The Reality About Roofs
You can't have a lot of roofs in your inventory without handling leaks. If you rehab, you EXPECT to find ceiling stains, the tell tale sign of a leaky roof, in nearly every project. I find tasks without indications of past or present leakages the exception to the norm!
Sometimes shingles are just going to require replaced. There is no navigating it. Curled shingles, and numerous leaks are a respectable indication that it would be less expensive to change the roof instead of repair. Just factor that into the repair work and accept it. It's something you will not have to fret about if you are keeping the residential or commercial property, and it ups the worth whether you keep it or sell it on the retail market after the rehab.
If the shingles still have some life on them, however there is some leak to repair, finding the real source of the problem can take several tries. It can get quite irritating as you sometimes attempt and stop working to repair a leaky roof. Naturally, you want to attempt to fix this without calling out a costly expert roofing contractor. Sometimes you can, sometimes you can't. Here are some suggestions for identifying roofing leaks.
-- I find that in the course of a rehab, it's always "good" to have an extended duration of heavy rains. That method, any and all leakages end up being obvious. If you have a residential or commercial property that is not inhabited, or that is not being actively rehabbed after a period of extended rains, go check out and look for indications of leakages. If you can stop by while it's still raining, that's the number one, best time to examine leakages from inside the attic.
-- Get a tiny flashlight that enters into a small belt holster and make that part of your typical clothes. You will use it all the timefor more than searching in attics! It's fantastic for plumbing, under cabinets, etc. Make it part of the "uniform."
-- The garden pipe-- a rehabber's good friend. In a current task of mine, the roofing system was relatively brand-new yet I had a ceiling stain in the kitchen area. We 'd believed it was all looked after in 2 shots, so we patched the ceiling, applied stain block, and textured over the area. Then came the rains, and the circular and symmetrical area was back! I 'd had almost enough so I climbed up onto the roofing system, garden pipe in hand, and stationed my handyman in the attic. In less than a minute of hosing down the roof we found the extremely small hole that was the perpetrator. A dab of tar below and above the shingle and viola! Problem resolved. The small hole was triggering water to drip directly onto the ceiling drywall, hence the circular stain.
-- Look for stain patterns. The pattern can provide you hints. When you come across a circular ceiling stain, there's a great chance the leak is leaking directly onto the ceiling dry wall from above. Put a nail in the center of the stain and get into the attic and look straight above the nail and you might simply find the issue. If you do this in brilliant daylight, a spec of light may be noticeable, which would make the repair work a little easier. Even if you discover a hole, I still advise the garden hose pipe trick to see if there are other issues to fix.
If the stain is small and circular, it normally indicates the amount of water is smalllucky you. If the stain area is larger, it might still be a simple repair particularly if it is a single hole. If there suffices rain making onto the ceiling drywall, it will pool and take in. This will make it look like an enormous leakage, when it may be a one-shingle repair work (plus some new ceiling drywall). The garden hose technique will rapidly tell you if the problem is a single hole, or your roofing is like Swiss cheese.
Stains that appear along a line may suggest that water is draining along a rafter or truss. Check that rafter starting from the leading trying to find indications of water. The source might be a single hole that is sending water down the rafter making multiple spots show up in a line.
-- Separating the leak. Understand the ridgeline. When you are examining a home, understand the direction the roofing ridgeline runs as you examine the interior. If you stumble upon a ceiling stain towards the middle of your home near where the ridgeline is above you, the source of the water is easier to separate. Water doesn't stream up! So, the suspect location extends from approximately the stain area, as much as the ridgeline. In most cases, that's a lot less roofing system to examine.
On the other hand when stains are out near the roof edges, they are the trickiest to diagnose. Why? The source of the water could be from higher in the roofing system than where the stain is. The water might be getting under a shingle near the peak, draining down in between the shingles and ply, and finally leaking at the point you are seeing the stain. It's just hard to tell upon initial examination. Enter into the roofing system and take a look at the rafters around that area for signs of water spots? If you're lucky you'll see light and a hole. If you're not that fortunate, it's time to get on the roofing system and see what you can find. If you do not discover anything obvious, it's time to call a rooferthat is, unless you decide to change the entire roof.
-- Valleys are typically the culprit when it concerns dripping roofings. I specifically discover this in property that has been overlooked or uninhabited for extended periods of time. Really frequently the problem is caused since leaves have built up in the valley. These leaves hold wetness which rots the shingles and underlying ply with time. Depending on the extent of the rot, the repair work can vary from replacing ply and shingles to cleaning off the leaves and letting it dry. Know your roofing valleys and keep them clear!
With roofing leaks, there are no short cuts. It's simpler and more affordable in the long run to aggressively diagnose the leak issue and seek hidden leakages that just haven't soaked through the ceiling drywall yet. Do not presume that as soon as you discover one hole in the roof, or a split shingle that the problem is repaired. Get that pipe out https://batchgeo.com/map/1034517479935f98b370bfd2757eb140 and verify it! There is something about climbing in an attic and on a roofing system that isn't fun to re-do.