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They are the two most dreaded words in a homeowner’s vocabulary: a leaky roof. Water is the most insidious foe, eager to penetrate your home covering’s most vulnerable defenses. Once inside, the damage and destruction may be taking place far from the point of the initial attack, making the initial source of a roof leak difficult to identify. There are many different reasons your roof may be leaking in heavy rain. While it can be hard to diagnose where a leak is coming from, below are a few culprits.
If you have a leaking roof, it can result in a lot of expensive damage to your home if it isn’t promptly repaired. But it’s not always easy to find the source of a leak, since water can often appear inside your home well away from the actual leak. Below are five problem areas to look at when trying to locate a leak in your roof.
Wear and Tear
Environmental factors, as well as the passage of time, eventually cause roof shingles to deteriorate and become ineffective at keeping water out. This is particularly the case in locations where roofs face very high temperatures for heavy snows and ice.
Slope of the Roof
If a roof has a shallow slope, rain can be driven underneath the shingles and inside the home. Also, it’s easier for the wind to lift the shingles and blow them off. The slope of a roof is the ratio of its rise over its distance in inches. A roof with asphalt shingles should have a roof slope of 2:12 for better. Even if the slope is higher than this, it will often still need an underlayment material to ensure it’s waterproof. Make sure that the materials used on your roof are appropriate to your roof slope.
Roofing Vents
Penetrations through your roof provide an access point through which water can leak. This is why it’s a good idea to frequently inspect any vents on your roof to ensure that the gaskets around them are not cracked or loose, that there are no missing nails and that the plastic vent itself isn’t damaged.
Roof Flashing
The transitions between sections of a shingle roof are sealed with metal roof flashing. For instance, flashing is frequently positioned around chimneys, the edges of skylights and where a dormer meets the roof. Over time, the caulking under flashing can dry out and crack and the nails can loosen, resulting in leaks. Make repairs when necessary.
Clogged Gutters
It’s easy for the gutters around your roof to get clogged with leaves, branches or other debris that can prevent the water from flowing off the roof. This results in standing water that has time to soak down through the shingles and into your home. Gutter covers are one solution, while trimming back branches on surrounding trees is another.
Chimneys
Flashing pulling away from the chimney. Any time there’s heavy rain, we get calls about chimney leaks. A chimney could leak during heavy rain for a few different reasons. The metal flashing surrounding the chimney could be rusted or pulled away from the chimney. Additionally, saturation in the mortar joints from prolonged periods of rain can allow water to enter your home. Depending on the material, if water comes in from the top of your chimney, the top could be cracked or rusted.
Rusted or Cracked Roof Flashing
Flashing also surrounds other essential areas on your roof. This makes problems with roof flashing the second reason a roof leaks in heavy rain. If you notice holes or cracks in the flashing – it’s compromised. While this is the most common reason a roof leaks, it can also leak from improperly installed roof flashing. Unfortunately, you won’t know the extent of the problem or if flashing is the primary reason for leaks until after a roof inspection. But no matter what, these situations require a repair or flashing replacement. You can caulk around the flashing to seal it if you need a temporary solution. However, a replacement is best. Call a roofing contractor for an estimate.
Pipe Boot Failure
A common reason for roof leaks is when a boot around a plumbing pipe or other roof penetration fails. A boot goes around the base of roof pipes to make them watertight. However, prolonged exposure to the sun can crack pipe boots made of rubber. Once it cracks, water runs down the pipe into the room below it. Pipe boots last around ten years, depending on location, weather, and animals. Pipe boots never last the entire lifespan of a roof. That’s why it’s essential to get roof maintenance to catch problems before leaks can start.
Improperly Driven Roofing Nails
Debris builds up in your roof valleys from a lack of roof maintenance. When debris sits for too long, you have the potential for leaks. The dam of debris stops water from flowing down properly and causes pooling water to back up the roof. When water sits long enough, it’ll find the least resistant path. It could get into your home through a backed-out nail or even underneath your shingles. Get annual roofing maintenance and inspections to clear your roof and gutter of debris to avoid problems like leaks.