Where Do Most Roof Leaks Occur?

Hearing water trickle down your house walls can be alarming, but not discovering the source of the leak can easily become unsettling. Asides from the frustration, you’re also faced with a bigger problem, which is the intruding water having more time to wreak havoc to your home’s structural integrity and cause major health issues due to molds and allergens. To avoid these discomforts, it becomes imperative that home owners find the source of their roof leakage in time. In this article, you’ll discover the most areas where leaks occur in a roof.

• The chimney region

While the chimney is an open area of your roof, it doesn’t make it a portal for water entering your home. However, the region around your chimney is most vulnerable during the rainy season. The top of the flashing around the chimney is prone to corrosion with the flashing itself prone to crack. Such damage can become an entry point for water into your home. If you begin to notice water dripping into your home around the chimney area, climb to the top of your chimney and inspect the flashing. Once you find out it’s damaged, plan to have it fixed immediately to avoid further damage.

• Vent pipes

Another area where leak often occurs is around the vent pipes. Vent pipes helps to release moisture from your kitchen and bathroom, thereby, reducing the amount that goes into energy bills. However, the flashing around vent pipes can only endure severe weather conditions for a while, after which the rubber boot seal begins to wear out, ending with your flashing being cracked or severely damaged. When such happens, that area becomes vulnerable to rain as it allows water to freely penetrate.

• Around windows and skylights

While having a skylight installed in your home can be both aesthetically pleasing and functional, it can also be a source of major headache if anything goes wrong. Improper installation or wear and tear along skylight edges can cause it to leak, thereby flooding your home with water in no time. The intruding water can also cause more harm to the skylight and reduce your home’s structural integrity.

• Missing shingles

Extreme weather conditions are the number cause of missing or damaged shingles. And luckily, spotting a missing or damaged shingle is fairly easy. To avoid leaks due to a missing shingle, make sure you inspect your roof immediately after a storm or strong wind. If you find several missing or damaged shingles, it is advisable to execute a roof replacement, with the best option being metal roofing.