Emergency damp proofing

If water is coming from inside the building, turn the stopcock off. If it is anywhere near electrics — a light fitting, a socket, a bulging ceiling below a bathroom — switch that circuit off at the consumer unit and do not touch the fitting.

A bulging ceiling holds a surprising weight of water and can come down all at once. Keep people out of the room. If you are confident it is safe and the water is clean, piercing the lowest point of the bulge with a screwdriver into a bucket is the standard way to release it in a controlled fashion — but only if the electrics to that area are off.

Photograph everything before you move or clean anything. Insurers ask for evidence of the state it was in, and the moment tidying starts, that evidence is gone. Move what you can lift clear of the water, and get air moving once the ingress has stopped.

Stopping or limiting active ingress, establishing where the water is entering, and stabilising the situation so the damage stops getting worse. That is the immediate job. Proper drying, reinstatement and permanent repair follow once the water is no longer arriving.

It is worth being clear about the boundaries. A burst pipe inside the property is a plumber's job and a plumber will be faster and cheaper at it. Water pouring through a slipped tile in a storm may need a roofer at height. Where that is the case I will tell you so on the phone rather than attend and charge you for the privilege of finding out.

Escape of water is one of the most common domestic insurance claims, and a written report identifying the cause and extent is usually what the insurer needs to progress it. That is a damp survey, and it is worth instructing early while the evidence is still fresh.

Drying properly matters more than it feels like it does at the time. Masonry and timber that are closed up and redecorated while still wet produce mould, salt staining and rot months later — a second, avoidable job on top of the first.