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TYPICAL ROOF LEAKS
Roof leaks are inevitable, but the source can be difficult to spot sometimes. Below are places where you can look for a roof leak. Remember that roofs are inherently dangerous, and climbing on your roof can lead to accidents and injuries. If your roof is leaking, hire a professional to find the source and make repairs.
Missing/Broken Shingles
Wind, rain, and debris can knock shingles off the roof, which allows water to invade the attic space unnoticed. Missing and broken shingles happen because of severe storms, but this problem often indicates that the roofing shingles need to be replaced. Most roofing shingles last twenty to thirty years. If your roof is approximately twenty to thirty years old, you could be experiencing a roof leak because your shingles are too old to be effective against leaks. Have your roof inspected and assessed by a roofing professional to address the issue.
Gutters are Clogged
Gutters are a critical part of your home’s drainage system. Functioning gutters help direct water off your roof and away from your home. When they’re clogged, water backs up at the roofline. Overflowing water, overflowing ice, and snow have more time to seep in when your gutters are not flowing properly.
Fortunately, this is an easy problem to solve. To address the issue, just clean your gutters once or twice per year, as needed. You’ll know when it’s time because your gutters will start to overflow. Stay on top of gutter maintenance by cleaning twice annually: once in the spring and once in the fall. If you start to notice problems like water leaking from the cracks between gutters, have your gutters repaired by a professional or replaced if needed.
Flashing is Cracked
Flashing is the material that protects your roof beneath the shingles. Flashing can crack with time, especially as it is exposed to water, rain, snow, ice, extreme heat, and other severe weather conditions. Flashing needs to be inspected periodically and replaced as needed – just like the rest of your roof. Work with a roofing professional to get your roof inspected and either repaired or replaced if needed.
Step flashing is used along walls that intersect the roof. Each short section of flashing channels water over the shingle downhill from it. But if the flashing rusts through, or a piece comes loose, water will run right behind it, and into the house it goes. Rusted flashing needs to be replaced. That means removing shingles, prying siding loose, and then removing and replacing the step flashing. It’s that simple. But occasionally a roofer forgets to nail one in place and it eventually slips down to expose the wall.
Chimney Leaks
Chimneys can become a source of leaks as the years go on. Leaks can happen when there is no chimney cap, the chimney or chimney cap is damaged, or when the chimney flashing is cracked or damaged (as described above). Over time, this can lead water to enter your home, and deterioration can occur. You can prevent chimney leaks by having your chimney inspected by a professional at least once per year and by having your roof inspected by a roofing professional on a regular basis. Have a chimney professional come to your house to inspect your chimney.
Chimney wear and tear
There are several ways a chimney can leak. It could be the metal flashing that goes under the shingles surrounding the chimney. If it’s brick, it could be the mortar joints. If it rains for a few days, the mortar joints and even the bricks themselves could get so saturated that water will start coming into the interior of your home causing damage to walls and the ceiling.
It can also be water coming down through the top of the chimney. For example, a masonry top could be cracking from being wet and freezing. and a metal top could just be old and rusted or the fasteners that hold it could have come loose. In chimney siding, water can get in the corners where the siding butts into the corner boards. Not only can those boards rot out, but so can the boards behind the chimney that you can’t see. Whatever the reason your chimney is leaking, you won’t know the extent of the damage until a roofer gets up there and does an inspection.
Where will the roof leak show up? A leak from a saturated chimney will weep water into the walls around the fireplace. For chimney caps, the leak will happen inside the fireplace.
Pipe Boot Failure
The most common cause of a leak I see is where a boot around a pipe fails. A boot is a type of roof flashing that goes around the base of the pipes coming out of your roof and waterproofs them. There are different kinds of boots a roofer could use such as lead, plastic, copper, etc. Whatever the material, the main job of a pipe boot is to stop water from following the pipe down through your roof and into your home.
UV from the sun breaks down the neoprene and it cracks. Once it cracks, water will run down into a closet, kitchen, bathroom, or wherever you have the pipe coming out of your roof. Pipe boots will not last the life of the roof. Manufacturers have changed the compound over recent years, but it still will not outlast your shingles. The pipe boot should last around 10 years, but different factors (location, weather, animals) will ultimately decide how long one will last.
Where will the roof leak show up? The leak can show up in the master bedroom, a bathroom, closet, etc. It’s going to be wherever that pipe is located on the roof. Looking at your roof in the general area of the leak will show you which pipe is causing water to get into your home.
Your Skylights
Skylights often leak either because the caulk or tar has deteriorated or the flashing itself has begun to deteriorate. Skylights need regular maintenance in order to maintain their structural integrity. Your roofing professional will be able to identify when there is a problem with your skylights and can make recommendations for repair as needed.
Roof Valley Leaks
The roof valley is the area where the two slopes of your roof meet, and the shingles are slightly bent. It is in the roof valley where shingles are more susceptible to falling off. During your inspection, your roofing professional will likely look in that area for wet areas or softwood.
When should you call a roofing contractor to repair your roof?
As soon as you notice the leak. The quicker you get the leak looked at the better. You have no idea what hidden damage is being done. If you have one leak, then chances are another potential problem is about to show up somewhere else. The entire roof should be inspected when a roofer comes to take a look at the leak.
