Let’s be honest. How often do most of us check our roofs for necessary repairs, until something is already broken or leaking? Chances are we aren’t doing that at all. Believe it or not, roof leaks are among the most common reasons a repairman is called. Fortunately, most roof leaks could be repaired without too much effort. All you need are a few useful tips and tricks.

Bring the Right Equipment

Before you begin anything, you must get the right equipment. The most essential gear you can get is good roofing shoes. Roofs are tilted and slippery, and just one wrong step can cause severe injuries.

Regular shoes won’t do it, especially if you’ve experienced rainfall recently. This is why you have to purchase some of the best roofing shoes you can find. Not to mention, they might come in handy during some other household tasks. Even if you aren’t expecting any new leaks soon, good equipment is always a good investment.

Look for Nails that Missed the Framing

If the leak isn’t too big, perhaps you have a problem with a shiner. A shiner is a nail that has missed its framing. This allows small drops of moisture to leak inside the house. A promising sign of this is if you notice you have leaks once the house warms up after a cold period – for example, around noon, when the sun is at its highest.

The condensation allows the moisture to drip down the nail inside your house. No need to worry – the solution for this is simple. Just trim the nail all the way to the framing, and the problem should be solved—no need to call a repairman over something trivial as this.

Fix Faulty Step Flashing

Another common source of the leak is corroded step flashing. This is the part between the roof and the wall. If it corrodes, it can allow water to enter the house. If you find out this is the cause of the leak, you just have to replace the step flashing with the new one. This process is rather easy, and the only thing you need to know how to do is to remove the shingles. Of course, you can always contact a professional Littleton roof repair contractor, or roofing expert in your area, to do this for you if this is something that you don’t feel comfortable doing yourself.

Fix Broken Plumbing Vent Boots

Plumbing vent boots are found on most roofs, and they are also a common reason behind a roof leak. How often will they become damaged entirely depends on the material. For example, plastic vent boots are fragile and can crack easily. On the other hand, metal ones tend to break at seams or the protective rubber.

Sadly, when something like this fails, the only solution is to replace the boots entirely. Make sure to check the nails first, however, as sometimes one can go missing. This creates a hole through which water can enter.

Repair Dormers and Walls

Just because you might notice leaks on your ceiling, this doesn’t mean the leak is on the roof. Water doesn’t have to come from above, and often times the location is elsewhere. A common place where leaks occur is around the windows, as well as through cracks in siding and corner boards.

This is especially common with dormer walls, which have a lot of places where water can enter the roof. For example, you may have an old caulk, or pieces of it might be cracked or missing. Water penetrates these weak spots and enters the house.

To fix it, you should dig out any faulty caulk and replace it with a new, high-quality one. Also, make sure you look at the siding right above the step flashing. If you see anything wrong with the step flashing, replace it as well.

Check Out Brick Chimneys

 Chimneys are a common source of leaks, especially if they’re made of brick. The reasons behind this are way too many to count! First off, flashing can rust, even if they’re made of galvanized steel! If you need a quick fix, just add new flashing underneath.

This will stop the water from entering. Of course, the best thing would be to replace the entire flashing. You can do this by cutting a saw kerf deep inside the mortar, then installing the new flashing. Also, the water can enter between the bricks, especially if the cement is old. Holes can appear over time, especially if you live in rainy areas. This is probably the only place where you should use cement to patch the hole up.

Use a Garden Hose

Without locating the exact spot of the leak is essential when it comes to repairing it. This isn’t as easy as it looks like. If you don’t think that the leak occurred due to plumbing vent boots, step flashing or shiners, there’s only one thing left to do – use a garden hose!

This is an easy trick to locate the place of the leak precisely. Here’s how to do it. Have someone climb on the roof – we would recommend they wear the good roofing shoes – and give them the hose. Isolate one place of the roof – for example, around the chimney – then turn the hose on.

While your assistant is on the roof, go inside the house and look for water stains or dripping. If it doesn’t happen, the leak likely isn’t in that area. Make sure the hose is running for several minutes, as the dripping usually doesn’t happen right away. Move to the next area if you’re certain the leak doesn’t occur there. This process can take up to several hours, depending on the size of your property. In the end, you’ll be able to locate the spot of leaking precisely.

Never Use Sealants

A quick fix for many leaks is using some sort of sealant to cover the hole, such as roof cement or caulk. This is never a good idea! Not only these materials aren’t reliable, but they also won’t last for too long. Sure, nothing terrible will happen if you use caulk for some tiny hole, but we wouldn’t recommend that, as well. Everything should be sealed mechanically, or the leak will reappear with the next storm.

Shift Frequency © 2020 – How to Locate and
Repair a Roof Leak