Two situations in which you should not attempt to patch up a hole in your roof by yourself

Whilst it is possible for a person to patch up a hole in their property's roof, there are situations in which it is not advisable to do this. In these circumstances, it is best to have a trained roofer perform the patch-up job with good-quality roofing materials. Carry on reading if you want to find out what these situations are.

You have arthritic hands and cannot hold heavy tools or roofing materials

If you have arthritis, and this condition has spread to the joints in your hands, you should never attempt any type of DIY roof work. The reason for this is as follows; in order to carry out the repair work correctly, you must have fully functional hands that are dexterous and strong enough to hold and use heavy tools and roofing materials.

For example, if your fingers are swollen, gnarled and stiff as a result of your arthritis, you may find it difficult to maintain your grip on a hefty piece of roof cladding. This could lead to the cladding slipping from your hands whilst you're standing on a ladder next to the roof. If this happens, the cladding could hit the ground with such force that it breaks. You may then have to buy additional cladding in order to complete the repair work.

Likewise, the impact that this health condition has had on your hands may make it hard (or even impossible) for you to hold the fasteners in place whilst you drill them into the cladding. In short, if you try to do this job yourself when you have arthritis in your hands, there is a good chance that you will do it poorly and will then end up having to pay a roofer to correct your DIY efforts.

You suffer from vertigo

If you suffer from vertigo, it is important to avoid doing any form of roof work. The reason for this is as follows; if you suffer from an attack of vertigo whilst you are standing on the top rung of the ladder and performing roof repairs, there could be disastrous consequences.

The dizziness, headache and nausea that typically accompany an attack could easily result in you becoming disorientated and losing your balance. If this happens, you could fall from the ladder onto the ground. The injuries that you would sustain as a result of this incident would probably be very severe and perhaps even life-threatening.

Given this, if you have vertigo, it would be wise to get the hole in your roof sealed up by a roofer, instead of trying to do it yourself.