Commercial Concrete Roofing Composition
Before we get down to the bottom of the problem, there is a need to understand what concrete roofs are made of. Being aware of their composition gives you a better perspective in dealing with it.
A concrete mixture is made from sand, cement, and water.
Concrete roofs are composed of sand, cement, and water. These materials are combined together to form a compound. It can be used to build not only roofs but also floors, ceilings, decks, and many more. It is also important to note that concrete is a heavy material. Hence, it requires the right amount of structural support.
The Roof Vent Is A Common Cause For A Leaking Roof
Most times, it is the roof vent that is the culprit and the common cause of roof leaks. This may need immediate replacement. Degraded vent pipes can create gaps in your roof. For the small holes you can probably seal it with a roof sealant, but if it is the pipe that is the problem, then the best solution is to get it replaced with a new one.
How Do You Know If Your Roof Is Leaking
Your roof is designed to keep your home safe and dry. The most obvious sign of a leak is water in your home. If you notice water in your home, try to locate the source. While your roof could be leaking, there may be another cause, such as a shower leak. You might notice water spots on your ceiling. Water may also be getting into your attic so check there.
According to Angies List, you should check out your roof. If its raining or storming, you can wait until thats over. Then, look for missing shingles and other damage.
Recommended Reading: How Much For A Porch Roof
Emergency Leaking Roof Fixes
When your roof leaks it is a big problem during any kind of weather. But it is a much bigger emergency if theres a heavy rainstorm. The heavy rainfall can quickly exploit what was a small hole and turn it into a nightmare inside your home. Water will quickly seep into sheetrock walls causing it to crumble and soak insulation. Time is of the essence if you want to avoid costly damages to your home.
Continue Regular Roof Maintenance
After the roof is fixed and things are back to normal, theres more work to be done. Doing routine maintenance on your roof is the best way to control leaks. Your roof takes on a lot of wear and tear, and its exposed to harsh outside elements. Routine roof maintenance includes:
Weather conditions like rain, snow, and hail weaken the shingles over time. Ensure that your house stays in good condition by keeping major systems, such as your roof, properly maintained.
Sometimes, finding the source of a leak is more complicated than simply spotting a hole in your attics ceiling. From failing flashing to clogged gutters to crumbling shingles, the list of potential causes is very long.Bob Vila, From Solved, What To Do About A Leaky Roof
Recommended Reading: What Is The Purpose Of Roof Gutters
Examine From A Distance
After youve temporarily minimized the damage to your homes interior, including the attic or crawlspace, its time to take a look at the roof from outside of your home.
Again, tracing the source of a leak from the point in the ceiling where water comes through can be difficult. Examining the roof itself can help you connect the dots. You may be able to spot potential problems from close up, or you may need to step back and look at the whole roof.
To do this, you can use binoculars to “zoom in” on your roof from across the street or across the lawn. This is easier and more effective for sloped roofs, since it can be difficult to see the top of your flat roof from the ground.
Signs of damage may be obvious using this methoda tree limb thats fallen on the roof, or a missing shingleor you may need to go in for a closer look to examine the cause of the leak.
How To Stop A Roof Leak In The Rain: 7 Key Tips
July 17, 2020 by McCoy Roofing Staff
Roofing tar is just one way to stop a roof leak in the rain among the seven key tips in this article.
Have you noticed a leak in your ceiling after a recent rainstorm? Are you looking for new ways to keep the inside of your home dry and clean on a regular basis?
If so, then it is important for you to understand the process of stopping a roof leak. You must consider factors from outside and inside that make it easy for water to enter your home.
With our knowledge of roofing, you will be able to get your roof back into shape and create a dryer, more comfortable environment inside your home.
Here are seven key tips for how to stop a roof leak in the rain.
Recommended Reading: How Much To Do A Roof
Roof Leak Repair: How To Find A Roof Leak And What To Do
by BarrettM | Jul 22, 2020 | Blog |
A roof leak can be complicated to find, difficult to fix, and even scary for homeowners and property owners since the physical condition can put livability of your property at risk.
So accordingly, you need to find the area of the leaking roof and fix it fast before even more damage to your property has occurred.
And if the roof leak repair is significant or you cant fix a leaky roof yourself, you can always consult your insurance agent and an experienced roofing contractor if you are concerned about insurance covering the costs.
It is possible to fix a minor leaky roof or smaller leaks yourself, and heres how to tell if you have a leak in your roof and the various ways to fix it before things get worse.
Mark The Deck Cut Area
Snap a chalk line down the roof rafters on both the left and right sides of the damaged section of roof deck. Be sure to snap the line in the center of the rafters. Follow existing nails as a guide to the rafter center.
Then, snap a chalk line crossways or 90 degrees to the rafters both above and below the damaged section.
You May Like: How To Insulate A Garage Roof
Tip #3 Regular Professional Maintenance
Time and again, we would like to emphasize the need to regularly conduct maintenance. You should schedule this at least twice a year. Apart from the usual inspections and cleaning, there are far more extensive maintenance procedures. Buildings are usually high and large which make them difficult to access especially if you are not trained to do so. Because of these reasons, you should have a commercial roofing partner to monitor and study your concrete roofing structure. You have to report all roofing-related concerns that you may have so that they can address it properly.
There is nothing wrong in involving yourself in roof repair projects. However, it should always be under the supervision of a roofing specialist. Always prioritize your own safety. Besides, professional roofers are always ready to assist you provided that they have the licenses to operate, tools, equipment, and appropriate skills.
You Have A Cracked Chimney
What Does It Look Like: Most often, you can look for signs of wear and tear along the mud cap, or mortared area around the top of the chimney. You should also look for any holes in the mortared joints where the chimney connects with the roof. Also, be on the lookout for loose flashing and shingles in the surrounding area.
Why It Happens: Mortar is essentially just a thick mixture of water, sand, and cement. It erodes easily in harsh weather conditions.
How To Fix It: In some cases, all you need to do is find the source of the leak and replace the missing mortar. However, since the materials used for chimney repairs are different than those for standard roofing fixes, it is recommended that you hire a professional handle the repairs. If you have a link by your fireplace, a crack in the chimney cap is a good bet.
Read Also: How Much Is A New Roof Per Square Foot
Move Furniture And Objects Away From The Water Source
When you see water leaking through the ceiling, there is a good chance that the leak will continue to get worse until you address it.
To make sure that you salvage your belongings first, quickly remove any furniture or objects away from the affected area. As long as the objects are moved out of the general area, you should be good and will likely avoid any of their ruin.
Another thing to make sure of is that electronics are far from the source of water! This should be a first priority, but make sure to never touch a chord or wire that has been submerged in water for any length of time.
If this is the case, you should go to the breaker and cut off the power to that room. This way, you will avoid electrical sparks and other dangerous accidents.
Remove Fallen Tree Limbs
Next, if you notice large fallen tree limbs, carefully remove the large debris while paying attention to the potential damage underneath. You will need to cover any holes or areas of damage caused by the fallen limb.
You may not always be able to remove large tree limbs or debris on your own, and that’s OK. Some roof debris will need to be broken down into smaller pieces, which is best left to the experts.
If a tree limb cannot be removed safely–for example, if you can’t lift the limb without becoming destabilized, or if moving the limb could cause more damage to the roof–simply cover the area as best you can to prevent further water from entering through the roof.
You May Like: Is Roof Covered By Home Warranty
A Roof Leak Is More Than An Annoying Drip: It Can Cause Real Damage To Your Home Heres How To Get It Repaired
Dear readers: We want to know more about you, what you find most useful and where we can improve. Help us do more of what you love and less of what you dont by taking this quick reader survey. It will just take a few minutes. Thanks!
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.
Your Skylights Were Improperly Installed
What Does It Look Like: Leaks from this kind of problem should be super easy to spot. If you find yourself noticing wet spots or consistently needing to place drip buckets around the sides of your skylights, youve found the cause. However, leaks and wet spots near the top of the skylight may be a flashing issue instead.
Why It Happens: There are two main causes for this type of leak. Improperly measuring and fitting the skylights upon installation or decayed insulation along the skylights edges.
How To Fix It: Clear any debris off of the skylight and check for cracks in the window itself. Seal any cracks with a layer of clear silicone along its length, if necessary. If that is not the cause, check the surrounding flashing and replace as needed. While skylights look pretty, they can let in extra moisture when not properly sealed.
Recommended Reading: Do I Need Plywood Under Metal Roof
You Have Broken Shingles
What Does It Look Like: Look up! This one is easy to spot. Since shingles are the exterior layer of a roof, you should be able to identify missing shingles by seeing different-colored patches on your roof. Alternatively, you may find the shingles themselves littering your yard after a heavy storm.
Why It Happens: Again, weather. High winds and heavy rains.
How To Fix It: : Slide a pry bar underneath the row of nails that connects the damage shingle to the one below it. Lift up until the nail pops and then press down on the shingle while you remove the nail. Repeat for the remaining nails. Pull out the damaged shingle, replace it with a new one, and secure it with four new nails.
Move Things Out Of The Way
When your roof is leaking, thats bad enough. The last thing you want is to ruin your belongings in the process. If theres a leak over your bed, clothing, or furniture, its time to clear the area!
Water damage can completely destroy some of your precious belongings, and nobody wants that. Not to mention, some fabrics trap water and create a dreadful mildew smell. So whatever you can push out of the way, do it ASAP!
You May Like: What Can I Use To Seal A Tpo Roof
Finding The Source Of Your Roof Leaks
It can be difficult to discover the source of most roof leaks because the spots where you can see the leak are often not particularly close to the leak itself.
After all, water travels downhill from the spot where it enters your roof, so the actual hole or leak could be much higher on the plane of the roof.
For example, roof leaks often travel downline from rafters, sheathing, or the top of the ceiling until theres a spot where the water can drip down and by the time you notice it, it might be a pretty significant leaking roof.
Roofing experts will advise you to think like water when you search for the source of a roof leak know that water typically comes in through broken or overly shingles, missing shingles, poorly sealed or corroded flashing around chimneys, skylights, vents, or along the intersection of different planes, or spots where nails are loose or missing.
If you dont have attic access or have a vaulted ceiling, you may need to go up on the roof or find another way to examine things.
Keep in mind that this can be tricky and you may want to hire professionals for this part if youre unsure of your capabilities.
Finding a professionalroof leak detection company or roofer in your area can also help save time and money.
Pooling Water On Flat Roofs
If you have a flat roof, your roof is made of waterproof membranes, and it is positioned at a slight angle to help shed water.
However, waterproofing materials can age or become damaged, causing water to shed less effectively.
If you have a flat roof, pooling or standing water can be a major cause of a leaking roof.
Read Also: Which Way To Overlap Metal Roofing
When To Call In A Professional Contractor For Your Leaking Roof
If you cant find the source of your roof leaking, but still see evidence of a roof leak and water coming in or if you dont feel comfortable sourcing or fixing the leak yourself, thats when its time to call in a roof contractor.
You may also want to look over your roof warranty and also consider your insurance coverage and how the policy is worded regarding fixes that you may perform yourself versus repairs done by a professional.
A professional roofing contractor should have their own liability insurance in case anything goes wrong as well.
A public adjuster can help you navigate the tricky areas of not only dealing with a leak in your roof, but making sure that the repair or replacement and any associated damage is covered by insurance if and when applicable.
If youre dealing with a leak in your roof, then one of the first things that you should do is look for the source of the leak and repair yourself if you can.
However, if you cant find the source or are otherwise not comfortable with clamoring around on your rooftop or in your attic, then you can call in roof leak repair contractors.
Collar Failure Around A Gas Vent
A gas vent is a metal pipe with a cap on it that comes through the roof. These 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 after the roof has been completed. However, they arent trained properly on roofing techniques. Theyll slide a collar over an unsealed pipe and flange thinking it will shed the rain right off of it.
Under normal circumstances, this works. But with a torrential downpour, water can splash under the collar and lead to water running down the pipe.
Don’t Miss: How To Build A Living Roof
