The short answer
Leave it to a roofer. A tarpaulin is a sound temporary measure, but fixing one means working on a damaged, often wet roof at height, which is where people get hurt. A roofer secures sheeting with battens and proper fixings so it survives wind, and the cost is a receipt your insurer will expect you to keep.
Why you should not climb up yourself
The urge to cover a hole fast is understandable, and it puts people in hospital. A damaged roof is unpredictable: tiles that look fixed can slide, boards beneath a missing covering can be rotten, and rain, wind and moss make every surface slippery. The person falling is usually the homeowner, on a ladder that was never footed.
Ladders add their own risks. A ladder leaned against wet gutters can slip, and a long sheet of plastic in a breeze acts as a sail that can pull you off balance. Carrying and unrolling a tarpaulin with one hand is how accidents happen.
There is also a legal and practical side. The HSE's domestic client guidance expects the contractor you hire to plan the job safely, including how people reach the roof, and a lone contractor still needs a written construction phase plan. When you do it yourself, none of that planning happens, and the risk is entirely yours.
What you can do from the ground is limited but useful. Shift belongings away from the wet spot, set out a bucket and call a roofer. If there is a hazard such as a hanging tile above a path, keep people clear of it.
How roofers secure sheeting
A tarpaulin that is merely laid over a hole will not last an hour in a gust. A roofer treats it as a small piece of construction and fixes it properly.
The sheet must be large enough to extend well beyond the damage on all sides and, ideally, over the ridge so water cannot run beneath it from above. It is laid with the upper edge tucked under the covering above, if that can be done without damage, and the lower edge allowed to lap over the covering below so water runs off and not in.
Fixing is done with timber battens: the sheet is wrapped around a batten, which is then screwed to the rafters or to the roof structure, never just nailed through the plastic. Edges are held down along their length and corners are folded, not left flapping, since a flapping edge is what the wind tears.
Where fixing into the roof would cause more damage, such as on a fragile or slate surface, the sheeting is secured over the ridge and weighted or strapped from the far side. The roofer picks the method to suit the roof itself.
Our page on temporary roof repairs sets out what a make-safe involves and how long it is expected to last.
What insurers expect
If the damage came from a storm or a falling tree, your insurer will expect you to limit further loss while the claim is dealt with. That includes a sensible temporary cover, and it should be done safely. Tell the insurer first, before arranging anything permanent, and take pictures of the damage, outside and in, before the sheeting goes on.
Keep the receipt. The cost of a temporary repair is often recoverable as part of a claim, so a dated invoice from the roofer that describes the work is worth keeping with your photographs. Which? and the Financial Ombudsman Service both point out that insurers look closely at claims, and clear records help.
Do not remove the evidence. Tiles, slates or panels that came down should be kept, or recorded where they lie if that can be done without risk.
A tarpaulin is a stop-gap, not a repair. Insurers and roofers both expect the lasting work to follow once the damage has been assessed and the weather allows. Leaving sheeting in place for months invites damage from wind, sun and trapped moisture, and a claim can be harmed by delay.
For the full order of steps after storm damage, see storm damage to a roof, and for evidence see how to photograph roof damage for insurance.
What we do when we are called
We judge first whether a climb is sensible, and if so, we cover the damaged area with sheeting fixed on battens. Afterwards we explain what has been done, record the damage and the cover with pictures, and set out what the lasting repair needs.
The sheeting protects the roof in the meantime, not for ever, and we talk through how long it is likely to be acceptable. The lasting repair is booked for suitable weather, with scaffold and a licence if the job needs them.
Where a storm caused the damage, the pictures and the receipt belong in your claim file. Dealing with the insurer is your side of things, and its decision is not ours to forecast, but a tidy record helps you put your case.
The permanent repair comes as one written total, with the evidence behind it laid out for you. If a repair will do, we recommend a repair and not a new roof.
The roof repairs hub covers the other repair work we do, and when to call an emergency roofer explains which problems should not wait for a convenient day.
