When roof water is the real cause of a ceiling stain
Gutters without fall, blocked spreaders and open ridge pointing: how roof drainage faults turn into ceiling and eaves damage.
In short: A ceiling stain usually gets blamed on a broken tile. Our investigations often find the cause is how water leaves the roof rather than how it lands on it.
Water has to go somewhere
A roof collects a great deal of water in a storm. Gutters need fall towards their outlets, downpipes need capacity, and spreaders on upper roofs need to deliver water to the lower gutter, not onto flashings.
Findings from one investigation
In April 2026 we investigated a house in Aspendale Gardens where a blocked spreader was dumping water directly onto flashing, gutters lacked fall to their downpipes, and ridge pointing had opened at roof junctions. Any one could wet the ceiling; together they explained it.
Why two storey homes are vulnerable
Clyde North's two storey homes often discharge the upper roof onto the lower one through a spreader. When leaves block it or it points the wrong way, water concentrates exactly where the lower roof meets the wall.
How we trace it
The drone shows the roof and gutters; the moisture meter and thermal camera show where water reaches the ceiling and eaves. Matching the two narrows the source.
Fixing it
Often the repair is a plumber or roofer regrading gutters, clearing or redirecting a spreader and repointing the capping, followed by repair of the stained linings once they are dry.
Written by our local inspection team from work carried out in Clyde North. Licensed building practitioners, Building & Plumbing Commission registration CDB-U 53425.
