Finding Roof Leaks Tips

Where nails have worked loose.

Finding roof leaks tips.

Start low soaking the area just above where the leak appears in the house. Or through corroded or poorly sealed roof flashing around vents skylights or chimneys or along the intersections of roof planes. Look in the attic with a flashlight for evidence like water stains trhen trace them up the roof and rafters to the entry point. Isolate areas when you run the hose.

Water will reflect light so bring a flashlight along. Roof vent pipes from plumbing or exhaust vents penetrate the roof and are usually sealed using a collar style flashing made out of a flexible material like epdm rubber or flexible pvc. Use a garden hose with nozzle control to water test for roof leaks. The person in the attic watches carefully while the one on the roof floods the roof with the hose starting at the bottom the eaves and slowly working uproof until water from the leak appears in the attic.

The goal is to find the leak before the entire roof goes bad. The underside of your roof may be obscured by insulation and that s actually helpful for finding the roof leak. Water typically comes in through worn broken or missing shingles. Roof vent pipes are common areas for roof leaks.

If the leak isn t obvious have a helper watch in the attic while you get on the roof with a garden hose. Identifying the true location of roof leaks in the attic. If you have an attic the easiest way to spot the leak is to up there on a rainy day. For example soak the downhill side of a chimney first then each side then the top on both sides.

How to avoid roof leaks. Follow damaged insulation back to the source of the roof leak. Many of the typical causes of a leaking roof can be avoided by employing the services of a trusted roofing repair service to do the initial installation of your roof finding a trusted roofing expert will give you the peace of mind of knowing that your roof was installed the right way so the risk of a leak due to faulty workmanship is unlikely.