High winds strip tiles, lift ridges and tear flashings. We respond across Tonbridge within 2–4 hours, make your roof safe, and provide the photographic damage report your insurer needs. Call 24/7.
For storm damage in Tonbridge we respond within 2–4 hours, 24/7, to make the roof safe and stop water entry. We photograph all damage for your insurance claim and provide a written report. Emergency make-safe from £200; permanent repair follows once materials are confirmed. Call 0173 224 1138.
Storm damage needs two things fast: the roof made weathertight before more water gets in, and the damage documented properly before anything is disturbed, so your insurance claim holds up. We do both. Our first visit stops the water — temporary weatherproofing, emergency tile replacement, temporary lead cover — and photographs everything from the ground and roof. The permanent repair follows within 48–72 hours.
Do not go onto the roof yourself — a wet, storm-damaged pitched roof is genuinely dangerous. From the ground, photograph everything, place containers under any internal drips, and call us. If you plan to claim, the photographs taken before any repair are the most important evidence you'll have.
Insurance threshold: most UK home insurers, following ABI guidance, define a storm for claims as sustained wind speeds of 48mph (Force 9) or gusts of 55–60mph. The Met Office publishes free historical wind data by date and location — this is the primary evidence insurers require alongside photographs of the damage as the storm left it. Source: Association of British Insurers, Storm Claims Guidance
We aim to be on-site within 2–4 hours to make your roof safe and document the damage for your insurer. Tonbridge and a 15-mile radius across Kent.
0173 224 1138 ✉ Email UsThe hours after a storm matter, both for protecting your home and for any insurance claim. Here's what to do — and what not to:
The photographs you take before any repair are the most valuable evidence you'll have for a claim — insurers want to see the damage as the storm left it, not after it's been tidied up.
When you call, we prioritise making the roof safe and watertight. The first visit stops the water — temporary weatherproofing sheeting, emergency tile replacement, temporary lead cover, or making a displaced ridge tile safe so it isn't a falling hazard. We photograph all the damage from the ground and, safely, from the roof, and we give you a written damage assessment.
The permanent repair follows within 48–72 hours, once we've confirmed materials and the weather allows a proper job. Rushing a permanent repair in ongoing bad weather produces a worse result than a robust temporary make-safe followed by a proper fix — so we do it in the right order. Throughout, you get the documentation your insurer needs, and we're happy to speak to your insurer or their surveyor directly if that helps the claim along.
Storms find the weaknesses that were already there. The roofs that lose tiles in a gale are usually the ones with nail sickness already loosening the fixings, mortar verges already crumbling, or ridge tiles already working loose. On Tonbridge's post-war estates, the same nail sickness that causes slow tile slippage is what lets a gale strip a whole slope.
The practical defence is a roof in good order before storm season: secure ridges and verges (dry-fix is far more wind-resistant than old mortar), sound fixings, and clear gutters so water can escape. An autumn inspection catches the loose ridge tile or the lifting flashing before the first big blow turns it into an emergency and an insurance claim. We're happy to carry one out — it's far cheaper than a storm call-out and the repair that follows.
Different storms cause different damage, but the patterns across Tonbridge are consistent enough to predict. Straight-line gales off the south-west — the prevailing direction — strip tiles from the windward slopes and lift ridge and verge tiles where the mortar had already weakened. The exposed higher ground at Southborough takes the worst of this. In the wooded lower valley around Haysden and Hildenborough, the bigger risk is impact — branches and whole limbs coming down onto roofs and flat-roofed extensions.
On the post-war estates, storm damage and nail sickness go hand in hand: a slope whose fixings are already corroding loses far more tiles in a gale than a soundly fixed roof, because the wind only has to overcome weakened nails. That's why a storm often turns out to be the moment a roof that was quietly failing finally needs attention — and why the repair conversation sometimes widens from 'replace these ten tiles' to 'this slope was going anyway'. We're always straight with you about which it is, and we document the storm damage separately from any pre-existing wear so your insurance claim is clean and honest.
"Three ridge tiles off in a gale, water coming into the loft. On-site within two hours, made safe that afternoon, permanent repair two days later. Sent me photos for the insurance."
"A branch came through the garage flat roof in a storm. They tarped it same night and gave me a full damage report for the claim. Excellent in a stressful moment."
"Storm stripped flashing off the chimney. Fast response, honest about what was storm damage versus wear, and documented it properly. Claim went through without a fight."
We aim to be on-site within 2–4 hours, 24/7. Our first visit makes the roof safe and stops water entry; the permanent repair follows within 48–72 hours. Call 0173 224 1138 any time.
Yes — we photograph all damage before any repair and provide a written damage report with a cost assessment, in the format insurers require. Keep your own photos too, taken before we start.
Don't go on the roof. From the ground, photograph everything, put containers under any internal drips to protect flooring, and call us. Note any wind data for the date — your insurer will want it.
Sudden storm damage is usually covered where wind speeds met the policy threshold (typically 48mph+). Pre-existing deterioration a storm merely exposed may be disputed — which is why documentation matters.
Emergency make-safe starts at £200 (call-out plus temporary weatherproofing). The permanent repair is quoted separately once materials are confirmed. We give figures before proceeding.
Yes — Tonbridge, Hildenborough, Hadlow, Pembury, Southborough and a 15-mile radius across Kent. Call 0173 224 1138.
Yes — that's the correct approach. A robust temporary make-safe stops water entry immediately; the permanent repair is done properly once conditions and materials allow. Rushing a permanent fix in poor weather is worse.