Can a tarpaulin stop a roof leak?

A tarpaulin is a waterproof sheet laid over a damaged part of the roof and held down at the edges, so rain runs off it instead of into the hole. It suits a roof where tiles have blown off, a branch has gone through the covering, or a storm has opened a slope. It buys time to arrange a proper repair and protects the loft and ceilings meanwhile.

It is not a repair. A sheet cannot seal a leaking flashing or a failed valley the way new lead can, it flaps in the wind, and rain can run behind the edges. Left for months it also traps moisture against the roof. Treat it as a make-safe, the first step before the real work.

Sheeting a roof means being on or beside it in the very conditions that make a roof most dangerous: wet slate, strong wind and failing light. The damaged patch is also the part least able to bear weight. Loose tiles, cracked slates and soaked timbers are all places where a foot can go through.

There is a practical problem as well. A sheet thrown over the slope and weighted with bricks, or tied to a gutter, will often come free in the next gust, and a flapping tarpaulin can drag more tiles away with it. Fitting one from a ladder at full reach is no safer. We would rather you stayed inside, made the room safe and called a roofer.

The sheet goes up from safe access, usually a scaffold tower or a roof ladder, with edge protection where the job needs it. It runs over the ridge where possible so rain cannot slip under the top edge, and it extends well beyond the damage on every side. Timber battens lie over the edges and are screwed down over the sheet to the rafters or existing battens, which spreads the load and stops wind getting beneath. Nails are not punched through the sheet into tiles.

A good fit lets water run off into the gutter without pooling. We photograph the area before and after, so you and your insurer have a record. Our guide to temporary roof repairs and make-safe covers the rest of what is involved.

A tarpaulin is not the only way to hold a roof until it can be mended. For a small gap, a roofer might slide a replacement tile or slate in place without fixing it permanently, lay a strip of lead or membrane under a displaced tile, or board a failed valley and cover it with felt. These tend to look neater and hold better than a large sheet, though they suit smaller faults.

The choice depends on what has failed. A hole made by a fallen branch needs the whole area covered. One slipped slate near the eaves may need nothing more than a slate put back. Your roofer should explain which they are proposing and why, and tell you how long it is expected to hold.

On a flat roof a sheet behaves differently. Water cannot run off it quickly, so a tarpaulin that is laid without a fall can hold rainwater and let it creep under the edges. It is better to find the cause: a split seam, a lifted upstand, a blocked outlet. A cold-applied patch or a repair strip can close those more reliably than a sheet, and it may be possible even in damp weather.

EPDM, felt and GRP each have their own repair methods, and the method has to match whatever covers the roof now. A mismatched repair can fail within a season.

Move furniture and bedding clear and put a bucket or bowl under the drip. If water collects in a ceiling and it bulges, keep everyone out from beneath it. If water is reaching light fittings or sockets, switch off that circuit at the consumer unit and leave the fitting alone until it has been checked.

Photograph the water, the stain and any visible damage, with the date. Keep any pieces of tile or slate that have come down rather than binning them. Those details matter if you claim, and our answer on whether home insurance covers a leaking roof explains how policy wording tends to work.

As briefly as the repair allows. A sheet is not made to last through a season of wind, sun and frost. The permanent repair should follow when the slopes have dried out enough for a proper look and the materials are ready, and a matching covering can take time to source, particularly stone or clay.

When we sheet a roof, the quote for the lasting repair arrives after the survey, covering the make-safe, the repair and the access. For scale before anyone visits, MyBuilder's 2026 repair guide lists storm-damage fixes at £500 to £1,500. Our page on what an emergency roofer costs explains what moves the price, or you can ring 01453 933613 to talk it through. The roof repairs page lists the other repairs we carry out.

Ask whether the sheet will be fixed to battens, how far past the damage it will extend, and what will stop it lifting in wind. Ask whether the tiles around it have been checked, since a gale that took one tile may have loosened its neighbours. Ask when the lasting repair can be done and what, if anything, can delay it.

Ask for photographs of the work and of the damage underneath. If the roofer cannot reach the roof safely that day, it is better to wait than to risk a poor fit.