The roofing industry has changed quite a lot over the years. These days, homeowners are rarely opting for the standard, 3-tab shingles that were so popular a few decades ago. Instead, they are going with architectural shingles, and in some cases, with even more eco-friendly options like green roofing or slate. Whether you're shopping around for a new roof or are thinking of having repairs made to your current roof, it pays to be educated. Learn the basics on this blog, where we discuss roofing in the modern world. We explore various roofing materials, roofing techniques, and how to find the right roofer.
If you see light brown or yellow stains on your ceiling, you probably have a roof leak. Call a roofing contractor and have them find the leak and repair it when this happens. There may even be water damage in your attic already, so you don't want to put off having a roof leak repaired. The roofer may take these actions to fix the leak.
Look Inside Your Attic For The Leak
The roofer will look around on top of your roof too, but they may start by looking in your attic at the underside of your roof. If lucky, they may see a small hole with light shining through. If they see a hole where the roof is leaking, the roofer might drive a nail through or beside the hole so they can find it when they go on top of the roof. However, finding a leak probably won't be that easy.
If they see a water trail, they can follow it for an idea of where the leak starts. Water might roll a long way on the deck before seeping into your attic though, so the roofer has to hunt for the leak itself.
Track Down The Leak On The Roof
Your roofing contractor might use a moisture meter or infrared camera to scan the roof for the wet area. The leak will probably be at the top of the wet area since water will roll down the slope of the roof. The roofer might need to pull off a few shingles to get a look at the underlayment and deck.
The underlayment is waterproof, so if it's in good shape, the deck should be dry underneath it. The roofer looks for holes and cracks in the shingle and holes in the underlayment to find out how rain is getting onto the deck.
Make Repairs To Stop The Leak
The roofer may need to replace the shingle that was leaking. They may also need to patch up the underlayment so the area is watertight again. If the damage was more widespread, the roofing contractor might need to replace a few shingles. They may also feel the deck to see if it's soft and rotting due to water damage. If so, the roofing contractor needs to replace that part of the decking.
However, wet decking doesn't always need to be replaced. The roofer will decide what to do after inspecting the area. A roof leak isn't too difficult to fix as long as the leak is a small one. However, you may need to call in more help to get rid of the stain on your ceiling and water damage that may have occurred in your attic.
For more information, contact a local roofing company.