Common Causes of Roof leaks and Their Prevention

9/18/2020 (Permalink)

Image Credit: TL Home Improvement LLC

Roof leakage is the last thing you need to stress about in your life whether your home is big or small. To be honest, nobody wants to run with a bucket every time it rains to prevent dripping water on the floor. Not only is keeping yourself on top of the weather forecast is impractical, but constant dripping means you have the serious expense of time and money coming your way. Over the course of time, roof leakage is the most common issue that commercial or residential places experience.

Roof leakage repair can bring severe damage to your home if not identified and repaired promptly. Restoration emergency services like SERVPRO North Vancouver can pinpoint the exact cause where the leakage occurs and make repairs where necessary.

Running water can make its way through your roof and cause a severe problem if you are not careful as it can penetrate your home very quickly. Even a small drip in the house should be a severe inconvenience and treated accordingly. To make matters easy to identify, here are some major cause of roof leakage and some tips to avoid happening in future. Note that there might be other causes besides the ones mentioned that professional roof leak repair in Vancouver can identify and repair.

Common Causes of Roof Leakage                                                          

• Ageing Material

Ageing roof material is the leading cause of leakage as, with time, content like asphalt shingles can become old and wear out. Environmental conditions like changes on temperature can also cause roofing material to go brittle and eventually crack. The tar that holds shingles together may wear off due to direct sunlight and melt it. Just like everything else in the world, roofing material also has a life that loses its battle with time. This s the point where you need to either budget a new roof or call restoration emergency services for repairs before it gets worse.

• Flashing Damage

Roof flashing is galvanized steel used to divert the water away from the critical areas of the roof. Roof flashing is installed in a place where the two roof slopes meet and hence prone to cracks over time. Usually, roofers use a material like tar or sealant to seal the flashing together, but that also deteriorates with time and makes flashing vulnerable to damage. Once the flashing is damaged, it loses its ability to divert, and water starts dripping from that area. Flashing can be destroyed due to various conditions like moisture, wind or air pressure. Roof leak repair in Vancouver can check for flash damage and repair it immediately, saving you from further damage.

• Weather Conditions

Unexpected weather is also a major cause of roof leakage, as you never know what will happen and be prepared to handle that situation. Weather conditions like heatwave, heavy rain, windstorms and others can cause the material of the roof to lose its capacity, and thus leakage happens in various parts. Ice and snow can build up and cause the gutters to be clogged and cause water to drip from leakage overtime. Intense heat, cold and wild temperature can all cause the roofing material to degrade. Restoration emergency services can give your roofs preventive coverings that can save it from harsh temperature for some time. 

• Cracked Vent Boot

Roof vents look like small pipes that stick out the top of a roof, and their purpose is to expel moisture from inside. Leaks can form due to cracks in vents that causes the moisture to start dripping from that area. Vent booting is usually rubber strips that hold the pipes together and can crack or decay after some time, causing water to drip.

• Improperly Installed Skylights

Improperly fixed skylights are also a cause that services for roof leakage repair in Vancouver often identify. Roof skylights act as a direct barrier between external conditions and your roof, and improper setting means a direct impact on your roof. It can also be caused by decayed insulation present along the edges of the skylight. In simple words, any problem with skylights will produce cause and effect on your living. Notice dark spots around the flashing of skylights that will indicate the problem.

• Clogged Gutters

Constant winds, rain, and snow bring lots of debris and snow buildup that can clog roof gutters. This clogging will cause leaves and trash to block the drainage system and water will rise and travel to where it finds an opening.

Fixing Roof Leakage Issues

Professionals and experts of restoration emergency services give us some tips to prevent roof leakage.

• If you see decaying flashing, use nails to pry and secure the old flashing. Remove cracked segments or shingles out of the way to see if there is any leakage present underneath. Gently put a new piece in its place and secure it with a fresh sealant in the same pattern as your old roof. Use nails to secure and apply a coat of sealant on nails too
• For damaged material, pry the roof nails holding the shingles and remove the damaged equipment. Repeat the same process for every damaged part and replace it with a new one
• If the valley of your roof slopes is not appropriately sealed, professional roof leak repair in Vancouver like SERVPRO North Vancouver can replace and bind them. This is a job for trained professionals so do not try to fix it on your own
• If you have a cracked vent boot, use a knife to peel away the rubber covering around the vent. Break the seal holding the shingles, slide a new rubber boot underneath, and bring the pipe down onto the roof. Then use nails and fresh sealant to secure the roof
• Clear debris off improperly placed skylights and check for cracks. Use a clear silicone to seal the crevices along the length of the skylight. If necessary, check the surrounding flashing and replace in needed
• If you have clogged gutters, all you can do is to either raise a ladder and clear it yourself or call restoration emergency services to clear it all the way and identify any other causes of roof leakage