When it comes to roofs there is one four letter word that can strike fear into homeowners minds and wallets and that four letter word is leak. Leaks can rot structures, cause mold, mildew and a host of the other problems. They can be a major hassle for homeowners and one of the many headaches that come with along with them is identifying the leak in the first place. Roofcorp wants to give a helping hand to the homeowner by providing you ways to identify leaks so you can have them repaired before they become a bigger problem.
Finding Roof Leaks
Your first order of business is to find signs of a leak. Go into your attic space and turn off all the lights, if you see daylight where you shouldn’t that is an obvious sign of a potential leak but many leaks are more subtle. Use a flashlight in your attic to look for water stains, mold and mildew. Most leaks occur around penetrations in your roof such as chimneys, dormers and exhaust vents rather than uninterrupted roofing material so pay extra attention to these areas. A strong smell of mold or mildew is often a sign you have a leak even if there aren’t any strong visual signs.
Sometimes where the leak occurs inside and where the problem on the roof is may be separated by feet and even yards. Identify where the leak is occurring inside of the home and make your way to the roof in the same general area. Look around penetrations, flashing and potentially damaged areas. If you are confident in your ability, start uphill from the leak and peel up small amounts of roofing materials to see if you can find water stains and traces. Follow these water traces until they stop and you should spot the problem area.
An old fashioned but effective way to help identify a leak is using a garden hose. Have a partner remain in the attic space while you take the hose onto your rose. Start low around the possible problem area and turn the hose on. Let the water run in an isolated area for a couple minutes at a time. Slowly work your way up the roof continuing the keep the hose in isolated areas until your partner signals that water is coming into the space. This will give you a closer approximation of where the leak could be.
Once you’ve identified the leak you can repair it yourself if you know how or simply call a reputable roofing contractor to do the dirty work for you.
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