for cracked or slipped tiles, and check the ridge capping. Older ridge mortar cracks and falls out, which lets water in at the highest point on the roof. Repointing is routine work and far cheaper than the ceiling repair that follows neglect.

Metal roofs. Check for lifted or backed-out fasteners, perished rubber washers, and corrosion where two different metals meet. Look closely at valleys — they carry the most water and collect the most debris.

All roofs. Flashings are the priority: where the roof meets a wall, a chimney, a skylight or a vent. Most roof leaks are flashing failures rather than roof-covering failures.

If your roof only lets water in during heavy or wind-driven rain rather than every time it rains, that is a different problem with a different cause — see why your roof only leaks in heavy rain or wind.

Inside the roof space

Ten minutes in the roof cavity with a torch on a bright day tells you a great deal. Pinholes of daylight indicate gaps. Dark staining on timbers or sarking shows where water has been getting in, even if it is dry now. Compressed or displaced insulation often marks where someone has been working, or where water has run.

Check while it is dry, then check again during heavy rain if you found anything suspicious. Water travels along rafters before it drops, so the stain inside is rarely directly under the entry point.

While you are up there, find out where the bathroom exhaust fan discharges — see where does your bathroom exhaust fan actually vent. It is the same ten minutes and it answers a question most owners have never thought to ask.

What is worth doing now versus later

Do now: clear gutters and downpipes, replace cracked tiles, repoint failed ridge capping, correct anything discharging water against the house.

Can wait, but plan for it: gutter replacement where corrosion is widespread, repainting a metal roof, and re-bedding an entire ridge line. These are better done in settled weather and are worth quoting properly rather than rushing.

A note on safety

Falls from ladders and roofs are a leading cause of serious injury in home maintenance. Single-storey inspection from a stable ladder is one thing; walking a wet or brittle roof is another. If the roof is steep, two storeys, tiled and old, or you are working alone, get someone with the right equipment.

Where to go next

This check closes out winter. The other two open the seasons ahead of it.

Read next: the pre-summer heat and storm check, which is the next one due, or the pre-winter damp and drainage check for autumn. Or start at Seasonal Maintenance for the wider picture.

Three afternoons a year, spread across the calendar, covers most of what an Australian house asks of its owner.