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We (in Brighton UK) have a 1920s/30s house with a slate tile roof with no felt under the tiles, which is quite common for houses from that period.

The roof has developed a leak, and water runs down a light fitting when it rains, which is obviously not great.

We're hoping to get a loft conversion done in the next year, so are looking for a cheap temporary solution, other than just putting a big tray under it to catch the water. Is there something we can do cheaply from the inside to address this? I can access the problem area in the loft.

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    Inspect the area and look why there is a leak. Most likely it is only some moss or other accumulation that prevents runoff.
    – Martin
    Commented Oct 19, 2023 at 9:16
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    Unless you can actually see daylight, you're likely going to have to get to the outside to do anything useful.
    – Tetsujin
    Commented Oct 19, 2023 at 16:11

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From the inside you can try and carefully insert something* flat and thin, underlapping the higher up tile and overlapping the lower down tile

Glue into place unless its wedged super tight

Be careful not to do any more damage!

  • = slate, metal sheet (aluminium?), plastic etc

e.g. depending on hole size you could cut a drinks can to make a small sheet

If you can't do this, you could glue something into place on the inside. Clean the surfaces first to get a good bond. As it's not overlapping it will collect water and may leak slightly, but the majority of the water won't get in.

Most of all, inspect the roof space regularly, particularly after rain to make sure not too much water getting in, your light fitting may no longer drip water but there may be water elsewhere causing damage to the structure of your building.

Ventilate the roof space or run a fan heater occasionaly to keep moisture down,you don't want any water damage to rafters.

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