The Two C's

3 Areas To Look For Roof Leaks That Could Need To Be Repaired

26 July 2022 by Floyd Dunn

When you look your roof over for signs of damage, you might look for missing or curled shingles. While it's important to find bad shingles so they can be replaced, you don't want to overlook these other areas on your roof where leaks can occur.

1. The Rubber Boot

The plumbing vents in your home exit through your roof. To keep rain from rolling down the vent pipe, flashing is put around the pipe and a rubber boot is slid on the pipe like a sleeve. Rubber doesn't fare too well when it's exposed to UV rays all day or freezing temperatures in the winter. A rubber boot will probably wear out before your roof does, so it may need to be replaced at some point.

If you get up on your roof to look around or check the roof with binoculars or a drone, be sure to look over the rubber boot on the plumbing vent. If it's cracked or crumbling, call a roof repair contractor to replace the boot. If the boot has been leaking for a long time, they may need to repair water damage around the pipe too.

2. The Flashing Next To The Chimney

Flashing is the metal that surrounds your chimney and skylights if you have them. It's common for flashing to leak. This might happen if it pulls loose or a nail backs out. The flashing is there to block rain that rolls down the roof from falling down between the chimney and roofing shingles.

If the flashing gets damaged, it should be repaired. Flashing is often difficult to inspect from the ground, especially since it goes on all sides of the chimney. If you have a leak and you can't figure out where it's coming from, it might be the flashing that's causing the problem.

A roof repair contractor can pull the old flashing off if necessary and put down new flashing. They might also need to secure loose flashing or plug a hole that's leaking.

3. The Ridge Vent On Top Of The Roof

The ridge vent is what allows hot air to escape the attic. It runs along the top of your roof, and it's not sealed because that would block airflow. Since it's at the top of your roof, it's difficult to examine even if you climb up on the roof. A leak might develop along the ridge vent due to shingle damage in a storm or from a raccoon pulling at the shingles.

When the area is leaking, a roof repair contractor may need to replace part of the deck if it has water damage. Otherwise, they may just need to replace the ridge shingles. Ridge shingles have a different shape from the shingles that go on the rest of your roof because the ridge shingles fold over the top of the roof. Replacing damaged or missing ridge shingles may be all that's needed to stop the roof leak.

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