Home Tips November 7, 2022

Fixing a leaky roof

Ask any homeowner what their biggest fear is when it comes to repairs, and they’ll almost always say “The roof”.  Roof repairs can be expensive, time-consuming, and highly inconvenient for homeowners to work around.  Having a leak in the roof can also allow water to get elsewhere inside your home, causing even more issues down the line.  I will always recommend hiring a professional when it comes to roof repair, but if you are even a little bit handy and feel like you can manage a simple leak issue (if that’s all it is), you can save yourself some money and headaches.  I’ve included a few tips below that should help you spot and fix some of the more common roof leak issues.

The first culprit of a leaky roof is typically the flashing, either around the chimney or the step flashing where walls meet the roof.

The step flashing is supposed to help channel water over shingles down the slope of the roof.  If one of the flashing pieces comes loose or rusts through, this allows for an easy opening where water can sneak past and then into the house.  Sometimes you can simply take a new piece of flashing and slide it under the damaged piece, and that will generally hold for a good while.  But it’s not the best way to do it and replacing the flashing altogether is going to get you the best results in the long run.

After flashing issues, the next likely place for leaks to occur is with the roof vents.  These areas are prone to cracked housings and broken seams which compromise the water barrier and will allow leakage.  Replacing the vents is the best fix and surprisingly easy to do.  You may not even have to remove any shingles and can just slide to old one out and the new one in.  Securing with rubber-washered screws and a new bead of caulking under the shingles should bring back the water barrier and hold the shingles in place.

 

One last place to check, especially here in the PNW, is the siding and dormer walls.  The unique architecture here in Western Washington has lots of historic designs and dormer rooflines.  Combined with the high winds leading to sideways rain, you have areas that could be susceptible to water damage and leakage.  The leak spots in the joints can be a bit trickier to find and repair, but if you’re feeling up to it, you could save a bundle.

Again, I always recommend hiring a licensed and bonded contractor or roofing specialist, but if you find that it may be one of the above-mentioned issues and want to give it a shot for yourself, check out The Family Handyman for more tips, tricks, and walk-through pictures and videos.