A calm check now saves chaos later.
As cold fronts roll in and daylight fades, tiny faults turn into costly damp patches and swollen ceilings. Act before the freeze-thaw cycle exposes your home’s weak points and turns a small oversight into a full-blown water claim.
Why winter finds the weak spots
Water expands when it freezes, then contracts and moves as it thaws. That repeated push and pull opens gaps around tiles, flashing and pipework. Heat lost from the loft melts roof snow from beneath; it runs towards the eaves, meets a frozen edge and forms an ice ridge. Water then creeps under tiles, past flashing and into insulation. Blocked gutters amplify the problem by pooling water at the roofline and sending it behind fascia boards.
Water always wins. Your job is to give it a fast, clean escape route away from your home — and never into it.
You don’t need to climb a ladder to find risk. Binoculars, a torch and a bucket test reveal a lot. Look up for slipped tiles and cracked chimney mortar. Look down for ponding around walls and swollen skirting. Follow the water’s journey from roof to drain, then back to the meter cupboard and appliances.
The 9 checks to do this week
- Guttering and downpipes: Scoop leaves with gloves, flush with a hose, and confirm a steady outflow. If water lingers, adjust fall or replace a bent bracket.
- Downpipe discharge: Add a diverter or extension to send water at least 2 metres from walls. Keep gullies clear to stop backflow against the foundation.
- Roofline scan: From the ground with binoculars, spot slipped or cracked tiles, sagging ridge lines, thick moss, and split flashing around chimneys and vents.
- Loft and insulation: Open the hatch. Look for daylight (gaps), brown rings on plasterboard, damp or compressed insulation, and blocked vents. Balance insulation with ventilation to prevent ice dams.
- External tap and exposed pipes: Turn off the isolation valve, drain the outside tap, and fit a cover. Lag any pipework in garages, lofts and voids.
- Appliance hoses: Check washing machine and dishwasher hoses. If they feel sticky, brittle or smell of rubber, swap for braided stainless-steel replacements.
- Stopcock and valves: Find and test your stopcock now, not during a flood. Exercise it a quarter turn and back. Label secondary isolation valves.
- Sump pump and backflow: If you have a cellar pump, pour in a bucket of water to trigger it. Test check valves, clean strainers, and confirm discharge.
- Hot water cylinder and boiler cupboard: Look for weeping relief valves, salty crust on joints, and damp plaster behind the unit. A slow drip ruins floors over weeks.
Thirty minutes with gloves and a bucket beats a £3,400 ceiling repair and a week in a dehumidifier chorus.
How to test flow safely
Start at the highest gutter you can reach with a hose. Pour two litres from a watering can into the far end. Watch for a steady sheet at the downpipe within seconds. Any backflow or seepage behind the gutter means a slipped stop-end, a failed joint or an incorrect fall. Repeat at each corner. No ladders needed if you can access from a balcony or short platform; otherwise, stay on the ground and observe.
Spotting early warning signs indoors
Use a torch along ceiling edges and around window heads. A faint tea-coloured crescent, a musty smell, or paint that bubbles near the cornice points to moisture above. Under sinks, run a dry tissue along flexi tails and traps; any smear or smell hints at a seep. Check the floor beneath radiators for rust trails. Lift a corner of a rug next to exterior doors to catch hidden ingress.
What costs what: small fixes that prevent big bills
| Area | Quick test | Time | Typical DIY cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guttering fall | Water can flush | 15 mins | £0–£10 (brackets/seal) |
| Downpipe discharge | 2 m run-off | 10 mins | £8–£20 (diverter) |
| Outside tap | Isolate and drain | 10 mins | £5–£12 (insulated cover) |
| Appliance hoses | Tactile check | 20 mins | £12–£25 (braided pair) |
| Loft ventilation | Clear eaves vents | 20 mins | £0–£10 (baffles) |
Repairs after a modest leak often land between £1,200 and £5,000 once you add drying, replastering and repainting. A mid-range water escape can easily reach £3,400, especially where insulation and electrics are involved. Small preventative parts cost less than a takeaway, and they work quietly for years.
Reduce heat loss to stop ice dams
Ice ridges form when warm air melts snow high on the roof while eaves stay cold. Improve loft insulation to 270 mm depth where practical, but keep eaves vents open so cold air can pass under the roof covering. Use baffles to stop insulation blocking soffit vents. Seal gaps around loft hatches, downlights and soil pipe penetrations with foam or gaskets to limit warm air leakage.
Simple airflow balance
You want a cold roof with dry air moving under the tiles, and a warm house below the ceiling line. Good ventilation prevents condensation soaking insulation — a silent thief of performance that invites mould and rot.
When to call a professional
Bring in a roofer if you see lifted ridge tiles, torn flashing, rotten fascia, or if water appears after wind-driven rain. Ask for photos from the roof, a written scope, and a fall correction if pooling shows in gutters. A basic roofline service call often sits in the £120–£250 range in many areas, and it buys peace during the first proper storm.
If you can see daylight from the loft or feel damp insulation, stop guessing and get a roofer to investigate.
Extra checks that pay back fast
Run a quiet meter test: turn off all taps and appliances, note the water meter, wait 30 minutes. Any movement means a hidden draw; investigate toilets, outside taps and underfloor runs. Fit cheap leak alarms under the kitchen sink, behind the washing machine and near the cylinder. A £12 buzzer can save a weekend of mopping.
Think about the ground: heavy rain should move downhill, not towards your walls. Clear leaf traps in driveway drains, rake soil away from the brick line, and keep mulch below the damp-proof course. If you rely on a cellar pump, test after every storm and during power cuts with a battery backup or a standby plan.
A one-hour winter routine
Set a timer and move top-down: gutters and downpipes (15 minutes), roof scan (5), loft and vents (15), outside tap and exposed pipes (10), appliances and stopcock (15). Note anything suspect, price parts immediately, and fix within 48 hours. The routine builds muscle memory and shrinks the chance of a surprise drip during the next cold snap.
If you want to go further, add pipe insulation to every unheated space, seal the gaps around cables and pipes entering external walls, and fit a diverter to rainwater to top up a water butt. You cut risk today and trim bills tomorrow, while your home stays quiet when the wind starts to howl.
