If you're a Bristol homeowner or landlord, you've probably seen the weather cause issues with your roof before! It's very unpredictable in Bristol, one minute the roof looks brand new and next thing you know our local climate has blown half the tiles off… maybe not quite, but you get the point.

Bristol gets a ton of coastal wind and long spells of wet weather, causing damp issues. This is why Bristol homes undergo challenging times compared to other parts of the UK. As a local and experienced roofing provider, these issues are seen by our partner installers every day. The following guide explains why and how the weather has such an impact.

Frequent Heavy Rain

Bristol gets a lot of rain compared to other inland towns and cities, this causes short and long-term damage to roofs because it reveals weak points around the flashing, valleys, and chimneys. It also overloads the guttering system, which can cause damp walls. Old felt can become saturated and eventually collapse. Eventually, you may also get small leaks which can lead to major damage inside the property or the roof's structure.

It's essential to have adequately sized guttering and fully sealed tiles to resist these problems.

Coastal Winds

Bristol is impacted by the Severn Estuary's weather system despite not being fully on the coast. Areas like Clifton, Bedminster, Brislington, and Bradley Stoke all receive strong bursts of wind which in turn can cause structural stress on the roof.

Sometimes this can lead to tiles lifting, old slate being cracked, ridge mortar tearing off, or loosened membranes.

A Damp Climate

With the excessive rain as mentioned above and shading in terraced areas, low temperatures unfortunately create a lot of moss and algae. Moss is often thought of as harmless, but it can easily push tiles away from each other, keep a roof damp for half the year, increase the overall load on the roof's structure, and block up the gutters.

Places with lots of trees, like Redland, Bishopston, or Totterdown suffer even more.

Flat Roof Problems with Pooling

Certain flat roofs have issues with pooling (or "ponding"). When water sits on a flat roof for too long, the felt membrane gets damaged, the decks can rot, and the entire roof can fail in worst-case scenarios. This is often the case with extensions where torch-on felt was used for the roof - it doesn't do well in modern weather conditions.

Large Tree Coverage

Many Bristol areas - Clifton, Stoke Bishop, Bishopston, etc. - have massive amounts of trees, which is great for the environment. However, it's quite hard on your roof due to the falling leaves. It's common for houses or flats in these locations to get blocked up gutters, rotting fascias, soffits, and gutters, and added weight to the entire roofline.

Blocked gutters and degrading rooflines are the number one cause of preventable leaks.

What precautions can Bristol homeowners take?

A simple and cost-effective solution to combat Bristol's weather pattern is to do an annual roof inspection, preferably before the cold weather arrives - this will reveal potential issues and give you time to resolve them if need be. It's also a good idea to get the gutters and downpipes cleaned, as well as all the moss on the main roof.