Brown Water Stain on Your Ceiling? What Causes It

A brown or yellow stain spreading across a ceiling almost always means water is getting in from somewhere. Here is how to work out where.

Roof or plumbing?

The two usual causes are a roof leak or a plumbing leak. The quickest tell: if the stain appears or grows after heavy rain, it is almost certainly the roof. If it is constant regardless of the weather, suspect a pipe.

Common roof causes

• A slipped, cracked or missing tile.
• Failed flashing around a chimney or where the roof meets a wall.
• A blocked or leaking valley or gutter.
• A worn or damaged flat roof above.

Don’t just paint over it

Covering the stain without fixing the cause means it comes straight back — usually bigger. The right approach is to trace the true source and repair it, which is exactly what we do as roofers.