The Key To Stopping A Roof Leak

You come home or go to your business and you notice a huge puddle of water in the floor. The ceiling is most likely wet and the Sheetrock may have fallen or about give way. You think to yourself, Oh no a hole in my roof! What you do next is of most importance, for some will choose a contractor or may opt to do the work themselves.

Let’s look at both options and evaluate them equally. A roofing contractor can be quite expensive, but you get the assurance that the roof leak will be repaired and you will be given a warranty. The hard thing about this option is finding a trust worthy contractor. Also it  is time consuming and not to mention the cost of the roof repair. The “Do it Yourself” decision can save you time and a bundle of money. A certain amount of skills & knowledge is required, and you must be handy with a hammer and nails. The downside is if you do not fix the leak you can have more damage inside your home or business.

Now that you have decided to repair the hole in the roof, lets start at the top. Literally the top, The roof top to be more specific.

1. Check the roof top for missing shingles or a disrupted roof surface.
2. Get into the attic space and look at the insulation for water stains.
3. The stains will be brown in color.
4. Also, look at the decking for water marks & discoloration.
5. If you have found the area where water is coming in, take a large nail and nail it from inside the attic to the outside area of the roof.
6. Once upon the roof, you will be able to locate the problem area by finding the nail.

Now that you have found the problem area, you can begin the repair process. If shingles have been blown off, It is as simple as replacing the missing tiles. You can go by the old staggered patern thats already in place. The shingle packet shows the nail pattern to be used. If the leak is around a metal or plastic boot cover, use a  tar cement to reseal the troubled area. A chimney can usually be resealed with NP-1 Sealant. Ridge vent can be removed and replaced fairly easily. These are the easy leaks to repair with minimal skills and knowledge.

Roof leaks in the valley, wall line, and low slope area are the most difficult to repair. Valleys are the areas where two different roof sections intersect to make a “valley”.

1. Remove the shingles from the valley with a flat bar without breaking the other sections of roofing.
2. Clean the valley so it is free and clear of all debris.
3. Install GAF Weather Guard Barrier system as the valley liner.
4. This is done to catch water that gets underneath the shingles for what ever reason.
5. The valley liner is the key to your success.
6. Install new shingles back into valley by following the old pattern.

Wall lines have metal flashing installed, so upon removing the old shingles it will be necessary to remove the old metal.

1. Remove the old metal flashing from the wall line.
2. Install new Trim Coil Metal back into existing wall line.
3. Do not nail the metal to the roof for this will cause a leak overtime.
4. Nail the metal to the brick or stucco wall line or place it behind the siding.
5. Now you can reinstall the new shingles by following the old pattern.
6. Be sure to reseal all articulations with NP-1 Sealant.
7. Brick and stucco have to be sealed with NP-1 Sealant.

Low Slope areas are the most difficult to repair because of the different types of material used. I do not generally advise people to repair these roof systems there self. The level of skill and knowledge to repair a Low Slope roof requires years of experience with great skills and knowledge. At this stage of the game, I would advise the home or business owner to cover the area with a tarp and call a professional residential roofing contractor.

Gary Barnes

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