Minor Roof Leaks – Best Way to Repair?
royhardin asked:
I have two leaks in my roof. One leaks over front door and one over sliding glass door in back. They are in a straight line from front to back of house. The leaks are coming through at the top of the doors. In one case (pulled sheetrock for other reasons) I can see it dripping through along nail holes. Checked shingles and have reseated/replaced nails and put roof sealant and caulk over the nail heads and reseated shingles. Still have leaks.
I have two leaks in my roof. One leaks over front door and one over sliding glass door in back. They are in a straight line from front to back of house. The leaks are coming through at the top of the doors. In one case (pulled sheetrock for other reasons) I can see it dripping through along nail holes. Checked shingles and have reseated/replaced nails and put roof sealant and caulk over the nail heads and reseated shingles. Still have leaks.
Split design for roof (L shape roof on rancher – main part (where leaks are) is 1 story, then rises to rest of house which is 2 stories high). Been told that this is a common problem for these designs. Was told to put roofing patch on the valley formed by the split – still not fixed – but helped. Roof otherwise fine. Mulitple roofers said I don’t need to replace it. They offer suggestions – say easy to fix – any ideas as to what to try. Otherwise waiting until they schedule time to work it. Or how can I find exact leak locations?
Tagged with: Doors • Roofing • Sliding Glass
Filed under: FAQ
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Leaks don’t necessarily start where the drip is. Water runs downhill, no matter what. You could try getting in the attic in the one story section and look along where the second story attaches. Do this while it’s raining so you can see the leak in action. You may be able to get closer to the source that way. Unfortunately, alot of times it’s a process of elimination to stop the leak. If you do hire someone to fix the leak, make sure you get what they are going to do in writing and that the leak will be fixed when they are done. Otherwise you may be paying someone for several trips out and it could get expensive and still not solve the problem. A reputable roofer, even if he’s a one-man business or a small outfit, can fix this for you. And will stand behind their work. Good luck.
The attic is THE place to run down the location of a leak. The actual place of a leak can be very far from the percieved (or actual result of) water infultration. Light that attic up so that it’s like daytime in there and look for any discoloration or moisture on the underside of the sheething(plywood panels).Be sure to track down where the water is getting in(not where it’s ending up).A sideways rain can infiltrate fixtures(doors,windows and such)that are poorly caulked giving you a false idea of factual roof defects.
Get up in the attic and look for spots. Another way the roofers I’ve seen do it, put the sprinkler on the roof for awhile then go up there. Us a hose.
Leaks can be hard to find. Use a hose, spray it at different places starting low and working up until it starts to leak. if its the valley, it could be something very simple – if you lift the shingles in the valley, you may see that the shingles beneath come to a point. The water can catch here and follow the tops of the shingles to bare plywood. You need to cut these points back. Sometimes a leak in a lower storey can even originate on the second storey part. It could run down the inside of a wall. I’ve solved many mysterious leaks using a water hose.