… and perhaps give you a better understanding of what sort of roof repair are needed when your ceiling starts dripping water…
We have spend many years repairing leaking roofs in Sydney and we have a decent database containing the causes of roof leaks. Most roof leaks fall into the categories below. If your roof is leaking, then you will quite likely be able to find out the causes on this post.
There are always exceptions to the rule and some roof leaks are quite hard to track down and this is where we can be the most use to you. The uncategorised roof leaks will stretch our knowledge base and I come across these from time to time. Sometimes, I feel like throwing up my hands and giving up.
…..But the challenge of finding the cause(s) of a leak and fixing it is always met with dogged determination.
The 7 most common causes of roof leaks are (now there are 8 because the blocked gutter category rears its ugly head so often recently):
As soon as holes are cut on a roof to put skylights in, the natural waterproof nature of roofs are violated. Some skylight installations leak the day they are cut into a roof. This is usually the result of a poor selection of skylights or a faulty installation. Then during its life, leaf blockage is the usual reason for skylight leaks. Finally, the life of a skylight is usually less than the roof – so old rusty skylights leak and will need replacement.
I have a FAQ page dedicated to leaking skylights … so pop over there if you think your skylight is the problem.
There is also a page about choosing skylights …
Roof tiles do not often break by themselves. If you have overhanging trees, falling branches will break tiles. As soon as you let people walk on your tile roof, there is a danger of broken tiles. Children like throwing things and these things can break fragile roof tiles. The worst I have seen is freshly broken roof tiles caused by another roofer (doing a roof inspection and quote) and just left there. We always carry spare roof tiles around with us and replace any that we break during roof inspections… but it clearly seems that other roofers do not bother.
Broken roof tiles can be repaired (if a replacement is not handy)
A break on a roof tile can be quite difficult to trace if it is on the water (drainage) course. I have a post about these tricky leaks caused by broken water courses.
While tile roofs do not rust, there are valleys on most roofs and in the old days, they just used galvanised metal valleys. These have a 20 to 30 years life … so rusted valleys are quite common on Sydney roofs.
Leaves and valleys do not go together. If you have leaves crammed into your valley, a sudden downpour will create a dam. A rush of water will spill over the edges of the valley and you will see water gushing out of your ceiling…
I have a page dedicated to roof valleys.. so pop over there if you have a valley problem.
The bedding and pointing under tile ridge capping crack over time. Water seeps into the cracks and does three things.
…It can pool behind the bedding (if it is sealed to the roof tile) on the roof tile and eventually overflow into the roof cavity (this is why weep holes are essential).
…It can run along the back of the bedding, find a drainage path along the tile and seep out again – with out causing any harm (the usually case).
…Or it can run along the back of the bedding and NOT find a release drainage path, but the edge of the roof tile. The result is a leak. These leaks are hard to spot without removing the ridge capping first.
If you want to find out more about weep holes and ridge capping repair work < go to my dedicated pages on this subject.
A chimney is another hole on the roof that needs to be waterproofed correctly. The flashings around chimneys deteriorate and often cause leaks. Chimney pots break.
Most tile roofs have lead soaker flashings on the upstream side and the lead will crack after a while. A simple fix is to reseal with silicone sealant. The expensive alternative is to replace the flashing with a new one.
Some chimneys have hidden soaker flashings along the side and these can also rust out.
The edges of roofs have to be waterproofed by flashings. It takes a lot of roofing experience to be able to detail complicated roof flashings so that they look good and do not leak. If a new roof leaks, then the roofer usually has made a mistake on the roof flashing. We can usually gauge the quality of the roof installation by how the flashings are finished off.
This reason may seem quite obvious. It is easy to see if a roof is rusty. But it takes a while between when a roof begins to rust and when holes form and water starts dripping. Also, often, the rusty areas are very localised and hidden. In these instances, only close inspection will reveal the rust spots at laps and under flashings.
I am adding this to my original 7.
Blocked box gutters can cause havoc if there are no overflows to act as a relief valve system. If you experience flooding inside your house and you have a box gutter – then it is quite likely a blocked outlet in your box gutter. The temporary solution is simple – just clear off the blockage. Long term, a system to prevent the blockage and overflow protection is needed.
Normal Eaves gutters are often left full of leaves and this will start a nice garden in the gutter as well as overflowing gutters. They do not normally cause problems with leaks into the house. The exception is when the eaves extend over windows. Overflowing water will run along the eaves and fall onto the head of the window – causing a cascade of water along the inside of the window.
Some roofs are strange. It takes heavy rain to produce a leak. Just the light shower does not do the trick
I get a lot of enquiries through this website where homeowners make a mention that their roof leaks only during heavy rain
In my experience, roof leaks can be separated into 3 categories:
On this post, I will examine the second category of roof leaks.
If you go into your ceiling cavity and you can see the underside of the roof tiles – then you have no sarking. Stay there during heavy rain and you will feel a fine mist coming through the gaps between the tiles. Usually, this is not a big problem because it is not enough moisture to wet the ceiling. And there are no ceiling stains.
It is not the lack of sarking that causes the leak in heavy rain. It is because there is nothing under the roof tiles to catch the leak and drain it away.
If you do get stains on your ceiling, it makes our lives (as roof leak busters) a lot easier. The leak is right above the ceiling stain!
Roof tiles start to do poorly when the roof pitch gets less than 20 degrees. Manufacturers of roof tiles have limits on roof pitches because of this. Yet, many roofers ignore these for the sake of ‘looks’. To compensate, tile manufacturers relax the pitch requirement – provided sarking is installed. But this does not stop the leaks. The sarking will hold water until it gives way and pours water into the house.
It does need heavy rain to overflow the tops and edges of the roof tiles. If you don’t have sarking, then the ceiling gets wet quite immediately. If you have sarking, then it is quite possible that the leak is contained and you don’t know that your roof is leaking.
Leaves and valleys don’t work well together.
During long dry spells, leaves (and perhaps other debris) gather in the valleys. The roof tiles along the sides of the valley also help in trapping the debris. Then you get the storm with the heavy rain. Water rushes down the valley and hit the clump of debris.
Whilst some of the water can percolate through this rubbish, the heavy rush of water packs the rubbish tighter together and the water floods over the edges of the valley – and into your house.
Roof tile manufacturers pander to consumers need for ‘modern, fashionable’ roofs.
The ‘slate’ look is still quite fashionable and this brings about the increased use of flat roof tiles. Why go with the expense and limitations of slate – when you can use a flat tile and achieve a similar look?
I feel sorry for the designers of these flat roof tiles. You just cannot make a roof tile flat, and also have it being durable and highly serviceable. (I will be doing a special post on flat roof tiles soon).
Flat roof tiles have no defined troughs for water to flow. In heavy rains, water runs uniformly across the face of the tile instead of along the trough/valleys. This means more water load on the water courses. And since these water courses trap more debris and are prone to breakage, water leaks along the edges of the tiles are quite common.
Another problem with flat profiles roof tiles occur when the side of a roof meet a wall. Water often run across the tile, under the wall flashing and into the roof cavity.
On two storey roofs, the top gutters usually discharge onto the lower roofs via downpipe spreaders.
Roof tiles are designed to carry rainwater up to a certain rainfall intensity – assuming that this rain falls directly on the roof tile and the roof is of a certain length. Even though the length of downstairs roofs are usually quite short, a downpipe spreader can dump over 10 x the design carrying capacity of the roof tile.
The water courses will leak, and on concrete roof tiles, water will also leak over the upstream edge of the tile.
If the roof is in a tree zone, leaves are washed into the watercourses and over time, this leads to clogging and eventually, blockage during heavy rain. The resultant overflow will cause leaks.
Certain roof tiles have very fragile watercourses, and these will break. Since the watercourses are under the overlap of the adjacent roof tile, it is not easy to spot. Whilst the leaks from clogged and broken watercourses can be minor during light rain. It can get substantial during downpours.
The standard corrugated roof is designed to be laid on standard pitched roofs. The roof sheeting manufacturers state that the minimum slope is 5 degrees. Build a corrugated roof flatter than 5 degrees (It is quite common), and it will overflow during heavy rain.
The laps on the roof sheets get flooded when excessive water fill the corrugations and overflow under the laps. The screw holes at the laps will also start leaking.
Sometimes, wind will also drive water over the upstream ends of the corrugated roof sheets – even though they are turned up. The combination of a valley discharging onto a flat metal roof that has faulty transition flashings will cause a roof leak that many builders and roofers find hard to track down and repair.
The upstream ends of ALL roof sheets are supposed to be ‘turned up’ to form dams that guard against overflowing. Heavy rain will cause overflowing if there are not done or not done properly.
Some roofers don’t have the proper ‘turn-up’ tool for the low pitched ‘Trimdek’ and ‘Kliplok’ profiled roof sheets and the ‘dam’ becomes ineffective when heavy rain, leaf debris and wind combine to create the overflowing pond.
Low pitched valleys or valleys blocked by debris will overflow in heavy rain. Valleys on flat ‘kliplok’ roofs need custom designs to provide adequate water carrying capacity. Otherwise, they will overflow frequently.
If you have a box gutter, then it must be cleaned regularly and have some overflow provisions. Otherwise, it will suddenly send a flood of water into your living space during heavy rain.
Most box gutters discharge water via downpipes. It is vital that the openings into the downpipes are not blocked. Some people put mesh covers over the downpipe inlets – only for them to choke up with debris when heavy rain comes around.
Normally, if you have good eaves, you will not get water into the house (even if the gutters themselves are overflowing). If you have no eaves or you have the deep fascia gutter, then the perimeter gutter will overflow in heavy rain and get into the wall cavity. From there, it appears in the house at some ‘funny’ places.
Most gutter cleaners don’t clean around the base of the skylights. This makes skylight bases the worst maintained element on a roof. Years of gradual trapping and accumulation of leaves between the roof and the sides of the skylight suddenly forms a dam during heavy rain. Water will shoot over the outer edge of the skylight base and into the ceiling below in a big rush of water.
When we go out tracking the cause of roof leaks, It helps a lot if we know ‘WHEN’ the roof starts leaking. If a roof only leaks in heavy rain, then the above reasons come to mind first and It gives us an easy starting point to successfully track down the cause(s) of the leak(s).
If a roof leaks whether it has rained heavily or not – then there is a good chance that there is an easily identifiable (eg Broken roof tile or hole in roof) cause. Every roofer should be able to find and fix this problem easily.
The most challenging category is ‘leaks only during prolonged heavy rain’. What this means is that the water entry point is quite small (and therefore needs prolonged heavy rain to cause a leak) and perhaps there are elements under the roof that hold the water leak for a while.
This makes the cause of the leak very difficult to identify at first glance. Most roofers will get ‘stumped’ by this category of leaks.
Over the years, I have discovered many reasons for these types of leaks, and I will cover these on a future post.
Love your website but I live in Wollongong with a 55 yo tile roof that is in need of ridgecap repointing. Do you know a reputable roofer in Wollongong area?
Have been aproached by a few guys cruising the area but they seem too pushy and wanting instant agreement.
Regards
Janet
Hi Janet,
Sorry, I do not know of any good roofers in the Wollongong area who I can recommend.
My advice is to keep away from guys who come ‘door knocking’ and offer special deals for ‘sign up now’ conditions.
Just tell them to leave you their website and contact details so that you can check them out first …and see how they respond.
A roofer who is any good will gladly give you that information – where else the dodgy ones will usually come up with all the reasons for not checking them out first.
All the best.
Jack Yuen
I have to agree with Jack. As much as possible stay from these people who are offering instant services or asking you to sign up. It’s better to ask for their website first so you can check about what services they offer. It’s also important to read online review, if there are any, about a particular roofer or service company. Great post by the way and advance Happy New Year!
Awesome article. After researching the cause of leaking roofs, I totally agree with what this article has to say. I do believe that cleaning the gutters is underrated. People should perform monthly checkups on their gutters; this will ensure that there are no buildups and unwanted flooding. Yes, this can cause roof leaks.
I like that you added number eight to your original seven. My house has a large tree over it, so the leaves frequently fall on my roof. I have to clean out the gutters often like you said to prevent long term damage.
Hi Jack
I live in Melbourne. Do you know any good roofer in Melbourne that you would recommend? Also, is it a good idea to re bed and re point in summer? Does hot weather make a different? Thanks
Hi Connie,
Sorry, I do not have any good contacts in Melbourne.
Bedding and pointing can be done in summer. The bedding goes stiff a bit quicker and the pointing solidifies a bit quicker.
It is the roofers who will feel the heat more than the cement or the pointing!
Jack
Anyone know any good people to look at my roof in townsville
We have a color bond roof, when it rains with a strong wind the water blows back up under the flashing and also back up the valleys and then the water hits the insulation which soaks up the water, my query is there something we can put under the overhang of color bond to stop the water being blown back.
Regards Hugo
Hi Hugo,
There is a range of foam products to suit various roof profiles that you can tuck under the flashings.
You can also use foam along the valleys.
See your local Bunnings if you want to do it yourself.
Jack
Hi Jack,
I have recently replaced the valley irons with colourbond, installed dry with valley seal to bottom of 2 valleys.
When I inspect the work done, would I be able to see the ‘valley seal’? If so, how can I tell if the valley seal is inplace?
Thanks.
Ying
Hi Ying,
We don’t normally install ‘valley seals’.
Just lift the roof tiles up on either side of the valley and you will be able to see if there is anything there.
Jack
Hi Jack,
The roofer re beaded and re pointed the roof for my house. I have noticed that on the horizontal part of the roof, the first row of the tiles where the ridge caps sat, there are four to five tiles on that row not touching the top of the next row of tiles underneath them. There is room enough to tuck a finger in. The top tiles are about 10 mm above the surface of the tiles underneath.
Does it need to be fixed? If so, how and what the roofer should do now? More importantly, would it cause leaking?
Thanks.
Connie
Hi Connie,
When the batten support behind the top row of tiles is too low, the tiles sit on a lower pitch. They lay flatter and this is the cause of the gap to the tiles on the row below.
Whether it is a problem depends on the pitch of the tiles under the capping. If it is steeper than around 20 degrees… it will be ok.
It is not the 10mm gap you mention that will be the problem. Just the pitch of the top tile.
Also, if the top tile is not a full tile and it has been cut to suit the ridge capping… then it is critical to have weep holes.
If it is not complying… then the solution is to remove the ridge capping and relay the tiles on additional timber battens to achieve the correct pitch. …followed by re-bedding (with weep holes if required) and re-pointing.
Hope this helps.
Jack
Hi Jack,
Also, does cement cause rusting on colourbond?
Thanks again.
Connie
Hi Connie,
‘Cement’ is caustic and it will react with colorbond and potentially cause premature rust.
Jack
Hi Jack,
Thanks for the replies.
Following your comments, there are old mortar between the edge of the tiles and the side of the gable. The side of the gable where the mortar sits on is metal and it appears they are Colorbond (but it could be any other painted metal.) The old mortar has loosen up and some of them broking up into small pieces.
What material should be used to repair the old mortar? should the old mortar/the edge tiles be re-bed and repointed? What material should be used that will not cause rusting over time?
Thanks again.
Connie
Hi Connie,
Often, the gables of a tile roof have the roof tiles bedded on a metal flashing with a fibro strip. The mortar sits on the fibro strip and not on the metal flashing.
Repair of loose mortar will involve removing the loose stuff and replacing with fresh cement mortar – which sits on the fibro strip and not on the metal flashing.
Jack
Hi Jack,
Thanks – great points! I’m having a colorbond roof completely replaced at the moment by a company with a long history and good reputation. They seems to have done a good job overall but there is one sheet where they have put three roofing bolts through the “dip” in the colorbond (i.e. down in one of the valleys of the sheet rather than on the top of the curves).
It will be under flashing (not yet installed), but the sheet extends up beyond where it’s flashed, so there will definitely be water running down there.
See pic here: https://ibb.co/HCMCypF
I always thought this was number one roofing no-no… is there ever a time when you would say it’s ok to do it this way?
Thanks again
Hi Bob,
Looks like the roofer put the screws to hold the edge of the sheet down prior to putting the barge flashing on.
The barge flashing should cover the edge of the roof where the screws are.. and the screws should never get wet.
It is a tricky detail and I usually continue the barge flashing up to the ridge flashing with a tray flashing.
If there is no tray, the upstream end of the barge is usually silicone sealed to stop water going under the flashing.
… not my preferred way, but can perform OK.
Hope this helps.
Jack
Thank you – very helpful.
Cheers
Hi Jack I’m having troubles with several leaks around my tiled roof. The tiles appear intact and it only happens in heavy rain. The water seems to be somehow getting up under the edge of the tiles. Does that sound right and what can I do?
Hi John,
If you have concrete roof tiles at less than a 20 degree pitch… wind will force water up the tile and cause dripping off the upstream edge of the tile and onto the sarking or roof cavity.
Jack
Had watermark on the lounge ceiling and cornice in the hallway. First-ever as repointing and bedding were done two years ago. The insurance company put a drone over the roof and said it was neglected and gutters were blocked. I arranged an independent inspection and was told by a roofer that the roof was in good condition. We had torrential rain and 90klm winds on the coast a month ago. Would this cause water stains and what do you think of drones being used for this purpose? Gutters were not blocked nor rusted. Wrong photos looked at?
Hi Helena,
Drones are great for taking photos. But they are not capable of close-up inspections and removing tiles to check for evidence of water penetration.
If you have a relatively low pitched roof, the tiles will leak on the upstream edge in high winds.
Hope this helps.
Jack
Hi,
Over my back deck I have a flat tin roof that joins up to the main house tiles. Unfortunately, during heavy rain with a strong northerly wind, my house leaks water into the lounge room. I suspect the wind is forcing water back up and under the tiles as 1. The tin roof pitch is very slight and 2. The tin roof in this section has a depression that would hold a small amount of water. The leak only happens with heavy rain and strong northerly wind, and only in a small section where the tiled roof meets the tin roof.
What can I use to stop this leak without having to replace the depressed tin and/or re-pitch the tin roof?
Hayden
Hi Hayden,
If the problem is wind driven water, one solution is to install a foam infill just under the edge of the existing tile flashing. Then install another piece of ‘extension flashing’ on top of the existing tile flashing. The purpose of this is to extend the width of the flashing so that the wind driven rain has further to travel before it reaches the upstream end of the roof sheets.
And on the way up the roof sheet, the water meets the foam infills – which forms another barrier to slow down the travel of the wind driven rain.
This could be worth a try.
Jack
Hi Jack
We have a problem with a leak in our roof
We are on the Central Coast and have a small leak somewhere.
Strata arranged for a company to replace 6 tiles and repoint the to hips facing the beach
We then had the gyprockers in to replace the ceiling and the gyprock was still damp with no obvious sains on the top or bottom of the ceiling sheets
It is a tiled roof, we have sarking & large plastic storm clips
Any advice as the roofers sent dont
Hi Adrian,
Are your tiles flat in profile? These tiles have problems with water courses overflowing, or broken water courses.
Is the leak near a downpipe spreader? This is often a common cause of leaks.
Is the leak near a valley? This is a common problem.
Jack
Hi Jack,
I think we are having the problem you mentioned above. The tiles are flat, and the leak is near a valley, and mostly happen when the rain is heavy like this week in Sydney. Could you kindly provide any advice? Really appreciate.
Hi Jeffrey,
Usually the best option is to replace the flat section of the roof with a colorbond metal roof.
Jack
Greetings Jack, Can you suggest a roofer in Sydney to look at fixing an intermittent leak in a tile roof and cliplock extension join. I think there is a valley there that is leaking in heavy rain, thank you, David.
Hi David,
I am 100% biased.
We are the best roofers in Sydney to fix your roof leak.
JCK
Hi Jack, very informative. I live in Newcastle near sea. My 15yo concrete tile house leaks only moderate amounts only after prolonged heavy rain. I can see it dripping through a nail hole in sarking near a join between two pitches. This is directly below a skylight which is much higher up. Numerous roofers and skylight professionals have found nothing wrong. Do I need to replace all tiles in the area and/or remove sarking so I can find the leak? Can you put metal or rubber over tiles?
Hi Don,
I suggest investing in a good roofer to remove the roof tiles in the area of the leak,
Once this is done, the source of the leak should be obvious.
If the pitch of the roof is adequate, a traditional repair is all that is needed.
I do not recommend putting a metal roof or rubber membrane over the roof tiles.
Hope this helps.
Jack
Hi Jack. Good article. A lot of logic there which makes sense. I have a new skylight and I think something has not gone to plan on the instal. Very heavy rain produces a leak. Can I seal/cover the gap between the skylight and the concrete roof tiles? I know the velux has a built in flashing system, but my though is that by covering this gap, it would reduce the reliance on the flashing as little water would get in. Any thoughts?
Hi JA,
Velux skylights are highly engineered – but they have many weaknesses.
The main problem with them is that installers don’t know how to put these intricate skylights in properly.
That means we come across more leaking Velux skylights than any other skylights.
Traditional Velux skylights are meant to be installed on roofs with steep pitches.
Now that low pitch roofs are the fashion, these skylights are just not suitable any more.
Velux has responded in the last few years by bringing out ‘flat roof’ versions (aimed at metal roofs)- which no longer use their own base flashings.
Skylight companies like ‘Skyspan’ in Sydney do a roaring trade in custom base flashings for Velux skylights. And these work well.
If you have a Velux on a tile roof, check that your roof is steep enough (I recommend a minimum of 30 degrees).
If you tick ‘YES’ to this requirement, then you have a chance. Keep the base of the Velux free of leaves and debris, and it should not leak.
If it does, then the flashings have not been installed correctly. Get someone who know what they are doing to fix this.
There is no need to cover the gaps because it blocks off maintenance access and can also introduce other leakage paths.
Hope this helps,
Jack
Awesome information Jack, Thanks for sharing.
I have a question and would appreciate if I could get your thought.
We had a leaking roof due to ridge cap problem. Home 15 years old. did the washing, repointing, sealing and painting.
The leaks stopped but during the rain there is always water stain coming from edge of the tiles everywhere but no droplets.
The roofer says it is normal but we checked the ceiling before the repair during the rain and definitely it was not the case at that time.
Would appreciate if you share your thought with us about this situation.
Hi Fatima,
It looks like some of the water courses are blocked by dirt or paint. This can happen during a roof restoration.
It also happens if a lot of leaves fall on your roof over a period of time.
The roof tiles can be lifted and the debris cleaned off to stop the seepage- this is quite tedious…
Hope this helps.
Jack
i have leaks in my roof when the rain is a bit heavier, i have no sarking so it drips. The tiles have a clip on them, could this cause the drip, should i take them off. What is the fix in this situation, does sarking need to be put in, replace tiles etc, i am not sure what to do here?
Hi Rick,
Sometimes, roof tiles are secured to the battens with clips rather than nails. The clips do not cause leaks.
I suspect that the tiles are laid too flat (less than 25 degrees pitch) and roof tiles leak in this situation.
Also, if you have a two storey house, check if the leak is under a downpipe spreader. Excess discharge from a spreader will cause leaks.
Hope this helps.
Jack
Hi Jack – Thanks for all the information you provide on your website. It takes a great deal of work to maintain your site so I appreciate all your effort. You recently responded to an email of mine but I thought I’d ask my follow-up question in the public forum as your answer could be useful to others.
I live at Byron Bay. We get very heavy rain here – recently falls of greater than 150ml in an hour. We have a combination tile and colorbond roof. We have leaks on the front verandah during heavy rain. The leaks occur along the supporting beam on the verandah.
You suggested (from the photo) that the roof angle may be insufficient (5deg or less) on the colorbond roof and that water is leaking through the overlap and maybe the screws.
I’ve done a few measurements and the roof angle is about 6 to 7 deg. I guess that with the volume of rain we get the water could easily flow between the overlapping colorbond sheets. Is this correct?
I have 2 questions. (1) What can I do to fix the problem? Is installing Kliploc the only solution?; and (2) We are about to have solar panels installed on the colorbond and the tile roof. Will this help our problem? Could this result in less water falling and settling on the roof?
Thanks Jack!!
Hi Bryan,
During very heavy rain, the laps on corrugated sheets can leak.
The other weak area is the upstream ends. The valleys of the sheets can only be turned up about 15mm. When heavy rain cause a river to run off the tile roof, it hits the junction at the metal roof.
If the tile flashing is not wide enough, the joint is overloaded and water flows over the turn-ups and into the ceiling cavity.
You have a raked ceiling (that will drain leaks towards the gutter) and that may be why you see leaks at the supporting beam and not at the joint between the two roofs.
If you will be installing solar, I recommend replacing the roof with ‘kliplok’. The support frame for the solar panels sit on the metal roof and debris and water will get trapped between the frame and the valleys of the corrugated sheets and cause worse problems with leaks at laps.
Kliplok have large ‘pans’ that do not block up the water flow. These pans can be turned up about 35mm on the upstream end to stop overflowing at the upstream ends.
The volume of water on your roof does not change when there are solar panels. There will just be large concentrations (waterfalls) of water running off the edges of the solar panels onto the roof – which the roof now have to cope with.
Hope this helps.
Jack