So there’s a leak in my roof… somewhere… It’s coming down through a wall and leaking into my kitchen, and then further down into my basement. It seems to leak whenever it rains and whenever I get ice dams.
I had a roofing company over and while the guy found some things wrong with my roof, he couldn’t find the spot with the specific leak. He had a couple of options - putting in some ventilation in the attic to help prevent ice dams in the winter (which wouldn’t solve the current leak), and replacing the roof, which I can’t afford right now.
I don’t know if it is really hard to find a leak in a roof, or if this is something that a good company should be able to find. Are there tools that roofers have that I can ask about? Can they spray water over a shingled roof and look for bubbles or something?
Should a roofing company be able to find a leak if I can’t tell them exactly where the water is coming in?
Unless someone can stand on the roof and point to a spot where the shingles are gone, exposing the roof decking and say “Well, *there’s *your problem!” more likely, someone gets into the attic and looks for the leak.
By your description, it sounds like the leak is somewhere in the lower couple of feet, rather than up at the peak, so that may help reduce the search area. Keep in mind that water can travel a long way - it’s not impossible that the leak is at the peak and the water’s running along a rafter until it jumps off and falls down inside the wall.
If the roof is more than 20 years or so old, it may be time to bite the bullet and replace the roof, rather than messing around with what often turns into a game of leapfrog between you and the leaks. It’s probably also best to strip the roof down to the decking to inspect it and replace any boards or panels that may be water-damaged.
Thanks gotpasswords and control-z. We don’t have an upstairs; it’s just the attic right above the kitchen. I’ve never been up in the attic before, but I might try peeking in there one of these nights to see if I can find staining or something indicating where the water might be coming from. If I can get past my nerves, I might try heading up on the roof to see if anything there looks off…
It is not uncommon for roofing companies to take multiple shots at correcting a leak before getting it right. If they are honest, they will tell you that. Do yourself a favor and stay off the roof.
I am not a roofer, but have questions and suggestions anyway.
What type of house again (ranch, split level) ?
How old is the roof?
The rain and ice jams that cause leakage, do they appear to come from a roofline that looks like this
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where water or ice can build up between two higher points?
If the above, can you afford to have someone come in and extend the top roofline to the peak of the adjacent roofline (thereby avoiding the valley between)?
I have/had a water leak in the shower of the master bath. I was convinced I knew exactly where it was coming from, so I broke down that wall. Dry as a bone there with no sign of leakage. It is sometimes very hard to pin down the exact course of water.
Blown in insulation and vents will cure the ice-damming problem. Does it leak every time it rains? Or only when it rains subsequent to a freeze/thaw? If the latter, you could be seeing condensation water instead of leak water. If the water is yellow in color, that’s a tip-off to condensate. If it’s an honest-to-god leak, it’s going to be difficult to isolate (wicking, don’t you know), and it may be cheaper in the long run to just reshingle.
The house is kind of a split-level. The roof is a traditional shape like this /\ where the portion over the living room is raised up maybe six inches above the portion over the kitchen, bedrooms, etc.
The previous owners had the roof installed and I am looking for the documentation from the sale, but I believe the roof should be around 12 years old now. They also put the new shingles directly on top of the old shingles, which the roofer told me was not the best way to do it.
The ice dams don’t build up in “valleys” as I think your picture shows. Rather the snow just gets stuck on the roof and in the gutters. The roofer who came out said that the attic had almost no ventilation at all, so he thought that it was getting too warm in the winter and was melting the snow on the roof very quickly, which would re-freeze as it slid toward the gutters.
I’m not sure what we can afford right now… we are paying for our wedding this fall and due to the economy I might be unemployed in a couple of months, but that’s another thread…
I used to work for a window replacement company and I can tell you that water leaks can be very difficulte to find. But the further bad news is that you should not let this go on through another winter. The water can/will eventually cause rot in your ceiling and walls. And could also lead to mold and health problems. Big repair bills.
Since your roof already has at least 2 layers of shingles you probably cannot get away with another layer and when you eventually get a new roof they will probably tear off all layers and maybe even re-sheet the base with new plywood. Not what you need to hear now, I know.
What to do for the time being until you can afford a new roof? As already suggested you should check around the window frames. Even a small leak can allow a lot of water in. You may have just some caulking missing around a window. There is normally some kind of flashing (L shaped thin metal) on top of the windows to help divert rain. If you have a chimney, check around that. Where the roof splits level is also another likely place to check.
Roofs generally don’t start leaking in the middle of the flat areas unless there are shingles missing. So look in the seems and edges and top of the windows for the problem. You might get away with some re-caulking around the windows or roofing goop where the split levels meet. The materials to fix these sort of things yourself are fairly cheap, get them at the hardward store. If you don’t or can’t do-it-yourself, find a ‘handyman’ type to get up there.
The problem with trying to get a ‘contractor’ to fix it cheaply is that they must conform to building code and do it “right”, which means “expensive” or they can be liable or loose their licence. That’s the best way, and the way it should be done, don’t get me wrong. But they can’t take the short cuts you can as homeowner.
As the homeowner you can do what you want, but may have to fix it to ‘code’ before you sell the house. Start with the simple and cheap re-caulking of the seams.
I live in a 1935 ‘code free’ house, so I have some personal experience with these type repairs too. Good luck. Oh and they are right, start by looking in the attic.
Having dealt with leaky roofs in the past you should feel lucky that your roofer was honest with you about not finding the exact source of the leak! The exact source of a leak can be notoriously difficult to find. You can try to patch here or there, but if your roof is more than 10 years old, the best solution is to replace it. That’s what I did with my roof. Then do some annual maintenance to keep your new roof in shape. You will feel so good this winter when it’s pouring outside!
I had a similar problem and it turned out to be a gutter issue. The gutter was not completely even and water collected in one spot. Next thing you know I had a water bubble under the paint in my kitchen. Water can take some strange paths.
Get a squeeze bottle like the ones you see full of mustard at the hog-dog stand. Dollar store should have one.
Fill it with talcum powder and squeeze a fine dusting of the stuff throughout the attic. (Use a dust mask, this stuff is not as benign as you’ve been led to believe.) It will stick a bit to even the verticle bits of wood etc.
Next time it rains go back up and look for places where it’s been rinsed off.
Another thing to check is any cords running along the ceiling and into the wall in question. Water can cling and run along a cord for a good long way. Old-fashioned TV antenna cords are notorious, and often left in the attic after the antenna has blown away.
I wouldn’t put in any insulation until you’ve found it. Working around fiberglass is horrible. In fact, consider foam anyway. When a tree hit our roof last year, the very worst part was all the fiberglass bits that got blown into and throughout the house.
ETA: Check for pipes as well. Older houses sometimes had the Hot Water heaters in the attic. Pipes going down the wal could be leading the leak.
Had a similar problem. The leak occurred where an old sealed roof vent had been improperly sealed. The staining on the underside of the roof decking was obvious when I got up to the attic and looked at the under side of the roof.
The main decision is do you pay $500-$1500 to have a small section of roof redone or bite the bullet and pay to have the entire roof replaced. Identify and stop the problem ASAP in any case as roof problems tend to get bad quite quickly.
I’ve never heard the talcum powder idea, but it sounds like a useful (and cheap) method to try.
Also, it sounds like you’re a bit hesitant to get up into your attic. Don’t be. The only thing you have to be careful about is stepping only on the joists. Or bring up something solid you can put over at least two joists and step on that.
As has been previously mentioned, bring a strong flashlight and don’t be afraid to move some insulation around. Start at the point where you know the water is ending up and work backwards. Sometimes the trail will be obvious. And, again, if you can’t find an obvious leak, the talc idea might just do it for you.
