The Truth About Roofs
You can't have too many roofs in your inventory without dealing with leaks. If you rehab, you anticipate to discover ceiling spots, the tell tale sign of a dripping roof, in almost every job. I find tasks without signs of past or present leaks the exception to the norm!
Sometimes shingles are just going to need replaced. There is no getting around it. Curled shingles, and various leakages are a respectable indication that it would be cheaper to change the roofing rather than repair work. Just element that into the repairs and accept it. It's something you will not need to fret about if you are keeping the home, and it ups the value whether you keep it or sell it on the retail market after the rehabilitation.
If the shingles still have some life on them, but there is some leak to fix, finding the real source of the problem can take numerous shots. It can get pretty annoying as you sometimes try and fail to fix a leaky roof. Naturally, you wish to try to fix this without calling out a pricey professional roofing contractor. In some cases you can, sometimes you can't. Here are some ideas for diagnosing roofing leaks.
-- I discover that in the course of a rehabilitation, it's constantly "great" to have a prolonged duration of heavy rains. That way, any and all leakages become evident. If you have a home that is not inhabited, or that is not being actively rehabbed after a duration of prolonged rains, go visit and look for signs of leaks. If you can come by while it's still raining, that's the top, best time to examine leakages from inside the attic.
-- Get a tiny flashlight that goes into a small belt holster and make that part of your typical clothes. You will utilize everything the timefor more than looking in attics! It's fantastic for plumbing, under cabinets, etc. Make it part of the "uniform."
-- The garden hose-- a rehabber's friend. In a recent project of mine, the roof was fairly new yet I had a ceiling stain in the kitchen. We 'd believed it was all looked after in 2 shots, so we patched the ceiling, used stain block, and textured over the area. Then came the rains, and the circular and symmetrical area was back! I 'd had practically enough so I climbed onto the roofing system, garden pipe in hand, and stationed my handyman in the attic. In less than be sure to read this a minute of hosing down the roofing system we found the very small hole that was the offender. A dab of tar below and above the shingle and viola! Problem fixed. The small hole was triggering water to leak straight onto the ceiling drywall, for this reason the circular stain.
-- Expect stain patterns. The pattern can provide you tips. When you come across a circular ceiling stain, there's a great chance the leak is dripping straight onto the ceiling dry wall from above. Put a nail in the center of the stain and enter into the attic and look straight above the nail and you might simply find the issue. If you do this in brilliant daytime, a specification of light might be visible, which would make the repair a little simpler. Even if you discover a hole, I still advise the garden hose pipe technique to see if there are other problems to fix.
If the stain is small and circular, it typically indicates the quantity of water is smalllucky you. If the stain area is bigger, it might still be an easy fix particularly if it is a single hole. If there is enough rain making onto the ceiling drywall, it will pool and soak in. This will make it look like a massive leak, when it might be a one-shingle repair (plus some brand-new ceiling drywall). The garden pipe trick will quickly inform you if the problem is a single hole, or your roofing system is like Swiss cheese.
Stains that appear along a line may indicate that water is draining along a rafter or truss. Examine that rafter starting from the leading searching for indications of water. The source may be a single hole that is sending water down the rafter making numerous spots show up in a line.
-- Isolating the leak. Be aware of the ridgeline. When you are checking a home, understand the instructions the roofing system ridgeline runs as you examine the interior. If you encounter a ceiling stain towards the middle of your home near where the ridgeline is above you, the source of the water is much easier to isolate. Water doesn't flow up! So, the suspect area extends from approximately the stain location, approximately the ridgeline. In most cases, that's a lot less roofing system to investigate.
On the other hand when discolorations are out near the roof edges, they are the trickiest to diagnose. Why? The source of the water might be from greater in the roofing system than where the stain is. The water could be getting under a shingle near the peak, draining pipes down in between the shingles and ply, and lastly leaking at the point you are seeing the stain. It's just hard to inform upon preliminary evaluation. Enter the roofing and have a look at the rafters around that location for indications of water discolorations? If you're lucky you'll see light and a hole. If you're not that lucky, it's time to get on the roofing system and see what you can find. If you don't discover anything apparent, it's time to call a rooferthat is, unless you choose to replace the whole roof.
With roof leaks, there are no routes. It's much easier and more affordable in the long run to aggressively diagnose the leakage issue and look for covert leakages that simply have not soaked through the ceiling drywall yet. Do not assume that as soon as you find one hole in the roofing system, or a cracked shingle that the issue is fixed. Get that hose out and confirm it! There is something about climbing in an attic and on a roofing system that isn't enjoyable to re-do.