Not every roof problem can be mended the day it is found. The weather may be too rough to work safely, the right slate may need to be sourced, a scaffold may have to be booked, or a council may need to be asked about consent first. In the gap between finding the fault and fixing it, the job is to keep the building dry. That is what a temporary repair is for. It is a deliberate, short-lived measure, designed to be removed or to fit into the permanent work, and it should always be described as a stopgap. Done well, it protects ceilings, insulation and timbers for the weeks it takes to plan the real repair. Done badly, it flaps loose in the first strong wind, or stays in place for a year because nobody came back. Temporary repairs work differently on different roofs, each needs fixing so it stays put through the next spell of weather, each comes with limitations you should know about, and each has its own expected life.
What a temporary repair is meant to do, and what it is not
A temporary repair has one aim, which is to stop water entering the building until a lasting repair can be carried out. It does not restore the roof. The slate that cracked is still cracked under the patch, and the lead that split has not been mended just because something has been laid over it.
That distinction affects how the work is described and priced. A stopgap should be written up as one, with the date it was fitted, what it covers, and what the permanent work needs to include. It should also carry a review date, so that it is not forgotten once the rain stops. Without that, a temporary measure tends to become permanent by default, and the roof beneath it carries on deteriorating out of sight.
The other thing a stopgap must not do is cause fresh damage. A tarpaulin nailed through slates leaves holes that will leak later. A sealant smeared over a cracked tile makes the tile hard to replace. A weight placed on a slope can crack the covering it sits on. The test of a good temporary repair is that when it comes off, the roof is no worse than before it went on.
It is also worth knowing when a temporary repair is the wrong answer. If the damage is minor and the weather is dry, a quick proper repair, such as slipping in a replacement slate, may be as fast as a stopgap and is a better use of the visit. Where repair works, we repair. A stopgap earns its place when the permanent work cannot be done at once, for reasons of weather, access, materials or consent.
If you have just had a storm, the sequence of recording the damage and securing the roof has its own page, storm damage to roofs. This page concentrates on the temporary methods themselves.
Tarpaulins: how they are fixed so they stay on
The tarpaulin is the best-known emergency cover, and the most often misused. A sheet thrown over a roof and weighted with bricks will not last a night in wind. A properly fixed one can protect a large hole or a stripped slope for some time.
The first rule is to use the right sheet. A heavy-duty, UV-stabilised cover with reinforced edges and eyelets is the minimum. The thin blue sheets sold for garden use tear quickly and degrade in sunlight. The second rule is size. The sheet should reach well beyond the damaged area on every side, and above it, so that rain sheeting down the slope meets the top edge of the sheet and goes over the top, rather than running underneath.
The third rule is the fixing. The usual method is to fix the sheet to timber battens, wrapping the edge of the tarpaulin around each batten so that the fixings go through a double thickness of material. The battens are then secured, not by nailing through the roof covering, but by screwing them to the rafters where the covering has been removed, or by tying them back to a secure point such as a chimney stack, a scaffold or a ridge. Where a sheet runs over the ridge, it is anchored on both sides so that wind cannot lift it from one side and let it flap.
Stone tiles and slates are brittle, and walking on them to fix a sheet can cause more breakage. Access therefore usually comes from a scaffold, tower or platform, with roof ladders or crawl boards spreading the load where the roof must be crossed. On a steep Bath mansard or a roof behind a parapet, the sheet may be fixed from the scaffold rather than from the roof itself. Our short answer on roof tarpaulins covers the details of the cover itself.
Finally, the edges must shed water properly. The lower edge should lap over the roof covering below it, or into the gutter, so water leaves the cover and does not pool behind it.
Other stopgaps that work on different roofs
A tarpaulin suits a wide area. For smaller or more specific faults, other methods are less intrusive and often more durable.
Slate and tile roofs
A slipped slate can be pushed back and held with a tingle. That is a small tab of copper or lead, fixed to the batten below and turned up to grip the slate. Strictly it is a repair, not a stopgap, but it is quick and holds well. A cracked tile can be covered with a sheet of lead or a patch of roofing membrane tucked under the course above and fixed with clips. A missing ridge piece can be covered with a purpose-made cap or a temporary board until the replacement is bedded.
Flat roofs
A flat roof with a split membrane can be patched with a reinforced cold-applied repair, a self-adhesive patch or a liquid coating. These work best on clean, dry surfaces, which means the repair is easier in settled weather. They are intended to buy time before a proper re-lay or a new membrane.
Lead and gutters
A lifted lead flashing can be dressed back into its chase and held with a wedge or a clip until it is properly re-dressed. A blocked parapet gutter can be cleared by hand to restore the flow, which often stops an overflow at once. A cracked lead gutter lining is harder: the temporary answer is a patch of lead or membrane, and the lasting one is a section of new lead with welted or lapped joints. A gale can show up a leak that stays hidden on calm days, which the answer on windy-weather leaks explains, which helps when you are trying to pinpoint where a stopgap is needed.
Chimneys
A loose pot can be removed and the flue capped, and a stack that has become unstable can be taken down to a safe level and covered. Water getting into a chimney breast is a common cause of damp patches, so a temporary cap is often worth fitting before the permanent rebuild.
Inside the building
Water that has already entered needs managing. A bucket under a drip helps, and so does piercing a bulging ceiling with a small hole over a bucket, because releasing the trapped water can save a section of plaster from coming down. Keep electrical items clear and switch off circuits near wet areas.
How long a temporary repair lasts
There is no honest single answer to this, because a stopgap lasts as long as the weather, the fixings and the surface under it allow. We can say what governs it.
Wind is the first factor. A sheet on an exposed, high slope takes more punishment than one in a sheltered valley. Fixings that hold on the day of fitting can work loose after a few gales, and a flapping edge wears quickly. The second factor is sunlight. Plastic sheeting breaks down under ultraviolet light, going brittle and splitting along the folds. The third is water. A patch that traps moisture against a roof surface can cause rot, and a sheet that holds rainwater in a pocket will stretch and sag.
The fourth factor is what is underneath. A temporary cover over a stable, sound roof can last a while. One placed over an unsound structure, such as rotten battens or a weakened rafter, may fail because the support below it does.
In practical terms, think in weeks and not in seasons. A stopgap is meant to carry you to the date of the permanent repair, and that date should be set when it is fitted. Ask the roofer how long they expect it to hold in the conditions it faces, and ask them to write the answer on the job record. If the permanent work is delayed by consent, by materials or by an insurer's assessment, check the temporary cover after each spell of rough weather. A quick look from the ground, or a message to your roofer if you notice movement, is enough.
Never rely on a temporary repair for a roof that is leaking into a loft with stored belongings or electrical wiring unless it has been inspected afterwards. Look at the ceilings below after the next heavy rain. A dry ceiling is the best test of a stopgap.
Flats, shared roofs and listed buildings
Some roofs raise questions of who is responsible for the stopgap, and who must agree to it.
In a block of flats, the roof is usually part of the structure that the freeholder or management company looks after. A leak into your flat from a communal roof is not yours to repair, and a tarpaulin fixed by one leaseholder without agreement can cause arguments or damage. The right step is to report the fault in writing, get the managing agent to arrange access, and record the damage in your own flat. The flats roof repair guide covers how responsibility is usually divided and how to get action.
On a terrace, a shared stack, party wall or parapet gutter may need to be dealt with together with a neighbour. A stopgap on one side can alter how water runs on the other, so talk first.
For a listed building, emergency works to prevent further damage are a recognised need, but anything that alters or covers the historic fabric should be handled with care. Fixings that go through stone, lead or timber leave marks that a conservation officer may notice, so we avoid them where we can. Lasting repairs to a listed house are a matter for B&NES Council, which asks owners to make contact before work starts. A stopgap that is clearly reversible is easier to justify than one that is not. How materials are matched afterwards is covered in the like-for-like repairs guide.
For bats and nesting birds, check before covering or sealing any gap in the roof, since both are protected and may be using it. If you suspect either, ask before closing anything.
Moving from stopgap to a lasting repair
The temporary repair should hand over smoothly to the permanent one. That depends on three things: a clear record, a plan and a date.
The record is the one made when the stopgap was fitted. It shows what the damage was, what was done, and what is left to do. The photographs from the first visit are what the permanent work is scoped from, so they should show the roof before any cover was fitted. If the damage is storm-related, they are also the record that supports a claim, and our guide to the insurance route after roof damage explains how to use them.
The plan is a written scope for the permanent repair. It names the materials, the method, the access needed and the price, and it explains how the temporary cover will be removed. Our survey produces this, with pictures of the actual slopes, and a fixed written price comes after it. The permanent repair is also the time to deal with the underlying cause: the corroded nails, the failed flashing or the blocked gutter that let the fault develop in the first place.
The date is the one that stops the stopgap drifting. If you are waiting on something outside your control, such as consent, a part or a scaffold booking, set a check date for the temporary cover. If it is still in good order, the date moves on. If it has loosened, the roofer returns.
On cost, none of the published cost guides we checked prices temporary work separately, so no figure appears here. It is normally part of the survey and the permanent job, and the price you receive says what the temporary work costs and what it replaces. The permanent repairs themselves have typical UK ranges in MyBuilder's 2026 roof repair guide. Your fixed quote follows the survey. To arrange it, see our roof repairs service, where a 10-year written guarantee covers our workmanship.