Find A Great Roofing Contractor For Repairs By Asking The Right Questions
Now you have an idea how much itll cost to repair your leaky roof. Remember, these are rough estimates to fix the most common roof leaks.
These repairs can extend your roofs life and get you through until you need a roof replacement. But if you hire the wrong roofing contractor, these repairs will mean nothing and can even cause more damage to your roof and home.
That’s why we developed a checklist to help homeowners like you make the right hiring decision. The checklist gives you the 16 questions every homeowner needs to ask a roofing contractor and the right answers you should get back.
The last thing you want is to be taken advantage and throw your money away, get the checklist now.
The team at Bill Ragan Roofing has helped extend the lives of roofs all over Nashville with high-quality roof repairs since 1990. If you’re local to Nashville, don’t hesitate to contact us to help with any of your roofing needs.
Repairing Damaged Roll Roofing
A Roof Leak Is More Than An Annoying Drip: It Can Cause Real Damage To Your Home Heres How To Get It Repaired
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Q: Help! After all the recent storms, my roof seems to have sprung a leak. How do I get it fixed?
A: The exclamation before your question is appropriate. Roof leaks, if not addressed promptly, can lead to expensive repairs and moldy indoor air that can affect the health of your family. But when massive storms roll through an area, roof damage tends to show up on a lot of houses at once. Getting someone to respond quickly can be difficult, especially these days, when numerous contractors report difficulty finding enough qualified people to hire, even when storm damage isnt an issue.
Your first step should be to do what you can to limit the damage. Start by setting buckets or pots under drips to prevent damage to furniture or flooring.
Insurance does not cover damage thats unrelated to storms. Youre on your own if the roof is so old that asphalt shingles have lost most of their surface grit, which shields the shingles from damage by ultraviolet rays, or if leaves or needles were left piled up for months.
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Collar Failure Around A Gas Vent
Gas vents are incredibly important because they make sure any carbon monoxide coming from gas appliances vents out through the roof.
Most of the time, these vents are installed by HVAC workers who slide a collar over an unsealed pipe and flange thinking it will shed the rain right off of it. Under normal circumstances, this works.
However, with a torrential downpour, water can splash under the collar and lead to water running down the pipe.
Leaking Roof: 5 Steps To Fix It For Good
A leaking roof can be a headache for any homeowner. A roof leak may occur because of a multitude of reasons. One of the primary reasons for a roof leak is the climatic conditions in which your property is located. It could be rain, sandstorm, ice dams that are collected on the roof and lead to roof leaks.
Have you noticed water stains that run across ceilings and down the walls of your home? It is probably a roof leak thats causing the problem. A leaking roof could pose serious health issues to the people in your home and or your building as well.
Lets look more into what issues could crop up because of a leaking roof.
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How Roof Leaks Can Damage Your Property
Roof leaks can occur suddenly or slowly over time.
Slow leaks are especially insidious.
Thats because the leak could go on for sometime without detection.
You may not even notice that you have a leaking roof for several weeks or months.
Thats why a routine roof maintenance plan is a great investment in preventative maintenance for your home.
Roof leaks can damage your property in several ways. Here are a few:
How To Fix Ceiling Leaks Caused By Roofing Problems
Roofing leaks can be relatively easy to fix, requiring no more than a bit of roofing cement to close a hole or small area of shingle damage or they can be very complex, possibly requiring the replacement of an entire roofing surface that is old and no longer shedding water. For the sake of our project, we will assume that the leaking is localized and can be repaired with simple patching of a hole in the roofing surface, or at most, replacement of a single shingle.
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Look For Indications Of Water Accumulating On The Roof
Give your roof a brief visual checkup if you have safe access to it. Check for something that could be allowing water to collect in one place. Ensure your downspouts, gutters, and drains are free and not clogged since this will prevent water from flowing off your roof. In the same way, look in your attic to observe where and how water is getting into your house.
Fix Plumbing Vent Boots
Plumbing vent boots can be all plastic, plastic and metal, or even two-piece metal units. Check plastic bases for cracks and metal bases for broken seams. Then examine the rubber boot surrounding the pipe. That can be rotted away or torn, allowing water to work its way into the house along the pipe. With any of these problems, you should buy a new vent boot to replace the old one. But if the nails at the base are missing or pulled free and the boot is in good shape, replace them with the rubber-washered screws used for metal roofing systems. You’ll find them at any home center with the rest of the screws. You’ll have to work neighboring shingles free on both sides. If you don’t have extra shingles, be careful when you remove shingles so they can be reused. Use a flat bar to separate the sealant between the layers. Then you’ll be able to drive the flat bar under the nail heads to pop out the nails.
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How To Find & Fix A Roof Leak
Expert DIY advice on how to find, troubleshoot, and fix a roof leak, including how to keep the water from getting in during a roof leak emergency.
The source of most roof leaks is hard to find because it originates away from where the leak shows up. In order to find the source of a leak, follow a roofers advice and think like water.
Water typically comes in through worn, broken, or missing shingles where nails have worked loose or through corroded or poorly sealed roof flashing around vents, skylights, or chimneys or along the intersections of roof planes.
Once water passes the roofing, it flows along the sheathing, roof rafters, or topside of ceilings until it finds a place to drip downinevitably onto your favorite piece of furniture.
Look for a roof leak during the day. Go into the attic with a bright flashlight step only on secure framing members and never on the insulation or topside of the ceiling belowneither of these will support you! Start above the place where the drip has occurred and work your way uproof, looking for wetness along the framing members.
If the weather has been dry for a while, look for water marks, stains, or discolorations on the wood made by moisture. Then switch off the light and try to find a hole where daylight shows through the roof. If its still raining, put a bucket under the leak in an area with proper support. Let the bucket collect the drips and fix the leak when the weather clears.
Your Flashing Has Cracked
What Does It Look Like: Flashing are thin pieces of metal that are installed under shingles and on the joints of your roof in order to create a water-resistant barrier, which can be concealed or exposed. If exposed, they will look like long runs of sheet metal and, if concealed, they will have a rubberized coating overtop. Broken flashing will feature large cracks
Why It Happens: Roofers often use tar to seal the flashing together and that can corrode over time. In the event that your flashing is left exposed, elements like wind and rain could be the reason behind its crack.
How To Fix It: : Once you locate the source of the leak, pry up the nails used to secure the old flashing. Lift any shingles out of the way and remove the cracked segment. Gently put a new run of flashing in its place, fasten the new flashing in the same pattern as your old piece using roofing nails. Then, apply a coat of roofing sealant to the nail heads. Routinely check flashing around your chimney and vents to ensure that cracks arent letting in moisture.
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How To Fix A Leaking Roof
A leaking roof is an urgent problem that cant wait for long. If you leave it unattended, youll quickly find yourself dealing not only with the roof but with a range of other problems that the leak causes.
Unless you figure out how to patch a roof leak, your drywall will become damaged, your wood will start to rot, and you might find yourself with a mold problem that will be a hassle to get rid of.
But how to fix a leaking roof on your own? And can a roof leak be fixed from the inside?
Lets answer these questions and look at a few practical ways of dealing with the problem.
Look For Wet Spots On Sheathing Or Rafters
Bring a flashlight and use it to detect any shiny or wet spots on the underside of the roof sheathing or rafters. If its an older leak, there may be rotted wood or dark mold growing around the site. If the rafter bays are insulated, you can also look for wet areas on the insulation batts.
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If youve managed to pinpoint the leaks location, its time to get a ladder and find its cause. It may be obviousmissing or torn shingles, for instance, or exposed fasteners. Check the flashing around vent pipes, dormers, and roof-pitch transition points.
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Roof Leak Repairs That You Can Do Yourself
DIY roof leak repairs might sound intimidating, but mending or patching smaller roof leaks can be something that you can do yourself all it takes a little knowledge, some basic tools and materials, and some confidence!
That said, if you are not comfortable working with your DIY knowledge or working at heights then theres no shame in leaving things to the experts.
Sometimes small leaks can be the result of shiners or nails that missed the framing and are located in between the plastic insulation and the top of the roof youll recognize them as being white or frosted when its cold out the frost melts and drips into the ceilings or the underside of the roof when it warms up.
Fixing these is as simple as clipping those nails the shiners so that they cant collect more moisture.
Leaks around the plumbing vent boots or the plastic or metal bases that cover the plumbing lines and pipes on the roof can be as simple as replacing the boots themselves.
Unless you have a very unusual roof design, you can find replacement vent boots at your local home improvement store. If it simply looks like the nails or screws are stripped, you can replace those as well.
Step flashing or the reinforcement that seals the joints around your roof such as the ones around vents and chimneys can be fairly easy to replace on your own as well.
Its fairly simply if youre handy with a hammer and nails, and you can buy the supplies at your local home improvement store.
Dangers Of A Leaking Roof
A roof leak is not only frustrating, but its hazardous as well. Here are a few things to be aware of:
- Mold
- Leaks that arent corrected right away can cause mold. Moisture is a breeding ground for mold and mildew, which is a huge problem.
- Mold can create health concerns, but it could also ruin wall and flooring coverings, wood framing, and ceiling tiles.
- The presence of mold can decrease the value and marketability of your home.
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Safety Procedures And Equipment
Safety is a significant consideration when carrying out roof repairs. Whether you regard yourself as a pro or are a novice DIYer, you should be wary of probable hazards that you may encounter and how to avoid them. Ideally, ensure that you conduct a thorough inspection of the entire roof to rule out other possible deteriorations before you attempt to climb to it.
Additionally, you should ensure to observe the following safety precautions:
Also, you should have with you the following safety gear and equipment with you all the time:
- Earbuds
Call A Professional Roofing Company
A leaking roof is a big undertaking, so its best to call the pros. The longer you wait, the worse the problem could get. Theres only so much you can do to manage the situation, so itll need fixing immediately.
Professional roofers can repair the damaged area and assess other spots on your roof that may need repair or reconstruction.
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How To Patch A Roof Leak
The hard part about patching a leak in your roof is finding the leak itself. Once youve accomplished that, repairs are often relatively simple.
Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night to the steady of water, and you discover that the water is coming from a spot on the ceiling and not from any faucet? Chances are you have a leak in your roof. Find a bucket, place it under the drip, and try to go back to sleep. Tomorrow you can investigate.
Fix The Plumbing Vent:
Generally, the plumbing vent boots are available in two types all plastic or plastic-metal. You must check the plastic bases for cracks and metal braces for seams. In addition, you must also inspect the rubber boots which might get rotten due to constant water leaks through the broken area. If your roof suffers from any of these problems, you must get a new vent boot to replace the old one. But if you think that the boot is in good shape and only the nails of the base are damaged or missing, you do not need to replace the entire boot vent you just need to replace the nails.
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Professional Roof Leak Repair
If you notice water spots on your ceiling, find the roof leak fast and fix it to prevent further damage.
If you need help from a professional roofing company, contact your local roofer.
If you are located in or near Tulsa, Oklahoma, give us a call, and well be happy to repair your roof.
We can be reached at 943-3063.
918 Construction15115 S. 76th E. AveBixby, OK74008
